3 card support and opening values

[bravejason]

I found a gap in my bidding knowledge that I'd like to be filled: Partner deals and opens one of a major. Opponent passes. You have enough values that you could have opened the bidding yourself (~14 pts). You have a balanced shape with 3 card trump support, 2-3 cards in the other major, and the rest of your cards are in the minor suits. What do you bid and what is your rebid?

[Stephen Tu]

This depends a lot on what system you are playing, and even within systems you have a lot of different options depending on what set of conventions you are playing.

 

Assuming 5 cd majors:

If 2/1 is not a GF (vanilla SA, SAYC), you pretty much have to bid a 2/1 in a 4 cd minor, then support partner's major with a jump, often to game.

 

If 2/1 is a GF, then there are a plethora of options, I have seen all of the following options in print or bridge forum posts and I'm sure one could devise more:

- with good 5+ minor, pretty much everyone will choose to bid 2/1 in the minor, then support the major cheaply. When good 5+ minor is not present, then any of:

1. 2/1 in a 4 cd minor, support major cheaply. Rarely forced to 2/1 in a 3 cd club suit with exactly 3433 over 1s, because 2h promises 5 for like 99+% of people.

2. Treat 2c as "balanced or clubs", possibly on 2 cd clubs only, then support partner's major cheaply. Or use some partially-artificial, maybe relay-ish followups after 2c instead. Or have responder always bid 2nt next with balanced and show the support on 3rd round if opener doesn't bid 3nt.

3. Play 2nt as GF balanced. Use some other jump for your forcing 4 cd raises. Show support if partner bids side suit at 3 level.

4. Play 1nt as absolutely forcing. Include both GF balanced hands with 3 cd support and only 2 cd support. With 2 cd support only generally you are jumping to 3nt next unless something like 1s-1nt-2h and partner has hit your 4 cd heart suit. With 3 cd support, use an artificial jump to 3 of the other major over partner's minor to give choice of games between 3nt/4M. (1s-1nt-2c-3h, 1h-1nt-2c-3s). Use some other sequence for invitational with hearts (e.g. 1s-3h). If 1s-1nt-2h, you just jump to game in one of the majors.

5. Play 1M-3nt as showing a 33(43) hand with 3 cd support for partner's major, NF

[helene_t]

Probably start with 2m but make sure you have a forcing bid available in the next round regardless of opener's rebid. For example

1s-2d

2s-3s

should be forcing but if it isn't the you need some other forcing raise. For example 4c and 4h could be cue bids rather than splinters. Not the best system but better than not having any forcing raise, or not knowing if 3s is forcing.