Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - February 8, 2021 - Is it a Weak 2 bid?

 

Question: With a weak 2 bid is it acceptable to go right to game or do you have to take a slower approach??

Vic:

If West interprets the 2H opening bid by East as weak, the jump directly to 4H is correct. This is based on the Law of Total Trump. West should subsequently take the 4H call as a "drop dead" bid & Pass. 

I have to assume, however, that East meant their opening 2H bid as strong. If not, they need to review the criteria for a standard opening hand. Strong opening two bids are a feature of some bidding systems, although I think many would agree that the East hand does not quite measure up. In no way, however, is the East hand weak. I would open the East hand 1H planning to jump in hearts on my second call, if partner shows me anything. 

If West interprets the 2H opening bid by East as strong, they should explore for slam. Looks to me like EW deserve to make 6H. 

The two most common modern bidding systems popular in North America (Standard American & Two Over One) both treat opening two bids as weak. The usual criteria are 5-10 HCPs & exactly a 6-card suit. I recommend adding the stipulation that the 6-card suit be "disciplined" which basically means that the HCPs should be mostly in the 6-card suit.