CHAPTER 10

Strong Two Opening Bids

At the top level, women do not play as well as men, although at a social level, they are thought to be the better players.

From time to time, you pick up your cards and see a hand that is so strong you would be very disappointed if your partner passed your opening bid and left you in the partscore zone. Remember, you never want to put your partner in the position of being able to disappoint you so, if you want your partner to respond to your bid, you have to make a forcing bid.

Opening the bidding at the two level

If you feel that your hand is so powerful that you do not want your partner to pass, even if he has 0–5 points, you can start the bidding at the two level, rather than at the one level. The Acol system uses a variety of strong opening bids at the two level:

•  An opening bid of 2 is an artificial opening bid, showing either a very powerful balanced or unbalanced hand of 23 or more HCPs. It does not show a club suit! The opener will describe the type of hand when he makes his rebid. If the opener’s rebid shows a balanced hand, the responder does not have to bid again if he is happy with the contract. On the other hand, if the opener shows an unbalanced hand, the responder must keep bidding until the partnership is in the game zone. In this case, the opening 2 bid is said to be forcing to game.

•  An opening bid of 2, 2 or 2 is called an Acol Two Bid and shows a slightly less powerful hand than an opening bid of 2. However, responder must bid at least once. An Acol Two Bid is said to be forcing for one round (of bidding)

•  An opening bid of 2NT shows a balanced hand of 20–22 HCPs. It is an invitational bid only and the responder can pass if he has a balanced hand of about 0–3 points

Let’s take a closer look at each of these opening bids.

Opening 2 bid

An opening bid of 2 is a strong, artificial, forcing bid. It is strong because it shows a hand containing 23 or more points, or the equivalent in trick-taking power. It is artificial because it says nothing about the club suit – in fact, it could even be a hand containing no clubs at all! It is forcing because the responder cannot pass. Here are some examples:

If you were to open at the one level with the first hand, you would be very disappointed if the responder passed, even if he had no points at all. You have enough strength to make a game contract all by yourself. On the other hand, you don’t want to open the bidding 4, for example, since that does not leave much room to explore other contracts or the possibility of a slam. Instead, you want to start with a forcing bid, which commits the partnership to a game, and then you can take your time describing the hand and finding the best denomination and zone. You open the bidding with an artificial 2. On your subsequent bids, you will describe the hand by bidding your heart suit and, probably, your diamond suit as well. Having opened 2, you have no fear that your partner will pass before you reach at least the game zone.

On the second hand, you have a strong balanced hand of 24 HCPs. This is too much to open the bidding 2NT, which would show only 20–22 HCPs (see later). Instead, you open the bidding with an artificial 2, planning to rebid no trumps after your partner’s response to describe his type of hand.

On the last hand, you have only 20 HCPs but you have a lot of trick-taking power. You should be able to take ten tricks – seven spade tricks, one heart trick and two diamond tricks – even if your partner has nothing but small cards. Open 2, since you want to end up at least at the game zone, and there may be a slam if your partner has some high cards. Notice that you do not need any clubs at all to open 2. You are not planning to play in clubs and your partner cannot pass your forcing bid. You will tell him about your spades when making your rebid.

Opening an Acol Two Bid

An opening bid of 2, 2 or 2 is forcing, but only for one round. It is used for unbalanced hands that are not quite strong enough to open 2 but with which you expect to be able to take at least eight tricks. The opening bid is natural, not artificial, since it shows the suit that you have. Unfortunately, since the opening bid of 2 is reserved as an artificial bid for the very strong hands, you can only open an Acol Two Bid in diamonds, hearts or spades. If your suit is clubs, you will have to choose between opening 1 and opening an artificial 2, planning to rebid 3 to show your suit.

The following hands are examples leading to an opening Acol Two Bid:

With the first hand, you expect to take at least six spade tricks to go with the A and A. With eight tricks all of your own, open the bidding 2. If your partner turns out to have a very weak hand, you can stop in the partscore zone since he is only forced to bid once.

The second hand is similar. You expect to take about six diamond tricks, even if the opponents have the K, as well as your two spade tricks. Open with an Acol 2 bid to let your partner know you do not need too much help to get to the game zone.

The last hand contains two strong five-card suits. While it is not quite as evident where your eight tricks might come from, powerful two-suited hands are usually opened with an Acol Two Bid. You intend to bid both your suits and it is quite likely that your partner will like at least one of them as a trump suit. With a choice of five-card suits, open the higher-ranking, 2, planning to rebid 3 after your partner’s response.

