D8 STRONG OPENING BIDS

INTRODUCTION

Acol is a '2§' system. This means that the strongest opening bid in the ACOL system is 2§ . Other systems, e.g. Precision Club or Blue Club, use 1§ as the strong bid.

There are three powerful opening bids in Acol; 2NT, 2§ and the 'strong 2' (2¨, 2©, 2ª)

OPENING BID OF 2NT

This hand shows a balanced hand of between 20 and 22 points.

In common with all no trump bids, 2NT is not forcing and responder may pass with no prospects of game, i.e. less than 5 points All other actions must lead to game. With a positive hand, 5 points or more, there are four common actions by responder;

a) With a balanced hand, support NT to the appropriate level, i.e.

3NT with no prospects of a slam, less than 32 combined points

4NT inviting a slam, 32 combined points (not Blackwood, no suit agreed)

6 NT with 33 combined points

7 NT with 36 plus combined points (you should be so lucky!)

b) With a 6 card suit, bid a direct game or slam, point ranges approximately as above. These are limit bids and the opener must pass.

c) With a 5 card © or ª suit (occasionally ¨), bid the suit at the three level. The opening bidder supports with 3 cards or bids 3NT with only 2 card support.

d) With a 4 card © or ª suit bid a Stayman 3§ to find a 4/4 major suit fit. Opener bids his 4 card major or 3¨ to show no major suit. Responder then normally bids the final contract.

THE STRONG TWO (2¨, 2©, 2ª)

This hand shows 8 playing tricks or more and a powerful 6 card suit. The bid is forcing for one round.. The strong 2 says practically nothing about points although it requires at least 1 trick outside the powerful trump suit.

A playing trick is a near certain trick assuming no help from partner. A K Q = 3 tricks, K Q J = 2 tricks, K x is 1/2 a trick, K Q J 10 8 6 5 = 6 tricks (reasonable suit distribution may be assumed)

Opening 2 ¨ 2© or 2ª shows a very good suit containing one loser at most, e.g A K J 10 x x. or A Q J 10 x x . Responder can support, therefore, on as little as a small doubleton. Suits such as K J 9 x x x are just not good enough. With such hands, you have to risk a opening bid of 1 or, if the suit is only 5 cards, you may be able to consider it for balanced hand treatment.

With less than 8 points, responder must bid 2NT, an artificial negative bid which says nothing about distribution. Responder may pass opener's rebid of the original suit but a change of suit by opener is forcing.

With 8 points or more, responder bids his suit or supports partner with 3 or more trumps. The auction is now game forced. Supporting partner to the 3 level immediately, e.g. 2 ª P 3ª conventionally shows any ace or void.

The strong 2 bid is a limit bid. It is responder's responsibility to decide the level of the final contract remembering that partner shows 8 tricks with a six card suit in his hand alone.

TWO CLUBS

This bid shows a hand of 23 or more points or a hand stuffed with high cards where game is guaranteed even opposite nothing from partner. The bid is artificial and says nothing about clubs

Responder bids 2 ¨ with less than 8 points, again an artificial bid saying nothing about diamond length,

Responder bids his suit or no trumps with 8 points or more.

a) Balanced 2 § Openers

Rebid 2NT with 23 to 24 points. Responder then bids as if the opener had opened 2NT with a couple of extra points in the bag

Rebid 3NT with 25 to 26 points. Responder will normally bid the final contract.

Balanced hands of more than 26 points don't come up that often! Open 2 § and rebid your best suit and see whether partner shows any signs of life for a possible slam.

b) Unbalanced 2 § Openers

Rebid your suit(s) to find the best spot. Take it slowly, no rush because;

IMPORTANT RULE. OPENING 2 CLUBS FORCES THE AUCTION TO GAME . HOWEVER HORRIBLE RESPONDER'S HAND APPEARS TO BE, DO NOT LET THE BIDDING DIE SHORT OF GAME. THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR GAME VALUES LIES WITH OPENER.

There is one exception to this rule when the auction is 2 § 2¨ 2NT (showing 23-24 points, balanced) and responder has less than 2 points.

The Second Negative

A 2 ¨ response to 2§ shows less than 8 points. If opener rebids 2© or 2ª then;

A bid of 2NT by responder is a 'second negative' and shows absolutely nothing.

A new suit bid shows a few bits and pieces by responder, around 4 to 7 high card points

Tip ; In my experience, people with strong hands opening a 2 bid tend to then overbid in the subsequent auction. This is often compensated by responder then underbidding what seems to be a very poor hand!

Opener should understand that by opening a 2 bid he has already shown partner an excellent hand. Subsequent jumping and leaping is normally unnecessary and uses vital bidding space.

Responder on the other hand should attempt to visualise the power opposite and a few limited assets may provide just what partner needs for game or slam.