Strong two clubs
Encyclopedia
In most natural bridge
bidding system
s, the opening bid of 2 is used exclusively for hands too strong for an opening bid at the one-level. Systems that incorporate a strong 2-club opening bid include modern Standard American
, standard Acol
, 2/1 game forcing
and many others. Typically, the bid is reserved for hands that are almost strong enough to bid to the game level on their own power, or even stronger. The exact requirements for the bid vary considerably depending upon the system used and partnership agreement.
In Charles Goren
's original bidding system, and "traditional" Acol, all the opening bids of two of a suit signified a very strong hand. This later became known as the strong two bid. However, pioneer bridge inventors like Pierre Albarran
and David Burnstine saw that the frequency of such bids is fairly low, and that a 2 bid can be used for all strong hands, leaving other two-level opening bids for other purposes (for example, weak two bid
s).
(Yellow Card), and 23 or more points in standard Acol
. For unbalanced hands, the typical strength is about 9 or more playing tricks
, or 3 losers or less if using Losing-Trick Count
.
). All other bids are natural and positive.
If requested, the explanation of an alert should describe the meaning of the bid completely; for example:
or
This convention for response has two significant advantages and two relatively minor disadvantages over other responses. The first advantage is that the 2 "Drop dead!" response alerts the opening bidder to partner's weakness immediately, while there's plenty of room to find a safe landing spot, when partner's hand is too weak to go on to game—which happens quite often in actual play. The second major advantage is that it immediately tells the opening bidder the combined high card strength of the two hands to within one HCP, and thus the most probable optimal level to which to bid (with the caveat that one sometimes can go a level higher with a good trump fit). The first drawback is that the weaker hand occasionally will end up declaring a contract with a trump fit in the major suit of the response. (Note that a transfer following opener's rebid of 2NT over a response of either 2 or 2 may be to the suit of the response. Such transfers cannot achieve the objective of making the strong hand the declarer, but they still help to find such a trump fit.) The second drawback is that it uses up some bidding space if the responder has an unusually strong hand. Nonetheless, opener's minimum of 22 HCP leaves a maximum of 18 HCP distributed among the other three hands. It's quite rare for responder to hold more than half of them. Indeed, this convention has gained popularity both for its simplicity (comparable to standard Blackwood) and for the infrequent occurrence and relatively minor consequences of its drawbacks.
The origin of this convention is uncertain. Some players have attributed it to Oswald Jacoby
, of Jacoby Transfer
and Jacoby 2NT
fame, while others refer to it as "Castlebury" (or "Castleberry"?), but the present author is not aware of any source that would verify either attribution.
. In this scheme, 2 by responder is a waiting bid, asking the opener to describe his hand further if he is strong. If the opening hand has a weak two bid in diamonds, he should pass. However, if the responder has a strong hand, typically 15 high card points or more, he responds with 2NT. This treatment is often subject to restrictions in tournament play, as it has a destructive potential—see Bridge convention#Regulations.
s, thus eliminating many possible bids for the opponents. These weak two hands appear 20 times as often as the very strong hands, which illustrates the inefficiency of reserving all opening bids at the two-level for very strong hands.
An alternative is to use strong two bid
s for hands which are strong but not game forcing, which reduces the range of one-level openings and helps bidding accuracy. However, since weak twos are so useful, there are methods which allow weak twos in hearts and spades and use 2 to show a different range of strong hands; these are Benjaminised (Benji) Acol
, Reverse Benji and the Multicoloured Two Diamonds
.
Another advantage is the relative precision with which strong balanced hands can be bid. An opening bid of 2 NT indicates a balanced hand with 20-21 HCP in Standard American
or 20-22 HCP in standard Acol
, and for even stronger balanced hands, the opening bid of 2 can be used. The opener's rebid (in these cases always in No Trump) then indicates the strength of the hand using steps of 2-3 HCP. Hence 2 - 2 - 2NT shows 22-24 HCP's in Standard American
or 23-24 HCP in Acol
, while a 3NT rebid can show 25+ HCP's.
s, because 2 bid is made with bigger high-card strength and on a higher level. On the other hand, the strong 2 opening reduces the bidding space for the pair themselves compared with strong 1—sometimes, the pair can be unable to find a fit on a relatively low level (below 3NT), and/or reduce the space for effective slam investigation with cue bid
ding.
s, the opening bid of 2 is natural and promises a hand with long clubs (for example, in both Precision
and Blue club
, it shows 11-15 high card points and either a 6-card club suit or at least a 5-card club suit and a 4-card major suit
). As such, it makes overcalls more difficult, since they have to be made at the two-level. Chances are therefore increased that the side of the opener has an undisturbed auction, and the opponents won't discover a fit in a major suit. However, as a corollary, their strong 1 opening bid is more susceptible to preempt
ing by opponents.