Opening 2NT

With a balanced hand of 20–22 points, you open the bidding 2NT to describe your hand. For example:

Since you have described the strength of your hand within a narrow range, the responder can pass your 2NT opening bid if he has a weak balanced hand of 0–3 points. The responder will know that there is not likely to be enough combined strength for the game zone.

Putting this bid together with all our earlier opening bids to describe balanced hands, you now know what to open with any balanced hand that you pick up, no matter how many points:

Opening balanced hands

12–14 points	Open 1NT
15–16 points	Open one of a suit, planning to rebid 1NT
17–19 points	Open one of a suit, planning to jump in no trumps
20–22 points	Open 2NT
23–24 points	Open 2, planning to rebid 2NT
25–27 points	Open 2, planning to rebid 3NT

Responding to opening two bids

Responding to 2

Since the opening bid of 2 is forcing, you are expected to bid again even if you have no points. You might wonder what to do with a hand like this:

What an unhappy collection. Surely you are not expected to bid with only 1 point? But just think what will happen if you pass. Your partner will be playing in a contract of 2 and he might have no clubs at all since 2 is an artificial bid. You have to respond in order to give your partner a chance to describe his hand. So, you want to have some way of saying to your partner, ‘I have a weak hand.’

As with the artificial 2 opening, an artificial response of 2 is used when you have a weak hand. This artificial, or conventional, bid has nothing to do with the diamond suit but, instead, gives your partner the message that you have 0–7 points. Now the opener has a chance to describe his hand. For example, the auction might start off this way:

North (Partner)	East	South (You)	West
2	Pass	2	Pass
2	Pass	?

What next? Remember, when the opener starts with 2 and then describes an unbalanced hand, the partnership must keep bidding until it is in the game zone. Since you have already given a weak, or negative, response, the opener is not expecting anything much from you, only to help him find the best contract in the game zone. If you really do not like your partner’s suit and do not have a good suit of your own to bid, as in the above hand, you can make a second negative, or discouraging, bid of 2NT. The opener will continue to describe his hand, looking for the best contract. For example, with you holding the previously mentioned hand, the complete auction might be:

North (Partner)	East	South (You)	West
2	Pass	2	Pass
2	Pass	2NT	Pass
3	Pass	4	Pass
Pass	Pass

When your partner shows that he has a heart suit, in addition to his spades, you have found a suitable fit. You cannot pass the 3 bid, since the auction is still forcing to the game zone, so you can raise to 4. The opener, knowing you may have no points at all, can now pass, having given up any aspirations of a slam contract.

If the responder has a hand with about 8 or more points, he can make a positive response over 2, rather than the negative response of 2. The responder can bid a good five-card suit of his own or bid 2NT with a balanced hand. Of course, if he wants to make a positive response with a diamond suit, the responder will have to jump to 3, since 2 shows a weak hand. Here are some examples of responding to an opening bid of 2:

On the first hand, you have 8 HCPs and a good five-card spade suit. You would make a positive response of 2. This tells your partner you do not have a weak hand, so there is the possibility of reaching a slam contract.

With a balanced hand and 9 HCPs in the second example, make a positive response of 2NT. This will describe your hand and pave the way to a possible slam contract once you have found the appropriate denomination. For example, if the opener rebids 3, describing an unbalanced hand with a long heart suit, you can raise to 4 and your partner will know if there is enough combined strength to move toward the slam zone.

You have only 7 HCPs on the last hand but can add 2 points for the six-card suit, giving you enough to make a positive response. Since your suit is diamonds, however, you have to respond 3, avoiding the artificial 2 response.

Responding to 2, 2 or 2

If your partner opens with an Acol Two Bid, you again have to respond, even with a very weak hand. There is no room left to use 2 as the negative response so a response of 2NT is used instead to show a weak hand of about 0–7 points. Any other bid is a positive response, showing about 8 or more points. The difference between an Acol Two Bid and the stronger opening bid of 2 is that the responder only has to bid once when the opener starts with 2, 2 or 2. If the responder shows a weak hand by responding 2NT, he can then pass the opener’s rebid of his first suit or of a second, lower-ranking suit. Here are some examples of responding to an opening bid of 2:

With only 2 HCPs, you would make the negative response of 2NT with the first hand. Remember, 2NT is an artificial response, it does not express any desire to play in that contract. Your partner is unlikely to want to play in no trumps since he is showing an unbalanced hand. If he rebids 3, for example, you can now pass, since the Acol Two Bid is not forcing to game. If he had a strong enough hand to want to be in a game when you have as little as this, he would have started with 2.

