Splinter bids and Jacoby 2NT in Acol

[el mister]

How do splinters and J2NT work / not work together?

 

Playing Acol, responding to 1M with 3M is a limit raise showing 10-12. If you have 13+ pts and 4 card support, then you could bid J2NT. It seems that the responses to J2NT are quite versatile, don't take up undue space in the auction (rel to splinters), and cater for a variety of shapes. So when might you prefer to splinter?

 

Or to put it another way, is it a good idea to use J2NT as a game force bid showing 13+, 4 card support and ANY shape?

 

Also, are splinters used over a minor opening, say 1♣ - P - 3♥?

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

 

There is a general difference if one compares a splinter auction with

Jacoby 2NT auction.

 

In a splinter auction responder tells opener something about his hand,

and opener is usually the one making the decision to move over 4M.

In a Jacoby 2NT auction responder asks opener about his hand and

responder is usually the one making the final decision.

 

Sometimes you are better of showing, sometimes you are better of

asking.

 

More precisise: A splinter is not only showing shortage and enough

for game, a splinter will also limit responders hand, i.e. a splinter showes

shortage, 4 card support and 13-15HCP.

So if you have a hand with 16-18HCP and a shortage you are too strong

to make the splinter, and if p bids 4M - it is unclear if you have enough

power to make another move over 4M, you have roughly 30HCP, but this

does not mean you can be sure, that you make 5M (and equally it is still

possible that you can make 6M).

 

In contrast a Jacoby 2NT bid is unlimited, you have more space, but

taking out certain hand types (13-15 with shortage) has the adv. that

you dont have to deal with every possible shape.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

 

PS: I think it makes sense to play Jacoby 2NT playing Acol, since a natural

2NT response to a 1 level opening should be "forbidden", if you regular open

light, an opening style Acol favors.

 

And splinters are also on after minor suit openings.

[hotShot]

It is possible and probably useful to combine splinter and J2NT.

Over a 1M opening you can use 3m (and 3♥ over 1♠) as mini-splinter forcing to 3M to show unbalanced invitational hands, a direct 3M for balanced invitational hands, J2NT to show (semi)- balanced GF hands and have 4m splinter to show unbalanced GF hands.

I prefer the 3 level answers to J2NT to be shortage, so that we can stop in 3NT if both sides have (semi)balanced hands.

 

And yes 1m - 3M can be used as splinter.

[ArtK78]

My general rule of thumb is if I can tell my partner all that he needs to know to determine whether the hand belongs in game or slam, I do so. If I need information about his hand to make that determination, I try to obtain captaincy of the auction.

 

By making a splinter response, you are telling partner about your hand and giving him captaincy of the auction. This is appropriate if the splinter bid gives partner enough information (or, combined with cuebidding and any other asking bids in your arsenal partner can get the information he needs) to determine the correct level.

 

If you can see that you can determine the correct level by asking some questions, you should gain captaincy of the auction. By bidding Jacoby 2NT you take captaincy. This is appropriate if you have a very strong hand or if you need some very specific information to determine the correct level.

 

There are also hands in which captaincy is shared (or there is no captaincy). This occurs in many 2/1 auctions where the partners exchange information and neither partner is really in charge until some later point in the auction.

[Cyberyeti]

While I don't play J2N, I play 2N as raise to 3 or better in acol, meaning that my splinters are specifically a void, singletons start with 2N.

 

1m-3M we play the same way, void and support, singletons shown after an inverted minor raise.

[Old York]

Standard Modern Acol (EBU) uses an immediate jump to 3NT to show 4 card support, 12-15hcp and no interesting distributional feature.

The Delayed Game Raise can be used for hands with support and a source of tricks:

1♠-2♦-2♥-4♠ - responder showing 4 card support and good diamonds

 

Splinter bids are recommended also.

2NT remains as a natural limit bid without 4 card support. 3334 or 3343 is expected.

 

http://www.acolatbbo.org.uk/sundries/stdengmodacol2006.pdf

 

Tony