Thursday, August 29, 2002 11:40 PM
Two Suiters
PITBULLS:
Two suiters with equal length are not a problem in Bridge
bidding. You open the higher ranking and jump in the lower ranking if you have
the required HCP strength. The problems arise with two suiters when the longer
of the two suits is lower ranking.
You can not reverse as you are not strong enough. Diamonds & spades or
clubs and spades are not
a true reverse in that you do not have to go to a higher level to give preference. These
hands are a problem also. Tom Gandolfo advises to treat these hands as “jump
shift reverses” also. This is not a bad idea although Karen does not include
these hand types in her article. We will call this the “Gandolfo extention” to
Karens article. With the understanding that the minors and the spade suit are
handled this way , a new understanding emerges. 1♦-P-1♥-P 2♠ or 1♣-P-1♦/♥-P 2♠ always show 4
spades. This is handy so go all the way to the 4 level with stronger 6-5’s with the
minors and the spade suit. With the 10-14 range spades & clubs , spades
& diamond hands keep the bidding at the one level with 6-5’s and 10-14 HCP . Why
force the auction up to the 4 level when you do not have to by bidding 3 with
these hands? This reserves
splinters at the 3 level with spades after partner responds a heart. This is
also handy . Makes sense to me !
BJ
still wants to retain some semblance of splinters with this 6-5 treatment. The spades being the
boss suit means we still have the spade splinter available at the 3 level. With
6-5’s with the spade suit we can keep the bidding at the one level. The
problem arises with the other suits after partner responds a major to a minor
opener. Previously a jump shift reverse
was a splinter. BJ suggests jumping to 4♣ to show an unspecified splinter ( can
not be spades though) . 1♦-P-1♠-P 4♣ 1♣-P-1♠-P 4♣ With a spade response , 4♦ asks what the splinter is and step responses show
the splinter. We only need two steps as the opening minor can never be a
splinter of course. So after a diamond opener the steps are 4♥ shows the club stiff and 4♠ ( trump suit ) shows the heart splinter. After a heart response you do
not even need the bid. The 4♣ jump
must be a
club stiff after a 1♦ opening
and a jump to 4♦ a diamond stiff after a club opener !
I
read an article on the net that says jump reverses should not be splinters and
reserved for non forcing 6-5’s .
Pitbull Susan has always commented on whether you should reverse with
these kind of hands . This solves the problem by making them non forcing jumps !! . Here is Karen’s article ..
This convention solves the opening bidder's problem of how to accurately describe a minimum 6-5 hand that has greater length in the lower-ranking suit. For example, if you're opener with ♠4 ♥KQJ93 ♦AJ10765 ♣4 you have a dilemma. If you open 1♥, the best you can do is show 5-5 distribution by rebidding diamonds twice. If you instead open 1♦, you can show your 6-5 pattern by rebidding 2♥ and 3♥, but that creates a reverse auction that shows significantly more high-card strength.
The solution is to use the jump in the higher-ranking suit as natural, limited and non-forcing. With the hand above, you open 1♦. Over partner's 1-level suit or notrump response, you rebid 3♥ to show a 6-5 hand with minimum high-card strength.
The requirements for using a jump-reverse
are:
1-You're the
opening bidder and have 6-5 distribution, with 6 cards in the lower-ranking
suit.
2-You have the
playing strength (but not the high-card values) to play at the 3-level opposite
a minimum response. This means your suits should be strong -- ideally, most (or
all) of your honor cards will be in your long suits. For example, a
jump-reverse is not recommended with a hand like ♠K ♥A ♦J6542 ♣KJ10643. With this, just open 1♣ and rebid 2♣.
3-You have
minimum high-card values (10-15 pts.) -- a hand that's worth an opening bid,
but has less than full reversing values (16-17 pts.).
4-Responder makes a 1-level bid that bypasses your
5-card suit -- i.e. you must go to the 2-level to bid your second suit. (You
may also use the jump-reverse if an opponent's overcall has forced you to the
2-level, whether or not partner has responded.)
Typical jump-reverse auctions that carry
this meaning include:
1♣-P-1♥-P
1♥-P-1NT-P
1♦-P-1♠-P
1♣-(1♥)-1♠-(P)
1♣-(P)-P-(1♠)
3♦ 3♠ 3♥ 3♦ 3♥
Note that you do not use the jump if partner's response leaves you room to show your second suit at the 1-level. If you open 1♦ with ♠AK874 ♥Void ♦QJ10863 ♣K4 and partner responds 1♥, a jump to 2♠ should be a strong jump shift (19+ pts.). With the hand above, you can show your pattern and minimum values by simply rebidding 1♠ and then 2♠.
