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A frequent comment is that playing 1 
forcing allows you to
open one-of-a-suit on weaker hands. Though such an approach is
playable, it is not our approach. If we were going to make major
changes to the two-over-one structure, we would not have had
Monday night discussions of the two-over-one system.
Chapter 1 defines a suit opening bid. This allows responder to compete freely and effectively at the two- and three-level. Similarly, opener rebids in a competitive auction at the three-level distinguishes between distributions rather than point counts.
The 1 
opening is four cards or more, and has some
distributional feature — the long (longest) suit will
occasionally be clubs and the distribution will occasionally be
4-4-4-1.
Responder Jumps Over 1 2 
Shows five spades, four or more hearts, and 7-10 notrump points. Your planned Standard American auction would have been: which is thwarted if opener does not rebid 1NT.
1 1 
1NT 2 2 Strong. 2NT 13-15 HCP. 3 Natural, nonforcing, and 5-10 HCP. We also play 1 X - 1 Y - 1NT -3 3 Natural and preemptive. Responder Jumps Over 1 2 Strong. 2NT Natural or Jacoby. Your choice. My choice is bold. Single jump shifts Mini-splinters. 3NT Natural or Splinter in dearest suit. Over 1 4 Natural. Double jump shifts Full splinters.
Opener's reverses and jump shifts have specialized meanings, and should wake up responder.
Opener's Rebids After a 1-level Response Minimum bid Natural. 1NT Two- or three-card support for responder. 2 After 1 2 After 1 2NT 15 HCP and a six-card suit in a hand suitable for notrump. 2 After 1 Jump rebid Invitational and not suited for notrump from opener's side of the table. Jump shift Mini-splinter in support of responder's suit.
I do not respond to a one-bid on air. I observe though that it is safer to respond on nothing in this system than it is in Standard American.
In an inverted diamond auction, either player can have longer
clubs than diamonds. We have to consider the meaning of 3 by
either partner after a diamond invert. Long ago we opened 1
with three diamonds and five clubs. Now we can have only one more
club when we open 1 . Also responder could have more clubs than
diamonds when he inverts. Once upon a time we played 3 as the
first rebid by either opener or responder nonforcing. This can be
a disaster if you have not been adequately brainwashed. The rule
is: 3 by either player is forcing.
If you open 1 and have longer clubs and the auction is
competitive, bid clubs at the two- or three-level. The
implication of a pass in a competitive auction after a 1 opening
is that diamonds are longest. In a non-competitive auction, a 1NT
rebid with 2=2=4=5 is acceptable. If you want to compete to the
three-level with five diamonds and four clubs bid 2NT as "Do the Right Thing."
A 4=4=1=4 hand is opened 1 . Two auctions show this hand
pattern after a forcing notrump response:
1 1NT 2
is the systemic auction. There is also an "I forgot" auction:
1 1NT 2 2 2
Here opener bids 2 to escape a 4-2 heart fit.
1 1NT 2
It may seem presumptive to rebid 2 on an unexciting 4=4=1=4
pattern. Unless responder was going to pass 2 , the auction will
be propelled this high anyway, and the 2 rebid shows our
distribution exactly. 4=4=1=4 's are rare and responder tends to
forget that this is a possibility unless opener makes an unusual
bid that alerts this distribution. The 2 bid stops responder
from jumping to 3 or even 4 because he liked the more normal
2 response.
1 1NT 2 ?
3 is the systemic bid. 3 works badly when opener has only
four hearts. If partner is 4=4=1=4, then 5 should be the right
contract. A 2 bid on a 4=4=1=4 pattern warns against the bad heart
contract and finds the good club contract.
1 1NT 2 2 ?
Let us assume you did not accept the argument to bid 2 over
1NT, or you forgot the convention when you rebid 2 . Now you are
in an unacceptable 4-2 heart fit. Bid 2 . There is no other
reason for bidding 2 except to find a better contract. With, at
most 15 HCP, 2 over 2 cannot be an attempt to reach a heart
game. Responder should pass with three spades, and correct to 2NT
or 3 with fewer spades.
1 1 ?
Rebid 1NT. The range of the 1NT rebid is 12-16 notrump points.
The following examples feature long diamond suits and one-level responses. The comments also apply to the heart suit and a
1 response. It is assumed the opponents are quiet. When this
happens, and you have a long minor and 15 HCP, the odds are good
that partner will have enough to get to game. The rules are also
applicable when the opponents are in the auction, although then
you may be reluctant to jump to 2NT with a single stopper.
