[In response to some questions, I have revised the article to clarify some points.] 

There has been some conster­­na­tion about these bids. The NCBC Board has decided to allow them with the following provisos: first, you must pre-alert the opponents that you play such bids; second, you must carry a summary of them and a suggested defense; and third, that the minimum HCP count be 10 or more rather than 9.

They address a problem with standard bidding: 2-suited hands where the longer suit is lower in rank than the shorter.  I call these hands "upside down."  (But the bids also handle a 6+ card one-suiter at the same time.)

We've all been troubled by upside down hands from time to time. For example, in Standard American, holding a normal opening hand with 4 diamonds and 5 clubs, it is usually suggested you open 1D, planning to bid 2C at your next turn. This gives Partner a distorted picture of your hand, but is better than opening 1C planning to bid 2D, because you might end up at the 3-level.

Thus, in Standard, when you open 1D, the opponents must recognize the potential risk of overcalling 2C. Opener might or might not have quite a surprise for you.  Partner, for his part, is at a disadvantage also.  Even when you bid 2C after opening 1D, he cannot tell whether you have 4-5 in the minors or 5-4.

Similarly, in Standard, if you open 1H, you might or might not have 4 spades. Partner does not know, and neither do the opponents.  Everybody must recognize that it's a possibility, and act accordingly.

Enter Intermediate 2-bids.

In the past, 2-bids were always very strong.  Some players still bid that way.  More recently, 2-bids have usually been weak.  The ACBL allows both, as well as Intermediate, and requires an Alert when not weak.

Our definition of 2-bids is Natural, showing 9-14 HCP, and either 6+ cards or 5-4 upside down. 9-14 is not weak, so you are required to Alert the opponents.  We Alert for HCP's only, not because it's Artificial in any way -- we always hold about the right number of cards in the suit we bid.  Note that if you choose to play these bids, you may have to adjust the range to match your other agreements.  10-15 would not be uncommon, for example, but 9-14 fits our Precision system better.

With stronger hands (16 HCP in Standard) you can "afford" to open the lower-ranking, but longer, suit first at the 1-level, and then bid the second, higher suit later. This is a Reverse.  With weaker hands, less than 9 in our case, we do not bid, unless we have a true 3-level Preempt.

The innovation, in my view, is that when we open at the 2-level, we promise either an upside down 2-suiter holding the suit bid and another, higher, suit; or a 1-suiter in the suit bid.  (Exception: 2S shows just spades.)  From Responder's point of view, and for the Opponents, Opener might or might not have a second 4-card suit.

The similarity with 1-bids continues.  No one is surprised to find Opener with a second suit, and no one is surprised to find that Opener has a 1-suiter in the suit bid. 

The Key

The key feature of the system, is that Responder does not proceed unless he has an invitational or better hand and a tolerance (2+ cards) for the suit opened.  Without both, Responder usually passes.  Any new suit bid either partner makes is forcing one round, so you always end up at least at the 3 level, when in a suit.

The Simple Responses

The simplest method of playing this is to simply bid 4-card suits "up the line."  If Opener has a 4-card suit, he will do the same.  If an 8-card fit exists, it will be found. If Opener does not have a 4-card suit, he will rebid his suit.  Then we know he holds 6+ in his suit and you have a tolerance (2+), so you have found an 8+ card fit.

Note that this simple method can result in a 5-card suit in Responder's hand going unnoticed. When Opener has 3 of that suit, an inferior contract might be reached.

In the worst case, Opener has 5 of his suit, and another 4-card suit, but the hands don't fit and no 8-card fit exists.  In that case, one or the other of the bidders may have bid 2NT which can be passed to reject the invitation.  In other cases, 2NT is not "liked" by the bidder, and he retreats to 3 of the suit bid with a 7 card fit.  This is usually passed, but Partner may have a big hand and keep going.

Michael and I use a more complex system of responses.  (Of course! We never do anything the easy way!)   Our responses are geared to not "wrong-side" the contract, and to find fits in Responder's 5+ card suit, instead of a suit of the Opener.  I'll explain those responses in a separate article.

Overcalls

Another nice feature of these intermediate 2-bids is that we can and do play the exact same bids as Overcalls.  That is, a 2-level Overcall, whether a jump or not, shows exactly the same kind of hand as a 2-level opening -- 9-14, 6+ cards, or 5-4 upside down.  If the bid is a jump, it must be Alerted, since it is not weak.  If it's not a jump, no alert is necessary.