Another variant advocates two strong forcing openings, 2 for strong hands with fewer than four spades and 2 for strong hands with four or more spades.
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
bidding system
Bidding system
A bidding system in contract bridge is the set of agreements and understandings assigned to calls and sequences of calls used by a partnership, and includes a full description of the meaning of each treatment and convention...
s, the opening bid of 2 is used exclusively for hands too strong for an opening bid at the one-level. Systems that incorporate a strong 2-club opening bid include modern Standard American
Standard American
Standard American is a common bidding system for the game of bridge in the United States, also widely used in the rest of the world. This system, or a slight variant, is learned first by most beginners in the U.S. and may be referred to as 'Goren'; a dominant version used in on-line computer...
, standard Acol
Acol
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is named after the Acol Bridge Club, previously located on Acol Road in London NW6, where the system started to evolve...
, 2/1 game forcing
2/1 game forcing
2/1 game forcing is a bidding system in modern contract bridge in which, after a one-level opening bid, a non-jump response in a new suit at the two level commits the partnership to bidding at least game....
and many others. Typically, the bid is reserved for hands that are almost strong enough to bid to the game level on their own power, or even stronger. The exact requirements for the bid vary considerably depending upon the system used and partnership agreement.
In Charles Goren
Charles Goren
Charles Henry Goren was a world champion American bridge player and bestselling author who contributed significantly to the development and popularization of the game following upon the heels of Ely Culbertson in the 1940s and rising to prominence in the 1950s to the early 1960s.-Early years:Goren...
's original bidding system, and "traditional" Acol, all the opening bids of two of a suit signified a very strong hand. This later became known as the strong two bid. However, pioneer bridge inventors like Pierre Albarran
Pierre Albarran
Pierre Albarran was a French auction and contract bridge player and theorist, and tennis player. It has been reported that he was born in the West Indies, and also in Chaville, Hauts-de-Seine, France; he died in Paris.At the bridge table Albarran won the European Teams Championship in 1935 and in...
and David Burnstine saw that the frequency of such bids is fairly low, and that a 2 bid can be used for all strong hands, leaving other two-level opening bids for other purposes (for example, weak two bid
Weak two bid
The Weak two bid is a common treatment used in the game of contract bridge, where a jump bid of two of a suit signifies a weak hand with a long suit. It is a form of preemptive bid...
s).
Bid requirements
The strength requirements for the 2 bid differ slightly in different systems. In all cases they show a hand which is close to game forcing. For balanced hands, a 2 bid shows 22 or more points in Standard AmericanStandard American
Standard American is a common bidding system for the game of bridge in the United States, also widely used in the rest of the world. This system, or a slight variant, is learned first by most beginners in the U.S. and may be referred to as 'Goren'; a dominant version used in on-line computer...
(Yellow Card), and 23 or more points in standard Acol
Acol
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is named after the Acol Bridge Club, previously located on Acol Road in London NW6, where the system started to evolve...
. For unbalanced hands, the typical strength is about 9 or more playing tricks
Hand evaluation
In contract bridge, various bidding systems have been devised to enable partners to describe their hands to each other so that they may reach the optimum contract. Key to this process is that players evaluate and re-evaluate the trick-taking potential of their hands as the auction proceeds and...
, or 3 losers or less if using Losing-Trick Count
Losing-Trick Count
The Losing-Trick Count is an alternative, or supplement, in the card game contract bridge, to the high card point method of hand evaluation to be used in situations where shape and fit are of more significance than HCP in determining the optimum level of a suit contract - it should only be used...
.
