2C Opener

Big Balanced Hands

A balanced hand should be opened 2C if it has ________ or more HCP.

After 2C-2D, 2NT shows the range _______ to ________ HCP.

After 2C-2D-2NT, responder’s bids mean the same as if the opening bid was _________. Specifically, _____________ and ________________ are ON.

After 2C-2D, 3NT shows the range _______ to ___________ HCP.

You and your partner need to decide what 4C means after 2C-2D-3NT. It could be _______________ or it could be _____________. I recommend that you play it as ______________ and give up on _______________.

I recommend that _______________ are still on over the 3NT rebid.

With ________ to __________ HCP opener rebids 4NT. With ________ to _________ HCP opener rebids 5NT. Don’t worry, this will never happen to you.

Big Suited Hands

A big single suited hand should be opened 2C if it is within about a _______ ______ ______ ________ of game. For a major suit, this is ________ tricks, while for a minor suit this is __________ .

If the hand is light on outside defensive tricks then consider opening it with a _______ bid instead to preempt the opponents.

Jumping in your suit shows extra _____________ and sets __________ .

Big Two Suiters

Big two-suited hands are difficult to _____________ in the bidding space available.

Sometimes it’s appropriate to open these hands one of a suit and then _____-_________.

Big Three Suiters

Big three-suited hands are the most ______________ to describe after opening 2C.

If the singleton is a top honor, consider opening as if the hand were ___________.

Otherwise, you have to treat one of your suits as if it were _______ cards long.

Responding to the 2C Opener

Positive Hands

A positive hand is one that has _________ ambitions even if partner has the 22-24 balanced variant of a 2C opener. (i.e about 8+ HCP)

Positive Suited Hands

_________ _____________ is the most important criterion in deciding to give a positive response in a suit.

The suit should be at least _______ cards long and contain ______ of the top ______ honors.

Positive Balanced Hands.

With a balanced hand of 8+ HCP it’s still better to treat it as a ___________ hand to preserve space for opener to describe her hand.

Negative Hands

A negative hand is one that has doubt about whether the partnership can make _______.

A hand with a _________ or an __________ is never a negative hand.

Waiting Hands

Hands that aren’t ___________ or ____________.

Response Systems to 2C

Standard Response System

With a negative hand, respond 2D first. Pass opener’s ________ bids. Over a ________, bid the cheapest minor suit.

Raising opener’s suit to game is _______ ___________________ than a single raise. (Example: 2C-2D-2S-4S as compared with 2C-2D-2S-3S).

2H Immediate Bust Response System

Respond 2H with a _____________ hand.

The 2D response is still _____________ but now it’s _________-_______________.

Control and Step Response Systems

You may play against people who show controls or steps in response to 2C. I play controls in my advanced partnerships. I do not recommend step responses because plain HCP information is not very useful to the big opener. When your partner opens 2C a king is worth a lot more than a stray queen and a jack.

If your opponents are playing control or step responses you have the opportunity to ___________ their artificial bid to request a __________ of that suit.

Coping with Interference

Pesky opponents will get into your 2C auctions, especially if they are _______ ____________.

General Principles

Double usually shows a ____________ hand, with some doubt about whether game is possible.

Pass is ________________ .

Suit responses are encouraging, but not necessarily as ___________ as the positive responses to 2C in an uncontested auction.

Copyright 2014: Peter Haglich