[elwood913]

Hi,

I have a question about methods to handle opps 2-suited overcalls after we open 1 of a suit.

What we play now is this:

--Cue bid (or lower cue bid if 2 suits are known): Limit raise or better in opener's suit.
--higher cue bid (if 2 suits are known): Forcing raise in the unbid suit. About 10 hcp and 5+ cards.
--All raises are 6-9 points.
--Double: 10 hcp, suggests defensive values.
--All suit bids show a max of 9 hcp, nf. Typically a reasonable suit, 5+. To show a better hand with a good suit you can make the higher cue bid if available, or X and bid the suit later if the higher cue bid is not available.
--Jump cue bids are splinters.
--No Trump bids are natural.

I have seen other methods with slightly different meanings for the cues and the bids. But I haven't seen one that handles my main concern which is this--How do we show a 4-card major? I don't see a way for responder to bid it. And when it gets back to the opener he will likely be on the 3-level, maybe the 4- or 5-level so it's tough to make a stab with a 4-card major with many of his holdings.

So, couple of Q's:

1. Are the methods we employ reasonable?
2. How do we bid our 4-card majors?

Thanks,
Bill

[whereagles]

Your methods seem quite playable. To show a 4-card major will be hard in most cases.. I suppose you can try start with dbl + bid the 4-card suit. You'll need a GF hand for this, though, otherwise you'll risk getting too high.

[effervesce]

If they're real 5+/5+ two suiters, then looking for 4-4 fits is not that useful, simply because the chances of the suit splitting 4-1 or 5-0 are very high.

[pclayton]

I assume you mean looking for a 4-4 fit in the 4th suit, as in:

1♠ - (2N) - ? where you hold something like xx AKxx KQx xxxx.

Many play a pass followed by a double as a balanced hand without a fit for opener that wants to compete.