Inferences

The most significant inference available when playing these bids is that when Partner does open 1H, you know he does not have 4 spades (in Precision, possibly requiring an Alert) or has a strong hand (as most people play). Note that the 2-bid Opener also denies holding as many as 4 in any suit lower than the one he bid.  (There is one rare holding where this might not be true: 4-5-4-0)

Defense

When we open 2C or 2D, the probability is 65% that we have a 4-card major, and 35% that we have 6+ cards and do not have a major. When we open 2H, the probability is 32.5% that we have spades, and 67.5% that we do not. 

The probabilities do not depend on the HCP range selected. We have not calculated these probabilities if the opener may have 5 clubs and 4 diamonds, which Miller and I ignore using our response structure. If you use a different response structure, such as the simple one presented here, that allows for 5 clubs and 4 diamonds; then the probabilities will be more like 70-30 for 2C.

People get worried when playing against these bids, but should not.  There is no more likelihood of a bad split when overcalling these bids than over a 1-bid.  Use Double and cue-bids exactly as you would at the 1-level.

The only real consideration, defensively, is that you will be one level higher to enter the auction, and that the bidders are one level higher themselves.  This changes the calculations of whether to enter the auction (you need  more), or to play defense (you need less.)

Statistical Safety

Any two hands contain either two 7-card fits or at least one 8+ card fit.  You knew this, right?  Also, there's a saying that "if they have a fit, you have a fit."  This is not quite true, but it's almost true.  (You could have 3 7-card fits and a 5 where their 8 is.)

With 7-card fits, it is better to play in a major than a minor, because of the scoring.  You knew this too, right?

With a 5-card suit, it is "safe" to Open or Overcall at the 1-level.  Hence 5-card majors and normal Overcalls.  Duh!

With a 6-card suit, it is safe to Open or Overcall at the 2-level.  Hence weak 2-bids and 2-level Overcalls.  Note that to Open or Overcall at the 2-level with merely a 5-card suit is not statistically safe!

With 5-5, it is safe to Open or Overcall requiring the 3-level, if partner knows which suits you hold.   Hence 2NT as the "Unusual" NT, and "Michaels" over the Majors.  5-4 hands are not safe, if bidding requires the 3-level.

With 5-4 hands, it is safe to Open or Overcall at the 2-level if you can find the best fit quickly, and when the hands contain about half the HCPs between them.

Handling Mis-fits

If you cannot tolerate Opener's suit, rescuing requires an exceptional hand, and you normally should pass.  Higher suits exist, so the Opponents may well rescue you at the 2-level rather than play defense.  But you may choose to define a jump bid as a rescue.  We do not.

If you can tolerate Opener's suit, but do not have an Invitational or better hand, you also should pass.  But if you can actually support Opener's suit, and are weak, you may want to raise immediately, as a preemptive action.

Comments

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Michael K. Miller   |2010-08-04 10:17:22 Au contraire, mon frère... I take complete copyrighted credit in the context of, and integral to, NSys Precision.

Pat Clark  - Point taken. Article revised.   |2010-08-04 10:28:14 I had said that I believed Michael takes no credit for these bids. I stand corrected, and have revised the article accordingly.

Jim Somma   |2010-08-05 12:35:37 First, most people in "local" bridge clubs do not play Precision, no matter what the version. Second, I don't know if the 9-14 HCP 2-Diamond bid is legal. The ACBL stipulates no more than a 5-point spread for a 1NT opener, so I don't know why a two-level bid should be any different. Third, I couldn't find what responder's point count was when bidding over 2 Diamonds. Shape is great, but a few aces and kings would help. In closing, the 2-Diamond opener sounds like a veiled attempt at confusing the opponents so they are skeptical about entering the bidding.

Pat Clark  - re:   |2010-08-05 12:48:34 I have no idea why 1NT's range should apply to an intermediate two bid. On the other hand, a weak 2-bid's range is commonly 5-10, a range of 6, the same as 9-14. Of course, a Standard American 1C promises 3-? clubs, and 13-21 HCP. Talk about a wide range! Or ambiguity! There was no "point count" presented, just the phrase "invitational or better" and "tolerance" for Opener's suit. Points, schmoints. An invitational hand is recognized by many factors and to reduce it to points is . . . pointless. But if we must, how about 10+ or equivalent. There's nothing more veiled or ambiguous about these bids than any other bid.

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