2C Strong

Contents:


Criteria for Opening 2

Usually, balanced hands with 20-21 are opened 2N, but this can include hands with 5-card majors or even 6-card suits.

This generally leaves hands with 22+ HCP which can be opened 2, though many people play that a hand with 8+ winners and fewer than 22 HCP can still be opened 2. In the April 2024 Bulletin, p.41, both teams and the moderator opened 2 with this 21-HCP hand: AQ7 K9 A AKJ9654.

The November 2005 Bridge Bulletin, p.30 #3 has the hand K - AKQJ632 AKT52 and opens it 2.

However, the May 2019 Bridge Bulletin, p.37 #1, has the hand AKJT5 6 AKT9632 - which has 8 winners and the two competing pairs both opened it 1.

The first hand has 9 winners off the top while the second one has 3 sure spade winners and 6 very likely diamond winners. Even if one hand had 4 to the QJ, the suit should take 5 winners for a total of 8 for the hand.

Bulletin Aug. 2024, p.38 #6, AQ3 AQT532 Q AKQ was opened 1 which partner passed with 1 HCP for a top. Opener's hand only has 21 HCP and at that, the stiff D:Q is probably not worth 2 HCP and the major Q's may not be worth their HCPs, plus the C:AKQ in a short suit aren't worth their full value.

Bulletin Oct. 2024, p.40, #5, AKT87532 K5 A A2 was opened 2 with 18 HCP, saying 8 clubs and great controls warrant this upgrade.

Getting back to balanced hands with 22-24 HCP, the normal procedure is to open 2 and to follow that up with 2N. See Notrump Bidding.


Problem Hands For Opening 2

Problems With Two-Suited Hands

In Standard Bridge Bidding For The 21st Century, Max Hardy says of the hand 6-AKQ976-AKQ852-void:

    [Open] one heart. DO NOT open 2... [your LHO] may overcall and be raised preemptively to the five or six level. Then you will have to guess which suit to introduce... Do not be concerned about playing 1. Too many high cards are out. Your rebid will be 6.

Is Hardy right that 1H will never get passed out? The key is 2nd chair. If he has as few as 10 HCPs and a hand not suited to making a bid over 1H, then it very well could get passed out if the remaining points are split 4-8.

On the other side are these arguments against opening 2-suited hands 2:
1. Doing so uses up a lot of bidding space needed to show the 2-suited hand and explore for slam. However, this problem may be solved by using a response system which makes it easier to identify the suits after opening 2. See 19-Point 2C Openings.
2. A 2 opening should show significant defensive power as well as offensive. A 2-suited hand usually has little or no defense against the other 2 suits.
3. One of the primary purposes of the 2 opening is to force partner to bid, even with a very bad hand with which you might still be able to make game. When you have as few as 15 HCPs and a 2-suited hand, there is much less danger that a normal 1-level opening bid will get passed out, though it is certainly still possible if the other points are distributed 10-5-10.

In his 11-10-2020 Bridge Column ("Aces"), Bobby Wolff gives this hand - A-AK742-A3-AQ753 - and says:

    It is often better to start bidding strong two-suiters at the one level to provide more space to describe your shape. However, with a major and a minor, opener can start with 2, then introduce the major followed by the second suit at the three level.

How about with 96 - AKQ9432 AKQ3?  Why open 1D and risk getting passed out when game is very likely in hand. I would rather open 5D and assume pard would control bid with major ace(s), but I would still open this hand 2.

Problems With Minor One-Suiters

At the web site http://www.prairienet.org/bridge/b_2c.htm, it says that with - AK82 KQJT865 KQ:

    You'll fare better with a 1D opening. [An] important consideration is that a 2C opener makes it very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to find a 4-4 major-suit fit, which is a real danger on this hand. If partner has 4 hearts, a 1D opening may be the only way you'll get him to bid the suit. (Well, that -- or playing 19-HCP 2C.)

