Cambridge University Bridge Club

Beginners Lessons 2011

Lesson 5. 2 and higher level openings
Jonathan Cairns, jmc200@cam.ac.uk

Introduction
We have now covered most of the sequences that can happen after someone opens at the
1 level and only one side bids. We will now look at opening with a 2 level or higher bid.

Opening 2NT and responses

A 2NT opening is made on a 20-22 balanced hand (limit bid). I suggest that you open
this, even if you have a good 5 card major suit. Responses are:
Pass. 0-4 HCP, any shape. There are no weak takeouts after a 2NT opening in
Acol.
3NT. 5+ HCP, to play.
3C/D/H/S 5+ HCP, game forcing with 5 card suit.
4H/S and 5C/D to play. Slam denying.
4NT 11-12, fairly balanced, invite to 6NT (like the 1NT-4NT response)
Other bids natural and slam try. This includes 4C/D when an auction is game
forced the faster you arrive at game, the less interest you have in slam. This is
know at the principle of fast arrival. 5H and 5S are voluntary bids above game,
suggesting slam if opener has a maximum or a good fit with responders suit.
Note that there is no way to invite after 2NT.

Opening 2
A 2 opening in Acol is artificial. (An artificial bid is one that says nothing about the
suit bit - it has a completely artificial meaning, hence the name.)
We could have used 2 to show a club suit - but instead, it is much more useful to
reserve this bid for exceptionally strong hands. 2 is made on a hand that either:
Has 23+ HCP points OR
Can justify bidding game without any help from partner (so 9+ playing tricks).

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Responding to 2
A 2 opening is forcing to game. Responder cannot pass, as we are in a game forcing
auction. (and besides, if opener doesn't have clubs, 2 will not be fun!)
All of responder's bids except 2 are natural:
2/2/3/3 show a 5+ card suit and 8+ HCP
2NT shows a balanced hand with 8+ HCP
After one of these starts, slam is looking promising!
The 2 response, however, is another artificial bid: this response shows a hand that
cannot make any other action. It therefore shows 0-7 HCP and little or no slam interest. It
also says nothing about diamonds - so opener cannot pass it!
Continue the auction by describing your hand - with a balanced hand, rebid NT;
otherwise, bid your suits.

NT bidding recap
We now know how to bid any balanced hand - so here is a quick recap!
Range
12-14
15-17
18-19
20-22
23+

With a balanced hand, open...

1NT
Bid a suit at the 1 level. Rebid NT at lowest level.
Bid a suit at the 1 level. Rebid NT, but jump one level.
2NT
2, then rebid NT.

Vulnerability
A brief diversion: before we look at the other 2-level bids and 3-level bids, we need to
know about vulnerability. In duplicate bridge, your side can be either non-vulnerable or
vulnerable. (So far, we have assumed you are always non-vulnerable.) The vulnerability
is denoted by a mark on the board - usually white or green for non-vulnerable, red for
vulnerable. It is also printed out on scorecards.
When you are vulnerable, the penalty for undertricks is increased to 100 (instead of 50).
However, to compensate for this, the bonuses for making game or slam also increase:
Non-vulnerable
Vulnerable

Game
300
500

Small Slam
500
750

Grand Slam
1000
1500

So, there is more at stake when you are vulnerable - you can earn more if you make
game, but if you stand to lose more if you go off!
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Doubling

If you thought 100 per undertrick was bad - your opponents can
make it worse for you! If, during the bidding, they don't think
you can make their contract, then they may be able to double it,
using the card labelled with an X.

More explicitly: you can double your opponent's contract

instead of making a bid. The previous bid must have been made
by an opponent (you cannot double your own contracts!). If
somebody bids a new contract, then the double is cancelled.
But, if the double is followed by 3 passes, the doubled contract
stands.
Example auctions:
N

1NT

Pass

Pass

1NT

Pass

Pass

Pass

Pass

North declares 1NT X. (i.e. 1NT

doubled)

South declares 2 (the X is

cancelled).

A doubled contract requires the same number of tricks as an undoubled contract. But, it
has a further increase in penalty for going off, as follows:
Non-vulnerable
Vulnerable
Non-vulnerable, doubled
Vulnerable, doubled

1 off
50
100
100
200

2 off
100
200
300
500

3 off
150
300
500
800

4 off
200
400
800
1100

5 off
250
500
1100
1400

6 off
300
600
1400
1700

(If you can't remember these values, don't worry - they are on the back of the X card.1)
But, if you make your contract, you'll be handsomely rewarded; especially if you make
any overtricks! The scoring gets insanely complicated here, so let's just consider one
example: suppose you make 2X vulnerable. You'll get:

120 points for odd tricks

That's enough for game, so you get the 500 game bonus. (this doesn't apply to
slam bonuses though!)
You get another 50 "for the insult".

It would be remiss of me not to point out that, in proper tournament play, you are not allowed to look at
the backs of the cards until the end of the hand (when you work out the score).

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That makes 670. You can also find this out by looking on the back of the 2 bidding
card.
If you're really sure that your contract is going to make, and
your opponents have doubled it, then you can redouble it.
This card is marked with XX. Again, the redoubled contract
only stands if the XX is followed by 3 passes.

