Basic 2 /1 short version

Basic Two-Over-One

Short article
2/1 is very similar to Standard American but there are two major differences: -

(a) A new-suit two-level response to a 1 H/S opening is forcing to game.
(b) The response of 1NT to a 1H/S opening is forcing.

1. A new suit at the two level

S 2 Suppose you have this hand and partner opens 1S. You play weak jump shifts
H AKJ9542 and so respond 2H and partner bids 2S. What now? Playing Standard you
H K72 would probably jump to 4H, but there may well be slam if partner has the HQ.
C A6 In 2/1 it’s simple – take it slowly with a bid of 3H. The auction is forcing

S AK96543 And playing 2/1 makes life much easier for opener. You open this hand
H A4 1S and partner responds 2H. What do you do now? 3S? 4S?
D 10 Playing 2/1 it’s very easy, take it slowly with 2S. This is just
C AJ8 one great advantages of 2/1 – there is no need to leap about to set up game force.

2. The forcing NoTrump

So what do you do with a hand of 10-11 points where you would have responded at the two level? The answer is the forcing 1NT. Over a 1H/S opening a 1NT bid is forcing; it may be virtually any shape and anything from 5 to a poor 12 points.

S 7 Partner opens 1S Playing Standard you would bid 2 D and hopefully arrive
H 542 somewhere sensible. Playing 2/1 you do not have the values for a game force
D KQJ752 and so you bid a forcing 1NT. If partner then bids 2C, 2 H or 2S you can bid 3D to show this hand type exactly.
D A72

S J3 Partner opens 1S and you respond 1NT. If partner bids 2C you bid 2D - to play;
H 54 if partner bids 2D you pass; if partner bids 2H you bid 2S and play in the 5-2 fit;
D KJ9752 if partner bids 2S you pass and play in the 6-2 fit.
C J52

3. Responding to partner’s forcing NoTrump

Opener must respond. With a six card suit he can rebid it. With 54xx he can bid 2H. A 5-card major is not usually rebidable and opener my sometimes have to bid a three card minor.
There is just one really awkward shape – 4522. After a forcing NoTrump opener cannot reverse into 2S without full reversing values so this one is a problem. If the 5 card suit is very good then rebid it, otherwise bid 2C. Flannery solves the problem but it really is a bit excessive to use the 2D opening just to solve this one rare problem.
If opener has a big hand with game potential then he can jump/reverse whatever as normal.

4. The constructive raise

S Q65 Partner opens 1S. Playing Standard you would bid 2S and pray that partner
H J42 does not make a game try. Playing ‘Constructive Raises’ in the 2/1 system
D K752 you show this poor raise by bidding 1NT and then 2 over partner’s 2C/D/H
C 742 response.

S KJ65 Partner opens 1S. This time you have a decent raise and the way to show that
H Q42 is to bid 2S immediately.
D K752
C 742

5. A reverse by opener after a 2/1 response

S AQ653 What do you open with this hand? Playing Standard a 1S opening has its
H 82 problems as you do not have the values for a 3C high reverse over 2D/H.
D 2 But playing 2/1 there is no problem. A 2 D/H response is game forcing and
C AK742 it’s best to play that a subsequent reverse by opener does not show extras.

S AQ65 Here you open 1H and get a 2C or 2D response. Without agreement to the
H AQ982 contrary a 2S bid would show 16+ points. Playing 2/1 it simply shows the
D 2 shape and does not promise extra values.
C 742

6. The 11-12 point 2NT invitational bid

S 53 Partner opens 1S and you have a classic 2NT response; but most players
H Q82 play Jacoby 2NT. In Standard you would bid 2C followed by 2NT but that
D AK86 is game forcing in 2/1.
C K942 The answer is to bid a forcing 1NT and then bid 2NT over partner’s response.

7. The 3-card limit raise

S KJ3 Partner opens 1S. Playing Standard you would bid 2C and then 3S to show
H 82 just three card support.
D K863 Playing 2/1 you start with a forcing 1NT and then jump to 3S
C A942

8. 1NT and two-level responses by a Passed Hand

Note that 2/1 only applies if responder is not a passed hand, so 1NT is natural if you have passed. If partner opens 1 H/S in 3rd seat or 1S in 4th seat then I like to play (two-way reverse) Drury. I do not play Drury if partner opens 1H in 4th seat as that is always a sound opener (whereas 1S may well be on the light side - rule of 15) but play natural methods.
____________________

Pissed off

Names are not important. But I was playing last night, early in the set I made 1 serious mistake/error/screwup/bad judgement/etc My TEAM MATE IS reading me the riot act. (not my partner) The person had a complete emotional break down over what? A bridge error? Well it's not like I can go back and do it over correctly. The person had completely lost their mind. Hollaring, screaming I felt really bad, beat up, exhausted almost like I had set fire to their house & killed their cat. I was ready to go home, screw the whole thing, this is not worth the agravation. I even had a hard time getting to sleep that night.

But there is a moral to the story 2 sets later, this same crazy old person, makes a similar error, causes the 4 of us to loose the match. I never said a word. I know that person did not do it intentionally, so lets get on with the game.
Try to set a good example for the idiots of the world, maybe it will help.
I don't know.

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Weak Jump Shifts

If you missed our get together today. We had a nice turn out. It was extremely informative

We discussed in detail
Weak Jump Shifts, 1H or 1S then 2C of 2D

When partner opens say 1C or 1H, then a jump to 2H or 2S is normally played as strong - a good hand with a good suit; forcing to game and slam seeking. However, there is an alternative to the traditional strong jump shift: - - - -

Consider this hand, partner has opened 1¨. You have totally insufficient values to bid, but wouldn’t it be nice to be able to stick your 2 cents in?

S Q97542 H 5 D 42 C 7653

If you could safely bid 2S without exciting partner, that would be super.

And how about this hand? Partner has opened 1§. You do not really want to pass, but you ‘know’that if you bid, then partner will jump in a black suit.

S 42 H KJ9652 D 9542 C 7

Is there a solution? Enter the (very) weak jump shift.

After a 1C opening, a jump to 2H may be played as a weak hand, too weak for a 1-level response; with a 6 (possibly 7) card suit and typically 2-5 pts. Now this has numerous advantages, you have described your hand perfectly and the only person who really knows what is going on is your partner!