Responder's Second-Round Two-level Cuebid
Just the title alone can cause brain freeze. Yet, this is a quite common occurrence which can greatly improve your bidding. Let's see if we can figure out what this topic is all about. Here is a word-by-word breakdown...
Responder's -- That would be the partner of the opening bidder
Second-Round -- Not the responder's first call, but his second-round action
Two-Level -- On the 2-level (duh!)
Cuebid -- A bid in the opponent's suit
How about some examples? In each auction below, South's second bid fits the subject of this article:
A)
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Pass | 1 |
|
1 |
Pass | Pass | 2 |
B)
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
Double | |
| Pass | 1NT | Pass | 2 |
C)
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Pass | 1 |
|
| 1 |
1 |
Pass | 2 |
D)
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
Double | |
| Pass | 2 |
Pass | 2 |
What is South showing? Why is he making such a bid? We will get to that in a moment, but first let me differentiate the above auctions from the more common:
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
2 |
This is a different animal. This is a first-round cuebid by responder. It has a very specific meaning. It shows (guarantees) support for opener. (After a 1 opening, usually 5+ card support. After a 1 opening, usually 4+ card support. After a 1 or 1 opening, at least 3-card support.) It shows at least 10 HCP. It is not forcing to game, but at least invitational.
Do not mix up that first-round cuebid raise with the 4 auctions A-B-C-D above. The cuebid on neither A, B, C nor D guarantees support for opener. Let's look at each of those 4 auctions and see what kind of a hand responder would have and why he would cuebid.
A)
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Pass | 1 |
|
| 1 |
Pass | Pass | ?? |
Suppose that you (South) hold the following hand:
2 AQ8765 A32 A32
Your partner opens 1. You know your side has at least a game, maybe a slam. For now, you respond 1. This is met with a 1 overcall. Your partner passes, and it comes back to you. Now what? A double would not be penalty. It would show "cards." However, such doubles can be left in (and your partner, likely with 4 spades, might indeed choose to pass). What about other possibilities? 3 would be only invitational. 4 would just be a wild, unnecessary guess (picture partner with, say, KJ65 2 KQ76 K876).
What you want to do is tell partner: "I have a good hand. I am not sure where we belong. Please talk to me some more."
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Pass | 1 |
|
| 1 |
Pass | Pass | 2 |
The 2 cuebid here says exactly that. It says nothing about spades. It says nothing about your hearts (you might have only 4 of them). You might or might not have support for your partner. Consider another possible hand you might have for the 2 bid in the auction shown:
A AK76 AQ765 432
You plan to next raise diamonds, forcing! Why is it forcing? Because to invite, you could have simply jumped to 3 from 1 without cuebidding first.
B)
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
Double | |
| Pass | 1NT | Pass | ?? |
Suppose that you (South) hold the following hand:
AQ76 5 AQ32 AK32.
Your partner opens 1. You know your side has at least a game, maybe a slam. They overcall 1. You start with a negative double (the first priority is to look for a 4-4 spade fit). Partner rebids 1NT as shown above. Now what? You could give up on slam and simply raise to 3NT. Partner could have an unattractive
J3 KQ76 K654 QJ4
Opposite such a minimum, slam is no bargain. On the other hand, partner could hold:
K2 AJ4 K10876 Q74
Opposite that hand, you belong in 7.
Partner could also have something in between, such as:
102 AQJ3 KJ54 Q54
Opposite that hand, 6 is where you belong.
Should responder just guess on round 2? Should he use Blackwood? Well, he can't really use Blackwood, because 4NT would be a quantitative (invitational) raise. Yes, 4 (Gerber) would ask for aces, but what's the point? Knowing how many aces partner has won't tell you where you belong. What you want to do is hear more from partner. Use the 2 cuebid to create a force. With a 5-card diamond suit, partner could now repeat them. With 3-card spade support, he could bid 2. With nothing good to say, he can bid 2NT (over which you can bid 3 forcing and obtain even more input).
Must you have a slam try for your 2 bid in this auction? No. Here is another hand which would bid 2 in auction B:
AKQ2 A1076 J1084 2
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
Double | |
| Pass | 1NT | Pass | ?? |
You could just blast to 3NT, but what if partner held something like:
J54 KJ2 AQ965 Q5?
C)
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Pass | 1 |
|
| 1 |
1 |
Pass | ?? |
Suppose that you (South) hold the following hand:
AQ76 52 AKQ102 K2.
Your partner opens 1. You respond 1 (no need to bypass such a good suit when you have enough to introduce spades later). Atfer LHO overcalls 1, your partner bids 1. You belong in only a spade game opposite,say:
KJ106 Q876 3 AQJ4
But, you could easily belong in 6 or 7 opposite the right hand. Now what? Jumping to 3 (a common error by intermediate-level players) is unacceptable. Why? Because partner can Pass! Jumps in previously bid suits are only invitational. You could jump to game in spades, but partner will never play you for this much. Best is to force with a cuebid of 2.
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Pass | 1 |
|
| 1 |
1 |
Pass | 2 |
This says nothing about hearts. It doesn't promise spade support yet. You might have had a big hand with diamonds and delayed club support. You might be fishing for 3NT with a hand such as:
AQ 765 AKQ65 654.
With that hand you would also produce a 2 cuebid.
All partner knows is that you have a good hand. With hearts stopped, he will likely bid notrump. With the hand I just showed you, you would raise to 3NT. With the original AQ76 52 AKQ102 K2, you would bid 3 next. That would show a GF spade raise with slam interest. How would partner know? With less, you wouldn't have cuebid first. Or, you could have jumped to 4 without real slam interest. This cuebid and then raise shows a hand like you have. Subsequent bids on the 4-level would be control-bids. You could now find out if partner has a heart control.
Note: In this particular situation, the cuebid overlaps "4th Suit GF."
D)
| West | North (opener) | East | South (RESPONDER) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
Double | |
| Pass | 2 |
Pass | ?? |
Suppose that you (South) hold the following hand:
86 AQJ2 KQ32 Q42.
Your partner opens 1. After a 1 overcall, you made a normal negative double. Partner's rebid is 2. Now what?
You guessed it. You cuebid their suit. As usual, it says nothing about their suit (spades). You might have or might not have a high card in their suit. You would make the same 2 bid with:
A6 AQJ2 KQ32 Q42.
It neither shows nor denies support for diamonds or clubs. It is just "forcing." If partner has their suit stopped, he will likely bid 2NT next. If he is 5-5 in the minors, you will probably hear 3. If he has 3-card heart "support," he can bid 2. Your next move, will depend on opener's third call.
Is this second-round two-level cuebid forcing to game? Probably it should be. When the responder knows the opener is minimum, he could guess to cuebid and then bailout if he doesn't like what he hears from opener. But, for simplicity's sake, I recommend playing the cuebid discussed here as forcing to game. It is not alertable (generally, no cuebids, regardless of meaning, are alertable).
Just to review, responder's second-round two-level cuebid says nothing about the suit cuebid, and neither shows nor denies support for opener. It is quite similar to a Western cuebid (which is made on the 3 level).