XX

I won't go into the scoring for redoubled contracts - suffice

to say that the undertrick penalties are obscenely large, the
bonuses for making are offensively large, and most players
will be looking at the back of the bidding cards when it
comes to scoring up.

XX

Pre-empts and Sacrifices

Consider this example. Suppose you are non-vul and opponents are vulnerable.

If you are in a doubled contract, such as 3X, and go off 3, you get a score of
-500
If you had allowed the opponents to make 4, you score -620.

As a result, even though your contract failed miserably, you still got a better score than if
opponents made game. Engineering this kind of situation is often worth doing when your
opponents have the majority of the points, but you and your partner have a good suit fit.
If you bid 4 over 4, expecting to be doubled but hoping that you will only go off 3, this
is called sacrificing.
If you open 3, in the hope that opponents will not find their game, this is called preempting. (How on earth are opponents going to find 4 after 3? The lowest heartshowing bid they have is 4, so they are basically forced to guess.)

Opening a suit, 2 or higher

These openings are all pre-empts. The aim is two-fold:
1. to chew up your opponents bidding space, preventing them from talking about
their hands.
2. suggest to partner that a sacrifice might exist if opponents bid Game
These bids are is made with around 6-10 HCP. Since you don't have many points, you'll
need a long suit to compensate. You should usually have:

6+ cards for a 2-level pre-empt

7+ cards for a 3-level pre-empt
8+ cards for a 4-level pre-empt
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Ideally, your HCP should mostly be in this long suit. (If your values are outside of the
long suit, they will not be much use.)
I would thoroughly recommend not pre-empting unless you have at least one of A, K, Q,
and ideally two of them. If you are not vulnerable, you can afford to be a bit more
aggressive (i.e. you can be more inclined to bid, or bid a bit higher). If your opponents
are vulnerable, you can be even more aggressive.
If you want something a bit more substantial, you can use this optional guideline:
The Rule of 3 and 2. Count your playing tricks (1 for any A, K or Q in your long
suit, 1 for any card below the 3rd in the long suit and however many you may hold
outside the trump suit). Add 3 to this number if non-vuln (2 if vuln) and open the
auction with a bid for that many tricks.
Position around the table is also important. You should be most aggressive when you
are in the 3rd seat (i.e. opposite dealer) since your partner has passed and the
remaining opponent is likely to have a very strong hand. In 1st seat (dealer), you have
2 opponents bidding after you and only one partner, so you can still afford to be
aggressive. You should be more careful in 2nd seat (dealer's left) since you have an
equal chance of pre-empting your partner as the opponents.
Many modern duplicate bridge players are extremely aggressive with their pre-empts some will pre-empt with 5-card suits. If you do this, you're on your own!

Responding to your partners pre-empts

Raising your partners pre-empts may be done for 2 reasons.

with expectation to make Game if you have a strong hand, or

to raise the pre-empt and remove even more bidding space with a weak,
distributional hand with a fit for partner.

After pre-empting, you should never raise your own pre-empt, even as a sacrifice
over opponents game. You know nothing about your partners hand, and you are likely
to get doubled go for a large penalty!2

Bidding over an opponents pre-empt

Overcalling is the act of bidding over your opponents. We will look at how to overcall
after a pre-empt this week, and move on to overcalling 1-level bids next week.

Trinity College Bridge Club has a silly hat that is awarded to players who concede -1100. You can see
some of the past recipients on their website - http://www.srcf.ucam.org/tcbc/. A significant proportion of
these are due to dodgy pre-empts. Be warned!

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Your side may well have the majority of the points, and even enough for Game.
However, as you have to enter the auction at a high level, you must be careful. The higher
the level of the pre-empt, the stronger the hand required to overcall.
If North makes a 2 level pre-empt, East is in the direct seat the one immediately after
opener. East can bid:

2NT on 15-18 balanced with a stop in opener's suit (a stop being a guaranteed
trick in that suit, which stops opponents from taking lots of tricks off the top - A,
Kx, QJx, ...). Partner will usually bid 3NT if appropriate, or pass. 3-level bids are
forcing to game with a 5 card suit.

3NT on 19+ (you expect partner to hold some values) balanced with a double
stop in openers suit - that is, two guaranteed tricks in that suit. Partner (West)
will usually pass, but may prefer to play in 4H/S.

Bid a suit at the lowest level to show 15+ HCP with a good 5+ card suit (6+ if at
the 3-level or higher). The HCP can be reduced as the suit quality and length
increases. Partner should pass if weak or raise (2 card support is OK) or bid
his/her own suit if stronger. With a very strong hand, West can make a cue-bid in
openers suit. This is artificial and shows support for Easts suit with Slam
ambition.

Jump bid a suit. Generally done when you know where you want to play (e.g., a
strong, single suited hand (7+ cards).

One other

Make a takeout double. Double is not always used to penalise opponents - since
there is little room available, we can put this double to better use. A takeout
double asks partner to bid his/her longest suit. Typically, if North opens 3, East
will make a takeout double with shortage in hearts, length in the other 3 suits
and 15+ HCP - for example, AKxx x KQxx, AJxx.

