Saturday, February 12, 2005 8:42 PM

Hand Evaluation – ♥/♣  Two Suiters

 

PITBULLS:

 

            We have club relays to help us distinguish good two suiters & good 6-4’s from bad ones. After we open a major & a forcing 1NT response, we follow the Lebensohl principle so if we relay we have the “bow – wow”. A direct bid shows the good 6-4 or 5-5 so is game forcing somewhere. This is , of course , after a forcing 1NT to our major.

 

            There is a fly in the ointment with clubs as the 2nd suit , however. No problem with spades & clubs as you should open 1♣ initially with a weak 5-5 in the blacks. Now  opening 1♠ ,  bidding & rebidding clubs after  a 2NT invite you show the strong two suiter .  With clubs & hearts you must reverse the Lebensohl principle as you do not have a relay to assist in the auction . A direct bid with clubs is weak after 2NT so use diamonds as a relay conveying a message. You hold  ♠x ♥AKxxx ♦xx ♣AKJxx   , open 1♥ & partner bids 1NT . You rebid 2♣ , partner bids 2NT . Now what ? 3♣ should be a weak two suiter. If you now bid 3♦ it’s a signal ( not a relay )  to partner that you have a strong club – heart two suiter.

 

1♥-P-1NT-P 

2♣-P-2NT-P 

3♦          shows a strong two suiter with clubs , not “patterning out”. ♠x ♥AQxxx ♦xx ♣A10xxx you would rebid your clubs over 2NT as the weak 5-5. Alternatively we could have the understanding that we bid our stiff in these sequences to show the strong 5-5 in hearts & clubs . That shows our pattern ( stiff spade or diamond )  & HCP’s precisely. Comments ?

 

            What about passed hand auctions ? With a passed hand ,  I think relays after a 1NT & 2NT invitational bid should not exist. If you have a decent two suiter or 6-4 , Standard American bidding should apply ( just bid game somewhere ) . The bid after 2NT should be “improving” the partial & non forcing as you are a light 3rd seat opener so want to escape 2NT. The frequency of weak two suiters is the norm in 3rd seat & may be really substandard. This seat position does not justify a relay , in my opinion anyway. I have an understanding that most systems are “off” as a passed hand. Lets add this one to the list.