osocanoso

Competing in a minor often requires going to the 3 level, thus the requirement for extra cards in the suit

Hi thanks for asking 1 ♦ denies four hearts 3-3-(5-2) is opened 1 NT 3-3-(6-1) is opened 1 NT if the stiff is an ace or king and the hand otherwise qualifies or 1 club then 2 clubs or 2 diamonds or 2 nt if it is an ugly 11. I need to explain that better, I'd forgotten. I live in Spain

Have started playing this with my regular pard with good results: 1♣ 15-19 hcp any shape OR 20+ with 4+ hearts 1♦ 20+ any shape 1♥ 4+ hearts unbalanced 11-15 may have five card minor 1 ♠ 4+ hearts unbalanced 11-15 may have five card minor 1 NT 11-14 balanced 2 ♣ 5-5 minors 3-10 hcp 2 ♦ ekren 4+ cards in each major, 3-10 hcp 2 ♥ 6+ hearts 5-10 hcp 2 ♠ 6+ spades 5-10 hcp 2 NT 6+ minor 5-10 hcp, responder bids 2 clubs pass or correct with most hands Responses to 1 club: 1 ♦ waiting 1 ♥ 7+ hcp, 4+ hearts forcing to 2 NT 1 ♠ 7+ hcp, 4+ spades forcing to 2 NT 1 nt 11+ hcp, no four card major, no five card minor 2 ♣ 7+ hcp, 5+ clubs, forcing to 2 NT 2 ♦ 7+ hcp, 5+ diamonds, forcing to 2 NT higher level responses are weak jump shifts Responses to 1 ♦ 1 ♥ waiting other bids show 9+ and are natural Opener's continuations are natural Using the club bid for strong hands with hearts addresses the issue of wrong siding the contract after a 1 diamond opening. This system is quite natural, allows us to preempt a lot, and keeps the bidding low on all strong hands without the ambiguity of the strong club opening. When opps interfere, responder already has an accurate picture of the partnerships assets. The accuracy of the opening bids makes it compatible with whatever conventional continuations you want.

Hi Kwic, There is an interesting rule that helps solve the problem of what to do after a 2/1 bid playing SAYC. It is something I read years ago written I think by Eddie Kantor. We all know that with 25 or 26 points the two hands combined will make 3 nt most of the time. Generally speaking, a change of 3 HCP moves the potential trick taking power of the combined hands one level, so with about 28 you can make 4 nt and with 22 you can make 2 nt. These values do not take distribution into account. A 2/1 response in SAYC promises 10 points. This means that the combined hands will be safe at least as far as 2 nt, and a 2/1 bid should be played as forcing to 2 nt. I call this the 22=2nt rule. Since the partnership is forced to 2 nt, opener's rebids below that level are forcing but do not show extra values. Any bid above 2nt is forcing to game unless it is a repeat of a suit already bid or a raise, in which case it is invitational. Playing this way, you can distinguish all of your point ranges. Here are the continuations with various point ranges: 2 NT: 12-14 3 NT: 15-17 2 diamonds or hearts followed by jump to 3 NT: 18-19 With 20-21 balanced or semibalanced most players open 2 nt and use puppet (marionette) stayman to find opener's five card major. This matrix is easy to remember and has another advantage: reverses are off after a 2/1. It solves the following problem: You open one diamond and partner bids 2 clubs. You have a four card major you would like to show, but in your system a reverse shows extra values. However, since two clubs is forcing to 2 nt, you can now bid your four card major without showing extra values. Very useful. It also solves a bidding problem for responder: When partner opens one heart and you have four spades and a five card minor with 10 points, you have to choose between bidding your four card suit at the one level or the five card suit at the two level. Either choice has it's advantages and disadvantages, especially playing with a new partner. I see players bid the four card suit a lot because they are afraid of losing the major suit fit. Playing 22=2nt that problem goes away, because you can bid two of your minor and after opener's rebid you can bid two spades without showing extra values and stop in 2 nt if that's right. Stephen Tu is absolutely correct when he says that SAYC is not a coherent system. It was developed by the American Contract Bridge League so that unfamiliar partnerships could play at tournaments with minimal discussion, so it employs elements that are well known and common but not necessarily compatible with each other.