Natural responses
With "natural" responses, which is the most commonly used treatment, the 2 bid is artificial and very weak (up to 6 HCPHand evaluation
In contract bridge, various bidding systems have been devised to enable partners to describe their hands to each other so that they may reach the optimum contract. Key to this process is that players evaluate and re-evaluate the trick-taking potential of their hands as the auction proceeds and...
). All other bids are natural and positive.
Waiting and positive 2
Some players alter or reverse the order of natural responses in order to preserve bidding space and allow for more accuracy in later bidding. There are several treatments in circulation:- Waiting 2 – a response of 2 is a relay asking the opening bidder to further describe the strong hand. This bid does not limit the responder's hand in any way. Some players combine this response with each of the following.
- Natural 2 and 2, typically showing at least a game-going hand (4 or more HCP) with at least a five-card major. Some players go as far to require a 6-card suit with 2 top honors for a suit response.
- Weak 2. The response of 2 shows a very bad hand (0-3 HCP), making the 2 relay a game-forcing bid.
- Positive 2 – a response of 2 shows values, and all other bids show less than 7 HCP.
- Positive 2 – a response of 2 show a (semi-)positive, and 2 a negative (0-4 HCP)
"Three Point Step" responses
"Three Point Step" responses to a strong 2 opening bid is another option. In this simple convention, the responder specifies the high card strength of his or her hand, without regard to distribution, as follows.- 2 = 0-3 High Card Points (HCP); Very Weak. The responder normally will bid again only to show a long suit (5 or more cards) or a trump fit, but should use "Garbage Stayman" or "Garbage Transfers" if appropriate whenever opener's rebid is 2NT. The opening bidder obviously needs more than minimum values (at least 25 HCP) or a good trump fit to go to game.
- 2 = 4-6 HCP; Alertable and Game Forcing. Subsequent bids are natural, seeking a trump fit, typically with "systems on" (Stayman and transfers in effect) if opener rebids 2NT showing a balanced hand.
- 2 = 7-9 HCP; Alertable and Slam Inviting. Subsequent bids are natural, seeking a trump fit, typically with "systems on" (Stayman and transfers in effect) if opener rebids 2NT showing a balanced hand. Opener must have extra values (at least 25 HCP) or a good trump fit to go to slam.
- 2NT = 10 or more HCP; Alertable and Slam Forcing. Subsequent bids are natural, seeking a trump fit, typically with "systems on" (Stayman and transfers in effect) if opener rebids 3NT showing a balanced hand.
- Over interference, a DOUBLE (alertable) by responder shows a stolen bid (that is, takes on the same meaning as the interfering bid) and a PASS shows any inferior response. This treatment results in loss of granularity only if the interfering bid is 2 or higher.
If requested, the explanation of an alert should describe the meaning of the bid completely; for example:
- "My partner's response of 2 shows 4-6 HCP. It says nothing whatsoever about distribution, and in particular neither shows nor denies hearts."
or
- "My partner's double of 2 shows 7-9 HCP. It says nothing whatsoever about distribution, and in particular neither shows nor denies spades."
This convention for response has two significant advantages and two relatively minor disadvantages over other responses. The first advantage is that the 2 "Drop dead!" response alerts the opening bidder to partner's weakness immediately, while there's plenty of room to find a safe landing spot, when partner's hand is too weak to go on to game—which happens quite often in actual play. The second major advantage is that it immediately tells the opening bidder the combined high card strength of the two hands to within one HCP, and thus the most probable optimal level to which to bid (with the caveat that one sometimes can go a level higher with a good trump fit). The first drawback is that the weaker hand occasionally will end up declaring a contract with a trump fit in the major suit of the response. (Note that a transfer following opener's rebid of 2NT over a response of either 2 or 2 may be to the suit of the response. Such transfers cannot achieve the objective of making the strong hand the declarer, but they still help to find such a trump fit.) The second drawback is that it uses up some bidding space if the responder has an unusually strong hand. Nonetheless, opener's minimum of 22 HCP leaves a maximum of 18 HCP distributed among the other three hands. It's quite rare for responder to hold more than half of them. Indeed, this convention has gained popularity both for its simplicity (comparable to standard Blackwood) and for the infrequent occurrence and relatively minor consequences of its drawbacks.
The origin of this convention is uncertain. Some players have attributed it to Oswald Jacoby
Oswald Jacoby
Oswald Jacoby was an American contract bridge player and author, considered one of the greatest bridge players of all time. He also excelled at, and wrote about, other games including backgammon, gin rummy, and poker.Born in Brooklyn, he was taught to play whist at the age of six and played his...
