Classic One-Over-One

I think the 5-card major system has been screwed up with 3-point ranges.  Minimum responses should be 4-point ranges, and invitational responses should be 2-point ranges.

I think a minimum one-over-one response is 7 notrump points.  The system is clean with this rule.  I do respond with 6 HCP, and rarely have less.  My partner can operate on the assumption of 7 notrump points.  If I have only 6 notrump points and partner jumps to 2NT, I either pass, or treat it as 7 and bid on.  Others respond with less; some claim an ace is a response.

Question 1:  What agreements to you want about a minimum response, and how does that modify the rebid system?

Discuss choice of openings with a 5-card major and longer second suit, 4-4 in the minors, a 1-4-4-4 pattern, and 4 diamonds and 5 clubs.

Since I play a big club, this is of academic interest to me.

Are you responding 1 instead of 1NT simply to give aid and comfort to the enemy?

We talk system changes in the 1 — Pass - 1 auction.  The West Coast system, with less than an opening bid, skips diamonds to bid a 4-card major or 1NT.  After a 1 response, opener rebids 1NT with one or both four-card majors.  Backstrom's adjunct is a major rebid implies shortness somewhere and obviously it is diamonds.

A common rule is a raise of the response shows four and a notrump rebid promises two or three-card support for partner.  Rebidding 1NT makes continuations easy for responder.  If you raise with either three or four, partner doesn't know whether or not to continue.  If opener rebids a long minor, responder's continuations are more difficult.  If you show 2 or 3 with a 1NT response, my experiments showed responder should rebid a five-card major (maybe not a T-x-x-x-x suit.)  .

I have asked others about raising diamonds with three.  If fourth seat bids over 1 , support doubles are on.

Notrump over a minor

Bid	Notrump Count
1NT	7-10
2NT	11-12
3NT	13-15
?	More
4NT	18-19 and 5-card suit
	19-20 and no 5-card suit

2NT as a limit bid has become the majority view.  With a balanced hand between 3NT and 4NT, or above 4NT, you have to invent.

The ACBL in its infiinite wisdom, wants to know HCP.  Your card always says 1NT/1 shows 8-10 HCP (mine says 6-10 HCP, which includes all 7-10 notrump point hands.)  Inverted minors are part of the system.  What is your response to 1 with?

Q x x

K x x

x x x

Q x x x

Weak jump shift rebids to 3 and 3 .  You have

	J x x x
	x x
	K Q J T x x
	x
1	1
1NTor 2	?

The book answer is 3 .  We seem to know this.  Can you find a reference?  I cannot remember anyone doing this.  The senorita says this is a 1 in 4000 proposition.

I play 3 = clubs and 5-10 HCP.  What it really means is the opponents should bid exactly three of their best major.  This also applies after an inverted minor jump.  A partner followed this advice; opener had a 2NT rebid, and we went for 800.

Play deals investigate the 1 — Pass - 1 possiblity.

Bids should be unchanged, except no sub-minimum responses, and jump shift weak is added.  One-over-one is still forcing to 1NT.  Do not skip a major simply because John and I told you our double showed 4-4 or better in the majors.  Invert is off.  Raise is 7-10 NT points, and jump is some kind of preempt.  Elaborate on why notrump count and not suit count for the raise?

When we went from 13 HCP openings to 12 HCP openings, redouble should have been upped to 11 HCP.  Redouble should be the last resort.

Again a bid by responder is forcing to 1NT.  Over a 1 overcall, a negative double shows both majors.  Over a 1 overcall, double shows four spades, and 1 shows five.  Opener may have to bid 1 with only three spades, and somewhere in my notes it says a jump to 2 shows four spades and is not forcing.  Over a 1 overcall, double shows four or more hearts.  Should opener be expected to bid 2 with three hearts?

If fourth seat bids and responder has shown exactly one suit, support doubles and redoubles are on through 3-of-responder's suit.  It does not matter what nonsense fourth seat throws at us.  (Discuss the only through 2-level view.)  The support double (redouble) is mandatory unless opener has a seven-card suit.  If responder showed five spades, then the support double shows two and the raise shows three or four.  If responder shows four spades with a double of 1 , then support is on through 2 and shows three.  If responder showed four or more hearts with a double of 1 , then support doubles are on through 3 and the double shows three hearts.

Jump raise:  I say 7-10 notrump points.  Opener can bid 3NT with 18-19.  The suit count starts at 8.

Steve R ., page 126-128:

Inverted raise = 11 + suit points and 11 + notrump points.  Off in competition (yes) and by passed hand (no.)  Denies four-card major.

Steve says double jump shifts are splinters, and show some slam interest.  They are an alternative to the inverted raise.

Washington Standard Responses to Inverted Raise

3-of-minor	Not forcing.
3NT	18-19 notrump points
2NT	12-13 notrump points.  Not forcing.
Other minor	Natural, or Artificial and 14 + notrump points.  Then, rebid 3NT with 14-15 notrump hand.
2-major	14 + NT points, natural and unbalanced.
Jumps	Splinters

There are three notrump ranges.  Do not worry about unstopped suits on the notrump hands.

All of this is great, but suppose second seat bids.  Over double, redouble replaces inverted minor.  Over suit, cue-bid replaces inverted minor.

Play deals: 

• Inverted minors with some slam possibility.  Over 1 responder has five or more, and over 1 responder has four or more.  Trivial stop by both at 2NT or 3-of-minor should not be present.  You could try the double jump shift splinter on some.  Or,
• One-over-one auctions investigating the 1 over 1 possibility. 

What is opener's minimum number of clubs?

1. 1	Pass	1	Pass
   1NT

2. 1	Pass	1	1
   Pass

3. 1	Pass	1	Pass
   1

4. 1	1	Dbl	2
   Pass