Bobby Wolff, in his Dec. 24, 2022 newspaper column, shows KQ A5 K9 AQJT984 and says;

    Start with 1 intending to rebid 3N... which advertises a strong 1-suiter. Opening 2 would be way too much here and 2N would needlessly distort your distribution

However, several other sources say to open 2C with 1-suiters and 2-suiters such as

    86 AK5 AKQJ64 KJ
    -- KQJT874 KQJT A3
    K -- AKQJ632 AKT52

Jan.2024 Bulletin, p.43, #3, has the hand AK AT652 AKQJT9 -- with bidding of

    1 - 1
    2 - 2
    3 - 3N

    Josh Donn says:

      I strenuously object to opening this hand 1. Not only might partner pass 1 when we belong in slam, but the bigger problem is that even if partner responds, we can never catch up, just like here. 3N might be the limit of the hand, or we can have an extremely easy slam. We just don't know. It would be easier if we just opened 2 to show our power and then showed our suits.


Problems With Three-Suited Hands

The above web site also calls strong 4-4-4-1 hand the real bane of the 2C bidder's existence because of the difficulty in finding a fit once you start on the higher level. Suggestions include playing a jump rebid by the 2 opener to show 4-4-4-1 with the singleton in the next higher suit bid, or to apply good guessing and skill in playing 4-3 fits.

The site offers as alternatives to opening 2 with 4-4-4-1:
  • Open 2N (if your singleton is an A or K).
  • Open with a 1-bid.
  • Open a Roman 2, which shows 4-4-4-1 and 17-24 HCPs
      and opener bids his singleton on his next turn.

    • So What Do You Open 2?

    If you don't open 2 with 2-suited hand, 3-suited hands, nor 1-minor-suited hands, the only hands you can open 2 are strong balanced hands and 1-major-suited hands. This can include hands like AQJT52 - A64 AKJT which is a hand shown by Kantar in the March 2019 Bridge Bulletin, p.52, which has only 19 HCP.

    The other alternative, which most people choose, is to ignore the advice about not opening other types of hands.

    Larry Cohen says on his web site that his convention card doesn't even show a HCP range for opening 2 (except for balanced hands) because other factors are more important than HCP when opening 2.


    Responding To 2

    Below are various responses to an opening 2:

    2 Waiting - Probably the most commonly used "system" among average players. It says you do not have a biddable (good 5+ card) suit and/or you have fewer than 8 HCP.

    2 Negative - shows a hand with QJ or less. See Stopping Short of Game below. 

      In the July 2020 ACBL Bulletin, page 41, Adam Parrish describes a convention which can be used with 2 Negative. It consists of opener bidding 2 over 2 as a relay to 2N to show a weaker hand. 
      With a strong hand, opener can force to game by not using the relay. Example: 2-2, 2-2N, 3 is not forcing while 2-2, 3 is forcing to game. 
      Parrish also says that if you are using 2-2 to show a bust, you can use 2-2N to show a heart suit.

    Step responses

    • 2 - 0 or 1 control
    • 2 - 2 controls
    • 2 - 3 controls (1 Ace and 1 King)
    • 3 - 4 controls
      • Many alternatives to the above step-values are around, such as each suit rank showing more HCP.

      Here is what Jerry Helms said about step responses in the April 2017 Bridge Bulletin, page 48: 

        There is no worse method for responding to an artificial 2 bid... Point count is often inadequate for judging the power of distributional hands.

      Larry Cohen says on his web site: 

        I am strongly against step or control responses (they take up too much space and often wrong-side the contract).

    Natural Responses - If you are playing 2D-Waiting and not using step responses, then the bids 2 through 3 are natural. If using 2 as negative, then 2 through 3 are natural.

    For these bids, most people require a good 5+ card suit and 8+ HCPs. Some require 2 of the top 3 honors. With suits of lesser quality, bid 2D-Waiting.

    Jump Responses - Some play this as a semi-solid (missing a top honor) 7+ card suit, while others play it as a solid 6+ card suit.

    2N - In theory, it shows a balanced, positive hand, but since it preempts partner's majors, few experts use it, preferring to bid 2D instead. In 19-HCP 2C, it is used to show the minors and less than 6 HCPs.

    In July 2024 Bulletin, p.40, #2, both pairs and the moderator bid 2 with J873 86 KQ42 K75.

    3N - Again, this is too unilateral to be natural. Some play it to promise a 7+ card solid suit, such as when using jump responses to show only semi-solid suits.


    Birthright 2

    The following charts compare Birthright to standard SAYC strong notrump bids:

      SAYC Birthright
      HCP Opening Bid HCP Opening Bid
      20-21 2N 20-21 2N
      22-24 2-2-2N 24-25 2-2-2- 2-2N
      25-27 2-2-3N 26-27 2-2-3N
      28-30 2-2-4N 28-29 2-2-2- 2-3N
      30-32 2-2-5N

    There are numerous variations of bidding Birthright, but the SAYC


    Stopping Short of Game

    2 should be considered game forcing until proven otherwise. It's surprising how many people think that it is okay to pass with no HCP after something like 2-2(negative), 2.

    One of the worst faults in bidding is to make a call based solely on how bad you think your hand is without asking yourself if partner has in any way limited his hand. In the bidding sequence just given, opener could have 26+ HCP.

    Some people justify such a pass-out by saying that once they have bid 2 Negative, and that if opener has a big hand, it's up to him to place the contract. The problem with that is that the best contract may be in opener's 3-card major when responder has a hand like xx-86432-xxxx-xx. The reason that a heart contract would be better is that with hearts as trump, responder's hand will take tricks which it would not take in a non-heart contract.

    Larry Cohen says on his web site: 

      The only way to stop short of game (other than after a 2N or 3N rebid by opener) is if responder bids a "2nd negative" and opener simply rebids his suit... These "stop in a partscore" auctions come up once a decade. (Actually, I have had them come up many times just in the last month.) 
    What is a "second negative"? Cohen explains: 
      While I don't mind using 2 as an immediate "bust," I prefer 2 Waiting (0+ HCP -- any distribution). This leaves room for opener to further describe his hand.  
      After the 2 Waiting bid, opener's rebids (other than in notrump) are a one-round force. The only way to stop short of game (other than 2-2, 2NT) is if responder offers a "2nd negative." After opener bids a suit, the cheapest new suit on the 3-level is artificial and allows responder to pass if opener repeats his suit.        
    So Cohen is saying that 2 can either be a Waiting bid with a hand not suitable for a free bid of a suit but possibly with as many as 8+ HCP and a good 5+ card suit lacking 2 of the top 3 honors, or as a Negative bid. Which it is can only be clarified if the cheapest suit is bid on the 3 level.  
    This can be problematic when the bidding goes something like 2-2, 2-3 when responder has a decent hand with a 5+ card club suit. Likewise for 2-2, 3-3 when diamonds is responder's only suit.  
    While 2 Negative could rob opener of being able to bid a possible heart suit on the 2 level, that would be the lesser of the evils compared to using the cheapest suit on the 3 level.

    Since Cohen has said that HCP are not as important as shape in opening 2 and that he would even open 2 with some 18-HCP hands, (see our 19-HCP 2C page), it might be worth noting here that in the 19-HCP 2C convention, responder shows his bad hands (less than 6 HCP) by bidding his suit first, even a 4-card suit if on the 1 level, and bidding 2 with any hand with 6+ HCP. 
    Such bidding would go something like 2-2 which would show 4+ spades and less than 6 HCP. With a minimum (19-20 HCP), opener would attempt to place the contract in responder's suit since that may be the only way to get any tricks from responder's hand. See the linked web page for details.

    Update: In the November 2019 Bridge Bulletin, page 49, Cohen contradicts the above by saying that after 2-2, 2 is only forcing for one round, which can only be interpreted as meaning that responder could pass opener's next bid.

    Other Cohen-isms in the same article:

    • Responder should never respond 2N or 3N to 2 because they take up too much space.
    • Opener should never jump after responder's 2 bid for the same reason.



    Bidding Over Interference

    Systems for responding over interference are limited mainly by your imagination. The important point is that you and your partner should agree on something. Here is a sample system:

    • cue bid - positive, take-out, <2 of the suit bid.
    • non-jump suit - 6+ card suit, 2-of-3 top honors.
    • Dbl - less than two Queens.
    • Pass - two Queens or better.

    If responder and RHO pass, opener can rebid as follows:

    • non-jump suit - one-suited hand.
    • 2N - two-suited hand.
    • cue-bid - three-suited hand.
    • Dbl - strong, balanced. Responder can pass for penalties; otherwise, NT systems are on.

    Larry Cohen says on his web site 

      Responder's double of an overcall shows 0-3 points. Pass shows a game-forcing hand. A free bid shows 8+ HCP and a good 5-card suit. If responder passes and opener doubles, it is takeout.

    Adventures in Bridge and other web sites say the same.

    Because 2 openings are infrequent and interference of 2 is even less frequent, very few casual partnerships and probably no pick-up partnerships have an agreement on what to bid.

    Because passing with a good hand and doubling with a bad hand is counter-intuitive, It is probably best, lacking an agreement, to do the opposite where passing shows a bad hand and doubling, a good hand. But even after a pass, following expert advice, opener's bids should be treated as forcing until a non-jump rebid of his suit is made. But 2-2-P-P, 2N shows a 22-23 HCP balanced hand and can be passed.

    Examples:

    In a recent team (IMPs) game where teams are put together with little time for discussing bidding agreements, this hand came up: A-K-AKQxxx-AKJTx.

    The bidding went

      2-2-P-P
      3-3-P-P
    ...and now what? It would take very little to make slam.
    At both tables, opener bid 4 and it was passed out.
    Responder had Qxx and Jx and declarer made 6.

    Should responder have bid over 4, or this being IMPs, should opener have jumped to 5? Nobody at the table was certain, which included players of different strengths; however, a non-notrump 2 opening is supposed to promise a hand within 1 trick of game. Certainly an honor in each of opener's suits takes care of at least one of those losers.

    A fairly similar situation appeared in the June 2019 ACBL Bridge Bulletin, page 40, #2.

    Responder had Q-98632-Q932-J84. (Opener's hand was not shown.)
    The bidding went

      1-1-P-P
      3-P-??

    Of 15 experts, 6 voted for 5 and 6 for 4. Pass was not even considered an option.

    Larry Cohen said:

      I love my Q and J... I picture opener with something like xxx---AKJxx-AKQxx. Hmmm...then I haven't bid enough! (Another pro postulated the exact same holding for opener.)

    Another pro said:

      3 is clearly not enough, but this is too good even for 4.

    If the Q of the opponent's suit is ignored, Responder in this deal also had 3 HCP, and while he had longer trump support for opener, the previous opener with the 2 opening showed a lot more strength.

    The odds favor opener's having more than exactly the minimum 22 HCP promised by 2 and with his bidding showing at least 5-5 in the minors, if responder has 3-card support for either suit, he is entitled to credit opener for at least another 3 points for shortness, bringing opener's minimum total points up to 25 and in fact, opener had a playing strength of at least 28 points.

    A responder who is afraid to bid because his own hand is very weak needs to try to picture what opener must have to justify his own bidding.

    Clearly, responder must respond with 3 HCP, especially given that they are all in opener's suits and figure to be worth more than they appear.

    In fact, responder might even consider cue bidding 4 to show support for both minors. While this will force opener to game, it should also be enough to get opener to slam when he has extras, as in the first hand above.