, of Jacoby Transfer
Jacoby transfer
The Jacoby transfer, or simply "transfers", in the card game contract bridge, is a convention initiated by responder following partner's notrump opening bid that requests opener rebid in the suit ranked just above that bid by responder, i.e...
and Jacoby 2NT
Jacoby 2NT
Named for its inventor, Oswald Jacoby, Jacoby 2NT is a bridge convention in which a bid of 2NT over partner's opening bid of 1 or 1 shows a hand with both* opening strength and...
fame, while others refer to it as "Castlebury" (or "Castleberry"?), but the present author is not aware of any source that would verify either attribution.
Control-showing responses
Some players prefer to show their controls (high cards) rather than suits in the response to 2 opening bid. This has an advantage in cases when the opener has a strong one- or two-suiter (i.e. has an interest in cover cards rather than finding the suit fit), but can take up bidding space and miss a suit fit when the opener is balanced or semi-balanced.- In standard "controls," an aceAceAn ace is a playing card. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the case of the Ace of Spades...
counts as two controls and a kingKing (playing card)The king is a playing card with a picture of a king on it. The usual rank of a king is as if it were a 13; that is, above the queen. In some games, the king is the highest-ranked card; in others, the ace is higher...
counts as one control. The theoretical advantage of this system is that aces and kings may be more significant for finding a potential slam than other honor cards, but it also may miss a slam opportunity if the responder has a lot of inferior honor cards. There are several variations in the manner of showing the number of controls, all of which are alertable. The following examples of responses are representative but by no means all-inclusive.- 2 shows 0 or 1 control (at most 1 king),
- 2 shows 2 controls (1 ace or 2 kings),
- 2 shows 3 controls (specifically 1 ace and 1 king),
- 2NT shows 3 controls (specifically 3 kings), and
- 3 shows 4 controls,
- 3 or higher, etc. on up the line.
- With ace-showing responses, the responder bids the suit of the Ace, 2NT with two or more kings, and 2 with a king or less. With (unlikely) 2 aces, the responder bids 3. As a corollary, subsequent BlackwoodBlackwood conventionIn the partnership card game contract bridge, the Blackwood convention is a popular bidding convention that was developed by Easley Blackwood. It is used to explore the partnership's possession of aces, kings and in some variants, the queen of trumps, to judge more precisely whether slam is likely...
by the opener asks for kings rather than aces.
Either-or treatment
Some players play that 2 can also contain a weak variant, for example the 2 weak two bidWeak two bid
The Weak two bid is a common treatment used in the game of contract bridge, where a jump bid of two of a suit signifies a weak hand with a long suit. It is a form of preemptive bid...
. In this scheme, 2 by responder is a waiting bid, asking the opener to describe his hand further if he is strong. If the opening hand has a weak two bid in diamonds, he should pass. However, if the responder has a strong hand, typically 15 high card points or more, he responds with 2NT. This treatment is often subject to restrictions in tournament play, as it has a destructive potential—see Bridge convention#Regulations.
Advantages
One major advantage of the artificial opening bid of 2 for all types of strong hands is that other opening bids at the two-level (2, 2 and 2) become available for weak two bidWeak two bid
The Weak two bid is a common treatment used in the game of contract bridge, where a jump bid of two of a suit signifies a weak hand with a long suit. It is a form of preemptive bid...
s, thus eliminating many possible bids for the opponents. These weak two hands appear 20 times as often as the very strong hands, which illustrates the inefficiency of reserving all opening bids at the two-level for very strong hands.
An alternative is to use strong two bid
Strong two bid
In contract bridge, a strong two-bid is an opening bid of two in a suit. i.e. 2, 2, 2 or 2 . It is a natural bid, used to show a hand that is too strong to open at the one level – more than about 21 points...
s for hands which are strong but not game forcing, which reduces the range of one-level openings and helps bidding accuracy. However, since weak twos are so useful, there are methods which allow weak twos in hearts and spades and use 2 to show a different range of strong hands; these are Benjaminised (Benji) Acol
Acol
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is named after the Acol Bridge Club, previously located on Acol Road in London NW6, where the system started to evolve...