With the second hand, you have enough to make a positive response. Since your partner is showing an unbalanced hand with at least a five-card heart suit, you only need three-card support to raise. Respond 3. Once you give a positive response, the partnership must have enough combined strength for a contract in the game zone. You only raise to 3 to leave plenty of room on the bidding steps to explore the possibility of a slam contract now that you have found a suitable denomination.

With the third hand, you do not have support for the opener’s suit but you have enough strength to make a positive response by bidding a suit of your own, 2. Again, the positive response commits you to the game zone, but you will have to explore to find the best denomination.

Responding to 2NT

An opening bid of 2NT shows a balanced hand of 20–22 points. Since the upper limit is 22 points, the responder can pass with a balanced hand of about 0–3 points since there is not enough combined strength for game. Otherwise, the responder can raise to 3NT, with a balanced hand, bid 4 or 4 with a six-card or longer major suit, or bid 3 or 3 with a five-card major suit, asking the opener to choose between 3NT and game in the major suit. Suppose the opener bids 2NT, here are some examples of responding:

With only 2 HCPs on the first hand, pass and hope your partner can scramble home with eight tricks. With the six-card major suit on the next hand, you know there is a combined eight-card fit opposite the opener’s balanced hand. Jump right to 4. On the last hand, you can bid 3. This is similar to a response of 3 to an opening 1NT bid. It asks the opener to raise to 4 with three-card or longer support, otherwise bid 3NT.

The situation is similar if the auction starts this way:

North (Partner)	East	South (You)	West
2	Pass	2	Pass
2NT	Pass	?

Only, this time, your partner is showing a balanced hand with 23–24 points. Now you only need two or three points to want to be in the game zone.

Over Zia’s shoulder

Audrey:	Zia, opening strong two bids is an exciting topic. You must have some interesting auctions for us.
Zia:	It is important to recognise that, even when you open the bidding at the two level, you and your partner are still conducting a conversation to try to reach the best contract. You get quite excited when you pick up a big hand, with visions of a slam dancing through your head, but you must first hear what your partner has to say.
	I was certainly pleased to have been dealt the above hand. With 24 HCPs and a six-card suit, I had enough for the game zone all by myself and could smell the potential for an even bigger bonus if my partner had some high cards. But, first things first. Since I did not want my partner to pass before we reached the game zone, I started the bidding 2. My partner cooled my ardour somewhat by bidding 2, the negative response. I continued to describe my hand by bidding 2 and heard my partner bid 3. Holding the K, Q and J, the thought of a slam bonus briefly passed through my mind again but, remembering I had already promised a big hand and that my partner could have very little, I just showed my support by raising to 4. My partner passed and this was his hand:
	It was certainly fortunate that we did not get any higher since the opponents took the first three tricks. My partner made the rest of the tricks, however, and we got our game bonus. My partner bid the hand very well, first bidding 2 to tell me he had a weak hand and then showing his long heart suit with his rebid. We could not have made 4, since one of the opponents held four spades, so we reached the best contract.

Summary

With a very powerful hand, you have a choice of the following opening bids:

Opening the bidding at the two level

2	A very powerful balanced or unbalanced hand of 23 or more points which will be described on the rebid
2, 2 or 2	An Acol Two Bid showing a slightly less powerful hand than an opening bid of 2, worth about eight tricks
2NT	A balanced hand of 20–22 HCPs

An opening bid of 2 is forcing to the game zone unless the opener rebids 2NT, showing a balanced hand of 23–24 HCPs. The responder uses the following guidelines:

Responding to a 2 opening

0–7 points	Bid 2, the negative response
8 or more points	Bid a good five-card or longer suit (3 with diamonds), otherwise 2NT

An Acol Two Bid is forcing for one round only. If the responder has a weak hand, he can pass the opener’s rebid. The responder uses the following guidelines:

Responding to an Acol Two Bid

0–7 points	Bid 2NT, the negative response
8 or more points	Raise with three-card or longer support, otherwise, bid a new suit

Commonly asked questions

Q    What would I open with the following hand? It is not balanced and I do not have a five-card suit:

A    Strong hands with a 4–4–4–1 pattern are always difficult to bid. Some players prefer to open at the one level – with the middle-ranking of three four-card suits – hoping that their partner will have enough to respond and that they can show the strength of the hand with their rebid. With so many HCPs, however, most players prefer to open at the two level. If your singleton is a high card, as in the above hand, you can open 2NT, treating the hand as though it were balanced. If your singleton is a small card, you would probably pick one of your four-card suits and treat it as though it were a five-card suit. If your partner raises with three-card support, too bad!