Responding to a Weak Two Opener - An Example

Responding when your partner opens with a weak two can be difficult. The weak two uses up a lot of bidding room. That’s great when the opponents have most of the strength. It’s not so great when you have a good hand.

The general principle is RONF or Raise-Only-Not-Forcing. Any bid that you make other than a raise of your partner’s suit is forcing for one round. A raise of your partner’s suit is intended to play there. She is expected to pass.

Let’s look at an example. Sally is dealer and opens 2 spades. Walt passes. Norm is holding this hand:

Norm
♠ KQ4
♥ 653
♦ AK8
♣ JT75

That’s 13 points with extra trump support. A game is possible if Sally is on the top of her bid. Even 3NT is possible, but the weak hearts might make that risky. Norm thinks about inviting game by bidding 3 spades, but then he remembers the RONF acronym. A raise tells his partner to pass.

This hand is a good candidate for the special 2NT response to a weak two opener. The 2NT response asks the opening bidder to show a “feature.” The opener will rebid her suit with a low-end weak two. With a strong weak two, she will show an ace or king in a side suit (the feature) by bidding that suit. With a strong hand and no feature, she bids 3NT to show…well…a strong weak two with no feature.

If Sally shows a feature in hearts, Norm might bid 3NT. His hand is balanced. He is no longer worried about hearts, and the 6-3 fit in spades will likely generate 5 or 6 tricks. It's not hard to envision taking 9 tricks in NT. With any other positive response from Sally, Norm will bid 4 spades.

Sally holds this hand:

Sally
♠ AJT986
♥ Q7
♦ 954
♣ Q2

That’s a solid weak two opener, but it isn’t exactly a strong weak two. It’s not exactly a weak weak two, either. It's in the middle. She doesn’t have a feature to show, and the two doubleton queens tilt the hand toward the weak side. She decides to show weakness and bids 3 spades.

Norm has learned what he needs to know and passes.

As the cards lie, even 3 spades looks unlikely to make. Sally sees 2 losers in hearts, 1 in diamonds, and 2 in clubs. Bummer.