How Well do You and Your Partner Understand Each Other? Bidding when You Open Two Clubs
By Mike Lawrence

Hand 1
K 9 8 6 2
3 2
Q 7 3
10 6 4

Bid two spades. This is minimum for the bid. You might have a better hand for this. Still, since it is convenient to show spades now, you should do so. Partner will know you don't have better spades since you could have bid them over two clubs.

Hand 2
10 8 5 4 3
6 4 3 2
Q 8
9 2

Jump to four hearts. This is the traditional bid to show trump support and a poor hand with no first or second round controls. This means no aces, kings, voids, or singletons. This is a very useful bid and should not be forgotten. NOTE. If you use the Expert Tricks shown in the last three hands, you can have the understanding that a jump to game promises a little distribution and not a genuinely terrible hand. The hand here has two high card points, but it has good shape. It is not a 4-3-3-3 dog.

Hand 3
Q 8 3 2
10 3
Q 7 4
K 6 4 3

Bid two notrump. This is forwardgoing. You promise six or so points with no upper limit.

Hand 4
K Q 6
6 3
Q 8 5 3
K 6 5 3

Bid two notrump here too. Don't leap to three notrump just to show an extra point or two. The cost of a round of bidding is too great.

Hand 5
A Q 8 6
10 9 4
4 3
10 7 6 3

Raise to three hearts. You show a hand worth a nice six points. If you use one of the Expert Tricks from the end of this article, you can have the agreement that the raise to three hearts shows a decent hand and not a scroungy six count with no real merit.

Hand 6
A 10 5 4 2
10 5 4 3
Q 2
K 3

Bid three hearts. You may end up in a grand or a small slam. Bidding three hearts leaves room for cue-bidding.

Hand 7
Q 9 5
4 3
10 6 5 4 2
9 5 3

Bid three clubs. This is an alert showing a bad hand for sure. You should not bid three clubs if you have real values. The range for this is zero up to a four or five count, depending on its quality.

Hand 8
Q 8 6
8
Q 10 8 7 5
K 6 4 3

Bid three diamonds. This is natural. Since you didn't bid three diamonds on the first round, you are showing a so-so suit. You should have six or more points for this.

Hand 9
Q 8 6
8
Q 10 7 6
K 10 7 6 4

You would like to bid three clubs, but that bid shows a dud. Bid two notrump. Not perfect, but at least it does tell partner you have some points. If you are lucky, your partner will bid three clubs or diamonds.

EXPERT TRICKS - The last three hands use special bidding tricks.

Hand 10
Q J 3
J 6 3
Q 5 4
J 10 6 5

Bid two notrump. You have enough points to raise hearts, but your points are terrible. By bidding two notrump, you tell partner you aren't broke, and then when you go back to hearts, you will imply you have support points but not good ones. Say your partner rebids three notrump or bids three diamonds over two notrump. Now you can jump to game in hearts, giving the message that you have something but no enthusiasm.

Hand 11
K 9 8 5
10 6 5 2
Q 5 4 3
2

For anyone who likes splinter bids, this one is perfect. Bid four clubs. You show a singleton club, heart support, and at least six support points. You can do this with three card support.

Hand 12
10 6 5
5 4 3 2
7 6 4
J 7 3

Bid three clubs, telling partner you have nothing. As the auction progresses, you will keep returning to hearts. Having warned partner that you are broke, you won't have to worry that he will get excited.

This is an important hand.

If your current solution is to bid four hearts, your partner will have to guess whether you have this worthless hand or the hand shown earlier, Hand 2 (108543, 7643, Q8, 92), which is a bad hand but a bad hand with some redemption.

These three Expert Tricks let you show more about your hand than the normal method, which is not very informative.