Weak 2s. A Major opening
Weak, but long enough to mess up the enemy
Summary
"Weak 2" is an opening preemptive bid of 2
or 2
, used when your hand is weak but when you have a long Major suit with exactly 6 cards and some honours.
(Beginners might prefer Strong 2s, and respond accordingly).
Why?
Its purpose is to stop your stronger opponents reaching a good contract or game. Because you start the bidding so high, especially if you have a long suit, it makes it difficult for the opposition to start to bid and communicate. It also helps your partner to select the opening lead if you don't win the auction.
It might even get you to game, even though the pair of you are weak. But going off one or two tricks will invariably cost you less than letting the stronger opponents communicate and find their strong contract. And since you might make the contract, the enemy will be worried about doubling you into game in a Major contract doubled.
Beware: With more than 10 points, you are not weak: so open at the one level, typically promising up to 19 HCP. (Surely you don't want to mislead your partner about your strength?).
Quality
Because you only need 6-10 points, it tends to come up quite often, but you must have a good 6-card Major.
"Good" means 3 of the top 5 honours (QJT minimum), or KJ minimum.
Response
Your partner will usually pass, and your stronger opponents will often give up, frustrated, since they would now often have to start their bidding at the 3 level (see weak 2 defence options).
The secret to weak 2's is to learn and agree the meaning of the Opener's rebids, in the event that partner has shown he is in fact strong in one of two possible ways.
Only 6 cards, exactly
With a 7-card Major, you should preempt at the weak 3 level.
Loss of "Strong-2" opening bid messages?
Amazingly, for those that use Benji Acol (see below), you still retain the ability to describe the varying degrees of strength of your strong hands of any suit, by opening with 2 of a minor 
or 
(Note: Having said this, some people prefer to treat a 2 opening bid as another weak two opening - you should find out which system your partner is using, if you wish to avoid disasters. Although it has its advantages, we don't care so much for this approach. That's because a weak 2 opening offers a much lower chance of getting to game - since that would require a 5-level contract; and what's more it's not very pre-emptive - still allowing the opposition to start talking at the 2-level. Moreover, splitting the 2 minor suits into different degrees of strong openings allows greater precision in strong openings, often useful when deciding to got to Game or Slam.
(1) The weak 2 opening: Opening 2 of a Major
When to use
Nobody has bid so far. Do you always pass when you have fewer than 12 HCP points ?
No, not if you've got great distribution.
Quite often, you'll receive a weak opening hand, but with a 6-card suit with some strength inside the suit. Rather like a weak-3 hand, but too short to preempt with 3, and too weak to open one of a suit. In this situation, you have a great chance to mess up your stronger opponent, and furthermore find a contract, even a game sometimes. Use weak 2s.
When NOT to use
Of course a "Game" is much easier to reach in a Major, so we prefer not to use 2 for a weak hand, but keep 2 back for strong hands, see below.
Don't use a weak 2 bid if you have a second 4+ card Major (you don't want to miss a major fit in the other suit, and a 6-4 distribution is very very very powerful).
For another example of opening with less than 12, see the rule of 20 which guides you on how to open 1 suit with only 10 or 11 points, if you have some extra length.
[Note: Before the whole game starts, you must agree with your partner that you are no longer using opening-2 bids uniquely for strong hands. Now that you're a teenager, Major-2 opening bids are now reserved for messing up strong opponents by using your long-suited weak hand. There's a note below on how this changes strong openings].
How to bid
This is a weak bid, similar to a pre-emptive bid, and is used when you have 6-10 HCP and a goodish six-card suit in a major, . Think about it like standard 3-level pre-emption, but with a six card suit instead of seven.
A goodish suit means a suit headed by a minimum of KJ+, or QJT+, as a good guide. Or 2 of the top 5 honours supported by 98.
Suitable examples are AK10764, AK9742, KQ9742, AJ9843, QJ10432, KJ9765 are fine. In addition, at favourable vulnerability liberties are allowed, particularly in 3rd seat.
Your partner's responses are:
- Generally pass
- With support, raise:
- 3-card support, and say around 10-11 HCP, raise to 3;
- 4-card support, raise to 4. These are not invitational. . . . .opener will pass. You are simply extending the preempt, and making your opponents' life even more difficult.
- With 3-card support and very weak hands, responder can also raise the preempt if (and only if) he has good distribution. This way you can end up winning the auction with a sacrificial bid, rather than letting your strong opponents bidding a bonus-winning game contract.
- If game is on, "ask for more information", bid 2NT. This forcing bid indicates good fit with interest in game or more, 16+ points. This means 2-card support and 16HCP, or 14HCP if there are no wasted Q's or J's.
- Very rarely, with his own (better) 6 card suit, change suit. Opener will support with good fit, or else pass. A jump in his own better suit shows one trick short of a game, and is invitational.
Opener rebids his "PH" (alkilinity!)
When partner asks for more information, by bidding an artificial and forcing 2NT, he is accepting your suit choice and saying that he is strong enough that a game could be on. Opener should then describe his hand in more detail. There are two methods. I much prefer the first of these, known as "Ogust", now widely used.
