Openers and Responses to One of a Minor

 

The open of a minor is one of the most abused undisciplined bids in all of bridge. So our first job will be to eliminate the open of STINKIN' MINORS. The ONLY times you should open with ONE OF A MINOR are:

 

  1. any three quicktrick hand which can not be opened a major or a notrump. WE TREAT ALL THREE QUICKTRICK HANDS AS IF THEY WERE WORTH 15 POINTS.

 

  1. any 15 HCP hand which can not be opened one of a major or one notrump

 

  1. any 13+ HCP hand and a SIX + CARD SUIT IN A MINOR

 

  1. any 13+ HCP hand and both majors exactly 4/4 in length

 

  1. any 11+ point hand with six cards in a minor and five cards in a major

 

If your hand does not fit into one of the above options, you CAN NOT OPEN A MINOR. Your plan here is to open the minor and then jump shift into the major on the second bid. YOUR REBID WILL TELL YOUR PARTNER WHICH OF THOSE FIVE HANDS YOU HOLD. YOU will no longer be SEARCHING FOR A REBID. You will know that your only job is to tell partner which of those five hands you have.

 

Example: 1 club by you....pass...1 heart by partner...pass...to you...

 

IN RARE CASES, AS IN THE LAST EXAMPLE, it will take you THREE BIDS TO PERFECTLY DESCRIBE YOUR HAND.

 

THERE ARE SOME conventional responses for partner to make over your minor suit open. Your partner’s FIRST OBLIGATION IF SHE HAS ENOUGH POINTS IS TO TELL YOU ABOUT ANY FOUR CARD OR LONGER MAJOR SHE HAS

AND WITH THIS OBLIGATION, SHE ALSO HAS THE OBLIGATION TO TELL YOU AS SOON AS SHE CAN IF TOGETHER YOU HAVE GAME POINTS!!!

IN MOST CASES, IT WILL TAKE PARTNER AT LEAST TWO BIDS TO MEET BOTH OF THOSE RESPONSIBILITIES, BUT THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS:

 

CONSTRUCTIVE BIDDING:

 

EXAMPLE: 1 CLUB...PASS...TWO CLUBS

The 2 Clubs response says: PARTNER, I do NOT have a 4 card major, but I do have 5+ clubs and game points.  The two clubs bid is forcing and alertable, and it asks partner to DESCRIBE HER OPEN. Opener will now just pick the bid that tells her partner which of the five hands she opened on.

 

EXAMPLE: 1 CLUB...PASS...THREE CLUBS

This bid is PREEMPTIVE. IT ALSO DENIES A MAJOR AND SHOWS FROM 0-7 POINTS AND AT LEAST SIX CLUBS. NOTICE IT OBSERVES THE LAW OF TOTAL TRICKS.

 

You show both of these first two conventions on your Convention Card by the words: "INVERTED RESPONSE TO MINOR SUIT OPEN" -- PUT THAT IN THE MINOR SUIT OPEN BLOCK -- INVERTED RESPONSES. The words “inverted responses” refers only to the two or three responses of the minor open.

 

EXAMPLE: 1 CLUB...pass...1 NOTRUMP BY YOU SHOWS NO FOUR CARD MAJOR AND FROM 5-9 HCPs.

 

EXAMPLE:  1 club ...pass...2 SPADES. ANY JUMP SHIFT LIKE THIS SHOWS SIX+ CARDS IN A SUIT HEADED BY NO MORE THAN 1 OF THE TOP THREE HONORS IN THAT SUIT, 0-7 HCPS AND A VOID OR SINGLETON IN PARTNERS OPENED MINOR. THIS IS A WEAK JUMP SHIFT.

 

On your card you will put under competitive bidding: "weak jump shifts." You must alert it as" preemptive."

 

RULE: When you open a minor suit in DISCIPLINED STANDARD AMERICAN..

IT IS A GOOD OPEN, AND YOU WILL ALWAYS REBID AFTER PARTNER’S RESPONSE OF ONE OF A MAJOR.

 

EXAMPLE: 1 club ...pass...four diamonds (or any double jump) is a splinter, and shows at least six cards in the minor opened and 10-15 HCPS and a void or singleton in suit bid.

Now, it is also possible to make a mini-splinter bid: 1 club by partner...pass...1 heart by you...pass...2 clubs by partner...pass...four diamonds by you. This four diamond bid is not a double jump, but the reason it is not, is that you can NEVER SPLINTER AT A LEVEL HIGHER THAN GAME, SO THE SINGLE JUMP NOW SHOWS THE SPLINTER. YOU ARE SHOWING FOUR CLUBS/ 10-15 HCPS AND A VOID OR SINGLETON IN DIAMONDS. Note that you could not make a normal splinter on the first round for two reasons: 1) you do not have 6 clubs, and 2) you were required to show the major suit in hearts.

 

On your Convention Card, put in the minor suit open block..."MINI SPLINTERS"

 

THAT IS ALL THE CONVENTIONAL RESPONSES TO ONE OF A MINOR, EXCEPT FOR ONE: 1 club...pass...TWO NOTRUMP. THIS BID SHOWS:

NO MAJORS BUT BOTH STOPPED...AND 10-11 POINTS. Please try not to use this bid, as it is better to lie and bid a second minor if you can, otherwise you might find yourself in 3 NT and going down.

