Opening Strong Two's
Choosing the best bid for your hand
Overview
If you play opening at the level of 2 is strong in all suits, opening opening 2♣ has a very different meaning than opening 2♠ 2♥ and 2♦.Opening 2 Clubs.
A 2♣ opening bid is the strongest it says nothing about your club suit but promises a minimum of 23+ TP and is forcing partner to keep the bidding going until game is reached. Of course with 10 points partner will probably want to keep going to slam.
Opening 2♠, 2♥ and 2♦
Opening these suits at the level of 2 shows less points then a 2 Club bid, usually 17-22 HCP better than 8 or 9 playing tricks but not enough for 2♣. Usually these bids show a good suit, partner is not forced to bid game, but depending on partners cards and point count decides whether to end in part-game, game or slam.
Opening 2NT
A 2NT opening tells partner you have 20-22 HCP and a balanced hand. This is not a game force bid. Partner can pass, Stayman, make a negative takeout bid or can bid game or slam.
- ♠ A
- ♥ A K Q J 8
- ♦ K Q J 9 6
- ♣ K 4
Answer: Bid 2♣. Don't be tempted to bid 1♥ as your partner may pass with less than 6 HCP and you would miss out on getting to your game contract.
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