(a) Ogust rebid
If asked by partner ("2NT"), the opener should now reveal more detail about both his hand strength and his trump strength, by rebidding ever stronger suits (at the 3 level) to show ever more Points and Trump Quality. Here's how:
| 152. Weak 2 rebids, after 2NT responder enquiry (16+ HCP) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bid | Points in hand | Trumps | Points in trumps | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 |
6-7 HCP | OK | 4-5 HCP (or QJ10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 |
better | 6-7 HCP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 |
9-10 HCP | OK | 4-5 HCP (or QJ10) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 |
better | 6-8 HCP | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3NT | 9-10 | best | AKQ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| With 8 HCP in hand, use judgement | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Add to your customised cribsheet | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Think P before T (alphabetical), if you can't remember the sequence that - CDHS - represents.
"Better honours" in trumps means at least 6HCP in the trump suit.
Responder can then use the answer to the "2NT" question to decide whether to raise to game.
(...but, er, Guy, the response to the "2NT" question is not to indicate any secondary suit preference - perhaps you've been thinking lately about responses to Jacoby 2NT? )
(b) Alternative: show a feature method
There are three rebids for Opener:
- rebid 3 trumps = weak
- 3NT = 2 of top 3 honours
- 3 of a new suit = a feature (such as 4-card suit, an Ace, but not a shortage)
Diamonds ?
Some people include diamonds in their weak two repertoire, in addition to the Majors. While this has an obvious theoretical advantage if you have a weak hand with a strong 6-card diamond suit, it's less powerful in a minor because it's a less pre-emptive bid - your strong opposition is still able to bid their Major suits at the 2-level every time. The other consideration against its use is that your chances of getting to game are considerably lower after a weak two opening in a minor, compared with your chances in a Major. I personally don't much care for it, and prefer to use the both the minor-2 openings for strong hands, where the extra definition is useful in slam bidding.
However, if you and your partner decide to include diamonds as one of your weak two's openings, then agree it beforehand, and stick to the standard definition of the strong 2 opening bid - see below.
Weak 2s. But what if I'm strong?
Q: If you have a very strong hand with a good Major, how can you announce this, if 2 or means something weak? Suppose I've got 8 or more playing tricks in my hand?
Ans: Open 2 of a minor, or , simply to say you're very strong, then rebid the suit you really meant. Let's have a look in more detail at the "Benji" ACOL Strong 2 openings.
(2) The "Benji" Strong 2 opening: 2 of either minor
The idea of using both the minors for opening bids of strong hands is to split it into two groups, which have a vital difference:
- 2. "Even if you've got nothing partner, I've got enough on my own to get to game. Do you think Slam could be on?"
- 2. "I've got a strong hand, but not quite strong enough for a game without a bit of help from you."
Case 1, the stronger bid, 2, is equivalent to the conventional Acol "2 Club" artificial game-forcing opening bid.
Case 2, the slightly weaker bid, is equivalent to the conventional Acol Strong 2 opening bid in any other suit, i.e. 2.
In each case, the opening bid reveals nothing at all about your suit shape or preference - that comes later.
Both these opening bids are guaranteed a re-bid (your partner will make sure of that). In case 1, your partner will also make sure the bidding can't pass out until you've got to a Game contract.
(1) 23+, very strong, forcing to game
Always open 2, forcing to game, promising at least 9 tricks on your own (possibly 10 in a minor)
Partner will tell you a slam is not on with <8 points by bidding a "2" denial. A slam could be on if partner has 8 points, so rather than issuing a denial "2" bid, partner will bid anything else. Either his suit or NT at the next available level (i.e. 2, 2NT, 3//). An Ace-King together in one suit is as good as 8 points.
Opener will then rebid naturally to establish which contract game will be in, e.g. using NT at various levels if balanced, or suits if not. If the response was anything other than 2H, the partnership will go on to explore slam.
See notes elsewhere on how to reply to a conventional Acol 2C, , which is similar, but based on opening 2 to mean 23+ / game force.
(2) 16-22 HCP, unbalanced, with 8 playing tricks
(9 playing tricks for a minor)
Open 2, forcing (to make sure you don't miss a game if it's there).
Your partner must relay 2, a blind bid, to allow opener to say what he really means. Opener will say his suit: 2 in the Majors or , promising 8 playing tricks, or one higher at the three level in the minors, promising 9 playing tricks. Note that the 2 is a relay, not a denial.
Imagine that opener then bids 2. The bidding now proceeds in the majors exactly as if the bidding had just started with 2 when using conventional Strong 2s.
How magical ! The negative response (0-7) from partner to declarer's 2 is still 2NT, as with conventional Strong 2s. And all the other logic and replies are the same (8+ with fit: slam could be on, so raise; 5-7 with fit: game and no further, so bid 4; etc).
The only disadvantage with the system is in , where in effect you have to open with a strong 3, just as you always had to do with ♣. On the other hand, since you need to be careful with strong minors, it's often best to open at the one level. So, pay attention to the "9 playing tricks" guideline with a minor.
Always blind 2?
No. After your partner's 2, you can bid your own 5-card suit if you have 2 of the top 3 cards. E.g. after partner opens 2, suppose you have 53 AK1084 Q53 Q53. Rather than relay 2, bid your Hearts. Partner having AKQJ10 65 AKJ109 2 can then bid his Spades and next time his Diamonds, which will eventually get you into the right suit at the 6 level. With a 2 relay, it might have been hard to avoid getting into 4 and no further.
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