1 1 2NT, 3 1 1 3
Supposedly the rebid of 2NT or 3 shows 15 HCP and a six-card suit. In the last example you do it with less than 15 HCP.
If partner bids over 3 , then the standard "all bids are forcing"
rule applies. If opener had rebid 2NT, 3 is nonforcing.
These are uncomfortable hands in two-over-one. We use 2 to
show three-card support for responder's spades.
1 1 2
The 2 reverse shows both of these hands. As demonstrated by
these examples you can have one to four hearts. You can also have
six diamonds or a 5-3-3-2 pattern, or possibly be void in hearts.
With a 5-3-3-2 pattern a 1NT rebid is favored.
I am of the Steve Robinson school that opens this hand 1 .
This is the only 5-6 hand that you could open in the lower suit.
1 1 ?
Rebid choices are 2 , 2NT, and 3 . If you bid 2NT, 3 by
partner is nonforcing.
1 1 3
The jump to 3 shows 16-17 suit points in support of spades
and a singleton or void in diamonds. So, if you did not open 1
with this hand:
you must bid
1 1 2
Obviously, if the response was 1NT you can jump to 3 to
show a maximum and 5-5.
1 1 2
2 is a mini-splinter. My opinion is that if the opponents are
quiet during the first round of bidding, they are not interested,
and you may explicitly expose their spade fit with a splinter. If
you do not accept this "safety-of-the splinter" argument, then
jump to 3 .
1 1 2NT Pass 1 1 2NT 3
So you forgot that you were supposed to bid 2 over 1 .
The nonforcing bids are pass and 3 . All other bids are forcing
to game. With a singleton or void in diamonds, it may be right to
preference to diamonds, but I am not that smart.
1 2 ? 1 2 2NT ?
This is the hand we were worried about when we made the rule that
3 was nonforcing in the inverted diamond auction. It is both a
1 opening and an inverted diamond raise. You still probably bid
3 , but it is now defined as forcing.
1 1NT 2 2 2 ?
Pass or bid 3 . Partner is 4=4=1=4 and forgot the systemic
bid.
1 ?
Playing two-over-one I think this is a direct heart raise.
(I think that in two-over-one, the 1 bid shows either two more spades than hearts, or an invitational or better hand.) Because
opener may have only four hearts in the big club system and
because game is unlikely, it works to bid 1 over 1 , and then
2 over 1NT, 2 or 2 .
The two-over-one response to an opening bid is used
Who's at fault when you miss slam? Our suggestion: With 11-13 suit points in support of partner's major, you may jump directly to game. With 15 or more suit points, you must conduct an investigatory auction, i.e. use a two-over-one game force or splinter. With 14 suit points it is your choice.
1 ?
Reasonable alternatives to a "scientific" 2 or 2 response
are:
, and . (and to a lesser extent 4 ) does
is make you untrustworthy and dangerous. I love the two gambits
used by the opponents that indicate that you have scored. There
is the upset gambit in which a scene is made related to you
"psyching" the 2 response and there is the sneer gambit
which attempts to send the message of "We are better players than you, and your bidding is bad." The important consideration is
that you and partner are satisfied with whatever bid is chosen.
My message is that part of playing "tough" cards is to conduct "tough" auctions. Just as there are technical plays (and psychological plays) that conceal declarer's hand from the opponents, there are auctions that conceal hands from the opponents. In declarer play, the technical play is always correct. In bidding, the non-revealing or misdirection auctions may misfire. For example, the complete deal might be:
4 over 1 will miss the lay-down 6 and the sound 6 slam.
It may seem strange that the slams are as easy over a 2 response
as after a 2-of-a-minor. Bid hands out after all two-over-one
starts.
There is great pressure to show scientific auctions in notes. Notes look foolish if they don't show how to bid any slam that is there. When you hold the East hand, there are few slam deals. If your auction aids in your defeat at IMP's, or loses an overtrick at matchpoints, or keeps the opponents from doing something foolish, or allows them to save when it is right, it is a bad auction. It is difficult to blame these failings on the system, but some of these bad results can be avoided by preemptive or misdirected auctions.
When opener receives a two-over-one response, he bids scientifically. Because his high-card range is known to be 11-15, his additional bids show distribution and/or controls. We need not worry about the nonsense (that I think is wrong), that partner expects a 16 to 18 HCP hand when you reverse.
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