, Reverse Benji and the Multicoloured Two Diamonds
Multi 2 diamonds
Multi or Multi 2 diamonds is contract bridge convention whereby the opening bid of 2 shows multiple types of hands, which always includes a weak two bid in either major suit, while the additional meaning may be a strong balanced hand , or a 20-22 three suiter...
.
Another advantage is the relative precision with which strong balanced hands can be bid. An opening bid of 2 NT indicates a balanced hand with 20-21 HCP in Standard American
Standard American
Standard American is a common bidding system for the game of bridge in the United States, also widely used in the rest of the world. This system, or a slight variant, is learned first by most beginners in the U.S. and may be referred to as 'Goren'; a dominant version used in on-line computer...
or 20-22 HCP in standard Acol
Acol
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is named after the Acol Bridge Club, previously located on Acol Road in London NW6, where the system started to evolve...
, and for even stronger balanced hands, the opening bid of 2 can be used. The opener's rebid (in these cases always in No Trump) then indicates the strength of the hand using steps of 2-3 HCP. Hence 2 - 2 - 2NT shows 22-24 HCP's in Standard American
Standard American
Standard American is a common bidding system for the game of bridge in the United States, also widely used in the rest of the world. This system, or a slight variant, is learned first by most beginners in the U.S. and may be referred to as 'Goren'; a dominant version used in on-line computer...
or 23-24 HCP in Acol
Acol
Acol is the bridge bidding system that, according to The Official Encyclopedia of Bridge, is "standard in British tournament play and widely used in other parts of the world". It is named after the Acol Bridge Club, previously located on Acol Road in London NW6, where the system started to evolve...
, while a 3NT rebid can show 25+ HCP's.
Disadvantages
If the opening bid of 2 is exclusively used for strong hands, the auction becomes more susceptive to disruptive (jump) overcalls (especially when the opposing partnership is not vulnerable) than the "old" treatment of strong two bids. However, that danger is smaller when compared to strong 1 system in strong club systemStrong club system
The Strong Club System is a set of bidding conventions in the game of contract bridge. It is classified as an artificial type of bidding system since the bids are highly codified.-Explanation:...
s, because 2 bid is made with bigger high-card strength and on a higher level. On the other hand, the strong 2 opening reduces the bidding space for the pair themselves compared with strong 1—sometimes, the pair can be unable to find a fit on a relatively low level (below 3NT), and/or reduce the space for effective slam investigation with cue bid
Cue bid
In contract bridge, a cue bid is a term that applies to two types of bid:*A bid of a suit that has already been bid by opponents.*A slam-investigating bid made during an auction's later rounds that shows control of a suit...
ding.
Other treatments
In most strong club systemStrong club system
The Strong Club System is a set of bidding conventions in the game of contract bridge. It is classified as an artificial type of bidding system since the bids are highly codified.-Explanation:...
s, the opening bid of 2 is natural and promises a hand with long clubs (for example, in both Precision
Precision club
Precision Club is a bidding system in the game of contract bridge. It is a type of strong club system that was invented by C. C. Wei and used to good effect by Taiwan teams in the early 1970s...
and Blue club
Blue Club
Blue Club is a bridge bidding system, developed mainly by Benito Garozzo. It was used by the famous Blue Team and became very popular in the 1960s and has been in decline since.The main features are:...
, it shows 11-15 high card points and either a 6-card club suit or at least a 5-card club suit and a 4-card major suit
Major suit
In the card game contract bridge, the major suits are spades and hearts . The major suits are of prime importance for tactics and scoring as they outrank the minor suits while bidding and also outscore them...
). As such, it makes overcalls more difficult, since they have to be made at the two-level. Chances are therefore increased that the side of the opener has an undisturbed auction, and the opponents won't discover a fit in a major suit. However, as a corollary, their strong 1 opening bid is more susceptible to preempt
Preempt
Preempt is a bid in contract bridge whose primary objectives are to thwart opponents ability to bid to their best contract, with some safety, and to fully describe one's hand to one's partner in a single bid. A preemptive bid is usually made by jumping, i.e. skipping one or more bidding levels...
ing by opponents.
Another variant advocates two strong forcing openings, 2 for strong hands with fewer than four spades and 2 for strong hands with four or more spades.