When you learned bridge you were probably taught that an opening bid of
2
,
2
or
2
shows a strong hand.
The English Bridge Union still teaches beginners that way,
although the American Contract Bridge League has modernised and teaches weak two opening bids.
If you are still playing what you were first taught,
how often does a strong two opening bid occur? Do you get one more than once a month?
You must play a lot of bridge if that's the case.
The fact is that strong twos occur very rarely and, when they do,
they can either be opened with a forcing 2
(if at the top end)
or with a non-forcing one-level opening (if at the bottom end).
Admittedly, you run a small risk of overbidding to an impossible game (in the first case)
or being left in a one-level contract and missing a game (in the second case).
But in truth that might happen to you once every few years, at most.
It is a waste of three useful opening bids to allocate
2,
2 and
2
to bids that crop up rarely and can, in any case,
be handled pretty well without requiring special "strong two" bids.
Most top players use these three bids
(well, 2 and 2, at least)
for the "weak two" hands that occur much more frequently.
A weak two not only pre-empts the opposition but, in those cases where it is partner who has the best hand at the table, provides partner with a very good description of your hand. Partner is well-placed to decide the level and the denomination to play in.
Unless you have some other use for an opening 2,
in which case you will already have sorted your system out and won't need my advice,
I recommend that you open weak twos in three suits:
2,
2 and
2.
While 2 is not a huge pre-empt,
it is still a useful and worthwhile effort.
It takes bidding space from the opposition and describes your hand to your partner very succinctly.
I recommend a "sound style" of weak twos in first and second seat. Your weak two should be constructive, showing shape and values, so that your partner won't be pre-empted if it is he who holds the strong hand.
You must have at least one of the top three honours in your suit. A minimum suit strength is "Q J x x x x". If your partner can rely on you for at least that, it greatly simplifies his task in both the auction and (if your side ends up defending) the play. For example, partner can safely lead from K x(x) or Q J(x) if he can trust you to have at least one of the top three honours.
Your overall strength should be 5-9 hcp, although a poor 10 hcp is also suitable. Any stronger and you should open with a one bid. You can be a little weaker when non-vulnerable, provided that your suit is good.
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Open 2:
This is a minimum weak two opening bid
but this hand should be opened with 2 at any vulnerability.
Your suit has enough body to it to make it unlikely that the opponents will be able to double you.
2 is a powerful pre-empt:
it forces the opponents to come in at the three level if they want to compete.
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Open 2:
This is a maximum weak two opening bid,
but it is too weak to open with 1.
There is no such thing as a hand that is too strong for a weak two opening bid
but not strong enough for a one level opening bid.
You should open the bidding with this hand,
and 2 is the sensible choice.
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Things change considerably when you are sitting in third seat with a weak hand and no-one has opened the bidding. Your LHO is surely the strongest hand at the table. In third seat your weak two promises little. You may, of course, have a genuine weak two or even a bit more (see Fourth Seat below). But you may have six (or seven) to the Knave and little outside, or even just five to the A K Q.
Let your opponents guess about what you're holding.
Dare them to double you and find you with a good hand.
Or let them bid and maybe find themselves in, say, 3
when everyone else is making 3NT.
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Open 2:
You shouldn't open this rubbish in first or second position,
because it may be your partner who has the strongest hand at the table.
Once he has passed, however, that possibility doesn't exist.
You sole concern is to make life tough for the opponents.
Lots of good things can happen:
your LHO may have a long and strong club suit and bid 3,
possibly missing a higher-scoring spade contract;
or he may have been about to open 2NT and now can't.
You can be sure that he won't be happy about your 2 bid.
What's bad for the opponent is good for you.
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You will never open a weak hand in fourth seat. There is no point in bidding for a contract you don't expect to make. Why go minus when you could have passed the hand out for zero?
A fourth seat weak two is hardly a weak two at all. You are just bidding what you expect to make. You will always have a good 6-card or longer suit and probably about 10-14 hcp. Partner will not usually bid, except to raise you with a good fit.
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Open 2:
You would love to buy the contract in 2
with this hand once partner has passed.
You can hardly have a game available unless partner has spade support,
and when he does you will hear about it.
What you don't want is for the opponents to outbid you in hearts or clubs.
Your best chance of achieving that objective
is to open with 2.
You would make the same decision in third position.
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Do not open a weak two in first or second position if you have any of the following features:
Remember that your weak two in first or second position is intended to help partner judge the bidding as much as to impede the opponents. That is why it is better not to open off-shape before partner has passed.
In third and fourth position anything goes as far as shape is concerned.
If your partner opens a weak two and you have three or more cards in support, you should continue his pre-empt to the level of your total trumps. If you have four-card support, your side has 10 trumps so, under the "Law of Total Tricks", bid to the four-level.
With poor support for partner's suit, you will usually pass. Leave the opponents wondering what to do.
If you have a much better suit of your own, i.e. a strong 7-card suit or better, you may bid your suit if you think that it will give you a better score. A new suit bid shows a strong suit but is not forcing. Opener will pass, or will raise your suit with support.
If your partner has opened a weak two and you have the best hand at the table you are still very well placed. Unlike when you are pre-empted by your partner at the three- or four-level, where you will be reduced to guesswork, there is still plenty of room to discover your best contract.
If you have a good suit of your own, and no support for opener's suit, you can bid your suit. In the UK this is usually played as highly encouraging but non-forcing: opener should only pass if he has a minimum hand and less than two cards in responder's suit.
Otherwise, if you have game-invitational values or better, you can enquire about opener's hand by bidding an artificial and forcing 2NT. This is best played as the Ogust Convention, described next. But if you have not agreed to play the Ogust Convention then opener rebids his suit with a minimum hand but makes a natural bid (a side Ace or King, 3NT with a solid suit or a one-loser suit).
This is also known as "the Blue Club asking bid", but is better known as Ogust, named after Harold Ogust who invented or popularised it in the 1950s as Weak Two Opening Bids were becoming popular in America.
A bid of 2NT by the partner of a player who has opened with a weak two asks the opener to describe his hand. Opener's responses are:
A strong hand is 8+ hcp. A strong suit is one with two of the top three honours.
Memory Guide: Strength range comes before suit quality (alphabetical order). Equivalently: Points before Quality (P before Q).
After hearing opener's reply, the partner can easily place the final contract.
Agree the following with your partner:
That describes the system given here.
Fortunately the Ogust convention is widely played and always in the same way, so there is no need even to discuss the details provided your partner knows the convention already.
It is quite easy for a casual partnership to play weak twos using this method
without running any risk of a misunderstanding.
That is not the case, for instance, with the Multi 2 opening,
which has a number of hidden complexities and different treatments.
Author: Chris Burton
Gravesend Bridge Club