Liversidge, on 2016-January-27, 08:37, said:
One area I am still unsure about relates to the strength of hand required for an unbalanced 2♣ opening bid.
There are a few things to consider:
1: is there a real risk that a 1-level opening will be passed out? If you are short in a suit higher ranking than your opening suit, that is usually not the case unless you have an extremely high number of HCPs. But if your opening suit would be spades it is more likely.
2: if it gets passed out, is it likely that a 2
♣ opening would have taken you to a makeable game contract?
3: can you show your strength and shape if you open at the 1-level (assuming it won't get passed out)?
4: can you show your shape if you open 2
♣?
As for 3, two-suited hands are quit easy since a jump shift shows a very strong hand. But 1-suited hands can be an issue. In Acol,
1
♠-1NT
3NT
shows a balanced 19-count so you don't have that bid available for a 6322 that is too strong for 3
♠ rebid. It is therefore a common agreement that a one-suited hands with a major can open 2
♣ if it is close to GF, i.e. you need one useful honour or a fit in order to make game.
As for 4, 3-suited hands and some 2-suited hands are awkward so it is recomended that those hands only open 2
♣ with GF strength (however, 4441 hands and some 5431 hands are better treated as balanced if too strong for a 1-level opening.
So in short: 2
♣ shows:
balanced 22+ or 23+ (depending on where your 2NT range stops).
almost-gf onesuited hands with a major
any gf
The world would be such a happy place, if only everyone played Acol :) --- TramTicket