Note also that you do not promise 6-5 distribution if you jump after partner has made a negative double. After the auction 1♣ by you -- (1♠ overcall) -- Double by partner, your jump to 3♦ or 3♥ would be a simple value bid, promising at least 4-card support and invitational strength.
Most pairs who play this convention choose not to apply it if partner makes a 2/1 response, especially in a 2/1 forcing-to-game system. After 1♦ by you – 2♣ by partner, it's best to rebid only 2♥ with ♠A ♥QJ976 ♦A109864 ♣4. This saves space and allows you to use a jump to 3♥ here as a splinter (good club support, singleton heart, big hand).
Opener's jump-reverse is not forcing. Responder can pass or take a signoff preference back to opener's first suit if he has no interest in game. In general, it's assumed that opener has given a complete description of his hand, so it's up to responder to place the contract.
Responder should evaluate his holdings in opener's suits and stretch to bid game if he has fitting cards. Based on the Losing Trick Count, opener will usually have a hand with 4 (possibly 5) losers. Responder should bid a major-suit game if he has a fit and can cover 1.5-2 of opener's losers. He should bid a minor-suit game if he has a fit and can cover 2.5-3 of opener's losers.
After
the auction Opener
Responder
1♣
1♠
3♥
?
the meanings of responder's rebids are:
1-Pass = a
weak, possibly non-fitting hand that prefers opener's second suit -- ♠KQ1032 ♥763 ♦KJ8 ♣54. Partner
will most often be 1-1 in the outside suits, so you can't count your kings as
covering any of his losers.
2-Preference to
opener's first suit (4♣)
= a weak, possibly non-fitting hand that prefers opener's 6-card suit. This is
a signoff, and opener should pass.
3-Game bid in either
of opener's suits (4♥
or 5♣) = to play. Opener
should always pass. In the auction above, if you hold ♠A9854 ♥1043 ♦432 ♣K9 , you
have at least two of partner's losers covered (a club and a spade, plus a
possible club ruff), so you should bid 4♥. Similarly, with ♠A9854
♥10 ♦9432 ♣K97 , you have at least 3 losers covered (a
spade, a club and 1-2 heart ruffs), so bid 5♣.
4-Rebid of your suit
(3♠ or 4♠) = to play,
showing great length in your suit and probably no fit for opener's suits.
5-3NT =
to play.
6-4NT =
key-card Blackwood for opener's second suit.
7-Fourth suit (4♦) =
a slam-try in opener's first
suit. Opener should cuebid a below-game first-round control (4♥ or 4♠) if he has one, or he can use
key-card Blackwood if he wants to immediately accept the slam try. Any
subsequent Blackwood bid by opener or responder is key-card for opener's first
suit.
Alternatively, if opener has a first-round control in
the fourth suit and
a cuebid of that suit would be past game (as 5♦ would be in the auction above), you can agree
to use opener's 4NT rebid as a cuebid of the fourth suit. After 1♣-1♠-3♥-4♦, opener's 4NT would show an ace or void in
diamonds, but no first-round control of hearts or spades.
Yet another variation is to use responder's
fourth-suit bid as key-card Blackwood for opener's second suit. Partnerships
should discuss these auctions and decide which treatment they prefer.
8-Below-game
raise of opener's second suit (1♣-1♠-3♦-4♦) =
invitational to game, showing a fit and a hand that can cover 2 losers.
This convention can be a very valuable addition to almost any Standard American-based system. It's especially effective in finding short-point games and slams, and can have preemptive value. Using the jump-reverse as non-forcing does not require you to give up any other meanings, as the jump is an otherwise idle bid. If opener has a very strong high-card hand, there's no need to jump -- he can still show his 6-5 distribution by making a forcing 2-level reverse and then rebidding his second suit.
The main disadvantage is that although the jump rebid gives a close-to-perfect description of opener's hand, it takes the auction very high, very fast. If responder has a weak, non-fitting hand with shortness in opener's second suit, the auction will be propelled to the 4-level when he's forced to take a preference back to the first suit. To make best use of this convention (and avoid disasters), opener and responder must have advanced hand-evaluation skills and exercise good judgment.
Copyright
© 1998 -- Karen Walker