 

All the bids left to partner of the minor suit opener involve showing a four card or longer major and these will always show from 4 or 5 points up to a zillion. They are used for your STRONG HANDS. Remember, the INVERTED TWO BID ALSO SHOWS 10 TO A ZILLION POINTS.

 

IF THE OPPONENTS ARE NICE ENOUGH TO INTERFERE, THEY MAKE THIS JOB OF PARTNERS MUCH EASIER SINCE SHE CAN NOW FULFILL BOTH RESPONSIBILITIES WITH ONLY ONE BID! THE MOMENT OPPONENT OPENS HER BIG MOUTH, you are NOW IN COMPETITIVE LANGUAGE WHICH IS SO MUCH EASIER TO SPEAK THAN CONSTRUCTIVE LANGUAGE.

 

TO UNDERSTAND THE COMPETITIVE BIDS YOU MUST REMEMBER THE RULE WE SET ABOUT OPENS: ANY TIME YOU OPEN, EVEN WHEN YOU OPEN LIGHT, you must in your REBID TREAT YOUR HAND AS A FULL OPENER.

 

SECOND RULE: YOU MUST ALWAYS GIVE YOUR PARTNER TWO CHANCES TO BID -- SHE ALWAYS GETS TO PASS TWICE! WHAT IT MEANS IF FIRST OPPONENT BIDS, AND YOUR PARTNER PASSES, AND IT WAS HER FIRST PASS, and SECOND OPPONENT ALSO PASSES, you are FORCED TO BID AGAIN. IF YOU DO NOT BID AGAIN, YOUR partner did NOT GET HER TWO CHANCES.

 

EXAMPLE:

1 CLUB BY YOU...1 HEART BY OPPONENT...PASS BY PARTNER...PASS BY SECOND OPPONENT. THE ONLY WAY PARTNER WILL GET HER TWO CHANCES IS IF YOU BID AGAIN. YOUR BID WILL DEPEND ON WHICH OF THOSE FIVE HANDS YOU OPENED ON:

 

 

IF SECOND OPPONENT BIDS, THE BIDDING HAS NOW BECOME AVAILABLE TO PARTNER. PARTNER WILL HAVE HER TWO CHANCES TO BID AND you DO NOT HAVE TO KEEP THE BIDDING OPEN SINCE SECOND OPPONENT HAS DONE IT FOR YOU.

 

IF YOU DO BID, IT IS NOT FORCED BUT A FREE BID (A BID YOU MAKE FREELY) AND THEREFORE IT HAS A TOTALLY DIFFEERNT MEANING!

 

EXAMPLES:

1 CLUB BY YOU...1 HEART BY FIRST OPPONENT PASS BY PARTNER...TWO HEARTS BY SECOND OPPONENT.

 

 

If opponent doubles the 1 Open of a Minor, and both partner and their partner, for some reason passes, you would still have to give another bid for partner unless you feel you can make your ONE CLUB DOUBLED KNOWING THAT THE SECOND OPPONENT HAS SIX CLUBS HEADED BY THE ACE OR KING.

 

EXAMPLE:

1 CLUB BY YOU...DOUBLE BY FIRST OPPONENT...PASS...PASS...TO YOU. IT IS OBVIOUS THAT SECOND OPPONENT HAS THIS CLUB HOLDING AGAINST YOU.

 

This business ABOUT GIVING HER TWO CHANCES TO BID MEANS she can pass several hands. She can show patience, and keep her mouth shut until she has a good reason to bid.

 

EXAMPLE:

 

For your convention card: negative and responsive doubles are shown in the DOUBLES BLOCK IN UPPER LEFT. THE DISCIPLINED TAKEOUT DOUBLES REQUIRE NO ALERT AND ARE NOT SHOWN ON THE CARD

.

THE negative double as we use it is a misnomer. We do not use the 'NEGATIVE " PART OF THE CONVENTION THAT IS USED BY MANY FOLKS TO DENY HAVING PARTNERS SUIT. INSTEAD, WHAT WE MEAN IS IF PARTNER OPENS A SUIT..

AND OPPONENT OVERCALLS WITH ANOTHER SUIT, WE DOUBLE TO SHOW 8-11 HCPs, AND WE AT THE SAME TIME ASK PARTNER FOR A SECOND UNBID SUIT OF AT LEAST FOUR CARDS IN LENGTH. WE CAN DO THAT IF WE HAVE BOTH OF THE UNBID SUITS, OR IF WE HAVE GOOD SUPPORT FOR PARTNERS FIRST BID SUIT.

 

MOYSIAN FIT: A Moysian Fit is EXACTLY A FOUR /THREE FIT IN A MAJOR SUIT WITH A RUNNABLE SIDE SUIT. The trick in a Moysian Fit is to somehow pull trump and then run the side suit.

 

Question: In new k/s bidding pard opens one diamond, and pard bids 2 clubs, what does this mean?

Answer: That bidding is probably the only real game forcing two over one bid in KS and it shows game points, since the open is about 15, and the response is about 10. The open could only be 13, so it is not truly game forcing, but it comes close.

 

Question: Explain bidding for 1 diamond pard 1 spade ops 2 clubs me

Answer: The fact that the opponents enter the auction with two clubs, now makes all of your rebids mechanical: