By Peter Rhead
Weak-Two Bids
Sometimes a convention is used for both defense and offense at the same time. Such is the case today with the Weak-Two opening. Such a bid is based on a weak hand of about ten points including two length points with a good suit of six cards in length. For offense, it tells your partner the approximate point count, and the shape of your hand. For defense, it gives lead direction to your partner when he is on lead. Also it interferes with the opponent’s bidding if they have the majority of points.
What is a good suit? There are five honours (AKQJ10) in each suit. A Weak-Two bid should have the majority of the points in the bid suit including the two length points. The Weak-Two bid should include at least two of the top three honours or at least three of the top five honours. Therefore AJ10xxx Qxx of any combination of suits would satisfy the criteria with seven points plus an outside King or Queen for nine points total. Needless to say, if your long suit is Clubs, you would have to bid Three Clubs and have a slightly stronger hand to do so.
When can you open with a Weak-Two? First of all, consider vulnerability. With favourable and equal vulnerability, you can be braver with a Weak-Two of 7-9 points. With unfavourable vulnerability, you want to have the stronger 10-12 points Weak-Two opening.
Never open a Weak-Two with a Spade or Heart side suit of four cards in length. You might miss a major suit fit!
Finally, consider your position, first, second, third or fourth seat after passes. I have played with partners who do not want me to open a Weak-Two in first seat. Their argument is a good one. The dealer in first seat, without a full opening, should wait for partner’s bid. First seat almost always will have a second chance to bid after first passing. I agree with their argument unless I could open Two Spades in first seat. That bid definitely does interfere with the opponent’s bidding.
Second seat is a different story. Your opponent in first seat is weak and passes. After you, there are two more possible bidders. One of them is your partner who may have half the outstanding points and would like to know what is in your hand. So go ahead and bid any Weak-Two.
In third seat, your bidding can be a little more liberal after two passes. It even can be advantageous and legal to open a Weak-Two bid with a very good five-card suit instead of just when you have a good six-card suit. As your second-seat opponent doesn’t have enough points to open, and you have a marginal hand in third seat it’s likely that the opponent in fourth seat is going to bid. You particularly make it more difficult for him if he has to bid above your Two-Heart or Two-Spade bid. Also of course, it gives your partner a good idea of what to lead when he gets the lead.
If you are in fourth seat after three passes, the strategy again is different. You normally pre-empt to interfere with the opponent’s bidding. But when both have passed you have nothing to gain with a pre-empt. Therefore in fourth seat with a Weak-Two hand, unless you have 12 points you just pass and hope for a better hand next time.
It’s important when you make a Weak-Two bid that you remember that the first word in its name is “Weak.” You don’t make this bid if your hand contains a full-opening. Long ago most very strong hands were opened with a two bid, for example Two Hearts, which meant, as I recall, that the hand contained 25 points. As you well know now, since the 1920s, most players use only a Two-Club bid for a strong hand over 22 points. For most players today, opening bids or jump overcalls of Two Diamonds, Two Hearts and Two Spades contain less than an opening bid (7-12 points.) But, these bids do describe hands that are valuable even though they do not have full opening points.
Something else that is important is that a hand that is opened with a Weak-Two bid must not have full opening points. If for example, your hand had a beautiful six-card Spade suit and 13 high-card points, it would be illegal to open this hand with a Weak-Two in first seat or second seat and there would be a penalty. I know it seems counter-intuitive that a strong hand is opened with a bid at the one-level, but a weak hand (albeit with a long suit) is opened at the two-level. The Bridge world can be a strange place!
There is a good reason for this rule in favour of your opponents. If you open a stronger hand Two-Spades, and your opponent has an opening hand with a good Heart suit, he probably wouldn’t be able to bid it because he would have to open with a Three-Heart bid without knowing whether his partner had anything at all. Of course, if your hand is 7-12 points, this is exactly what you want to do with your legal Two-Spade opening – interfere with your opponents bidding!
For more information, read “Weak-Two Bids” in Barbara Seagram’s 25 Bridge Conventions You Should Know, page 33.
Next Week: How does responder bid after partner has opened a Weak-Two?
Remember, as we all fight COVID-19 with social isolation, if you want your Bridge fix, online competition is available for all skill levels. From the ACBL Bridge website, you can hook up either to play live people or to play robots. Either way you test or consolidate various Bridge skills. At ACBL.org just click on “Play Bridge” and follow the prompts for various choices.
If you wish to promote an activity in your Bridge group or ask a Bridge question, send the information to vrhead23@gmail.com and I will try to include it in this column.
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