After Easts takeout double (assuming South passes), West will:

Pass for penalties with a good hand with heart length.

Bid a suit at the lowest level with 0-9 HCP, opener may pass if minimum.

Jump bid with a long suit and strong hand (10+ HCP)

Bid openers suit - artificial bid showing a very strong hand, length in the 3 other
suits and slam interest. (cue-bidding)

DO NOT PASS YOUR PARTNERS TAKEOUT DOUBLE WITH A WEAK

HAND! Bid a 4-card suit - even if it is dreadful. If your hand is weak, you may even be
forced to bid a 3-card suit, e.g. with 4-3-3-3 distribution, 4 cards in opponent's suit.
If any player makes a takeout double then bids a new suit, this shows a hand that was too
strong to bid that suit directly.
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Bidding in the pass-out seat

If Norths pre-emptive opening is followed by 2 passes, it is likely East held some values
(possible a balanced 15HCP!), so West should be more aggressive. Generally, follow the
same principles as in the direct seat, but you should add a king to your hand before
making the decision to act.

Sacrifice bidding
If North opens 3, East bids 4 and South holds: Qxxx, xx, Axxxxx, x; 4 will probably
make, so South may bid 4 as a sacrifice against this. South should do this if 4 will
probably make, and 4 going off doubled will score better. From looking at the scores
earlier, this means that:
At equal vulnerability, 4 can go no more than 2 off
When non-vuln vs. vuln, 4 can go no more than 3 off
When vuln vs. non-vuln, 4 can go no more than 1 off
If South chooses to sacrifice in 4, E/W must decide whether to double 4S for penalties
or bid 5 hoping to make.
If you have a choice, it is always better to bid pre-emptively by raising partners pre-empt
before the opponents have acted. The less information they have about their hands, the
less likely they are to make the correct choice of bidding Game or doubling you.

Card play following pre-empts

After a high level pre-empting side buys the contract, little is know about either hand. It
is often a good idea to cash an ace on the opening lead to see Dummy. This is especially
true in the contract is to be played in NT.
When you declare a contract after opponents have pre-empted, remember that opener is
less likely to hold length or high cards outside his long suit. So if, for example, you have
to take a two-way finesse, this extra information might help you.

Key Points from Lesson 5

Artificial 2C opening.
Pre-empting on weak hands with long suits.
The effect of vulnerability on scoring.
The effect of position around the table in pre-emptive auctions.
Bidding over opponents pre-empt.
Take-out and penalty doubles.
Sacrifice bidding.

written by Rob Richardson, 2004; updated by Jonathan Cairns, 2011

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Bidding Summary
Point values should be adjusted for distribution when a fit is found. Abbreviations: cs = card suit,
F = forcing, G = Game, bal = balanced, M = major, m = minor, sup = card support, Sl = slam,
inv = invitational to, dep = depending on, F1 = forcing for one round, gd = good
Opener
Responder
Opener rebid
Responder rebid
2NT 20-22, bal

2C Game force 9+PT or

23-24 bal

Pass 0-4, any shape

3C/D/H/S 5+, 5cs, FG
3NT 5+, to play
4H/S 5+, 6+cs, to play
5C/D 5+, 6+cs, to play
4NT, 11-12, inv Sl
4C/D, 6+cs, inv Sl. FG
5H/S, 6+cs, inv Sl
2D 0-7, slam denying

3NT or suit game with 3cs

Pass (min) / 6NT (max)
5C/D min, no fit
6C/D/NT max, or gd fit
Pass or 6H/S/(NT)
2NT 23-24 balanced

Pass 0-1
Others as over 2NT open

3NT 25-26 bal

Others, nat, FG
2D/H/S, 6+cs, <10 HCP
pre-emptive

Others, nat, FG, fast arrival

Raise further (pre-empt, or expecting to make if 4H/S or 5C/D)
3NT to play with stops
Suit change, nat, FG

3C/D/H/S, 7+cs, <10 HCP

pre-emptive
As 3 level, but longer suits
4C/D/H/S or 5C/D
The strength of pre-emptive bids varies around the table: 4th > 2nd > 1st > 3rd
Directly after opponents 3 level pre-empt (these are generally 3 HCP lighter in the pass-out position):
Overcaller
Overcallers partner
Overcaller
2NT, 15-18 bal, stop in openers suit
3NT, 19+ bal, double stop in openers suit, to play
Non-jump suit 15+, 6cs
Pass
Raise to game
Others, nat, FG
Cue-bid openers suit shows slam interest
Jump suit bid, 6+cs, to play if not above Game, if above Game, slam invite in that suit
Double, 15+, takeout
Pass long in openers suit, penalties
Suit at lowest level 0-9
Pass minimim
Raise to play (or invG)
Change suit 19+ or dist, slam try
Jump bid 10+ slam interest
Cue bid openers suit 3 suited hand, slam interest
Generally, the higher the level of the overcall, a stronger hand is required to overcall it. 3S is harder to overcall than 3C

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