Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Phantom Club

It's been a while, but I wanted to write about a system I read called the Phantom Club. This was such a wonderful concept, and easy enough for anyone to learn in a matter of minutes. The idea is that as opener, you pretend your right-hand opponent (RHO) bid 1C. Just use the overcall agreements you have with your partner now! Fun, eh? There are a couple of things you must adjust to make a working bidding system, though. Here's what it would look like with the current agreements Meg and I use:

1C - this is as if we doubled 1C, so the idea here would be either a 3-suited hand, short in clubs OR a strong hand (17+ points, typically).

1D/1H/1S - 8-16 points, natural suit (good quality, maybe 4 cards)

1NT - 12-14 HCP, balanced. You want to change this from 15-18 so that you and your partner don't pass out two 13 point balanced hands across from each other (that's a missed game! How embarrassing...)

2C - This is like a Michael's Cuebid showing the majors. It could be weak or strong, but with intermediate hands (11-15 points or so), I would open one of the majors and then bid the other if given the chance.

2D/2H/2S - Weak, 6-card suits (like standard)

2NT - I would play this as a 2-suited hand in the minor suits. Normally, it would be an Unusual 2NT showing the 2 lowest unbid suits, but that wouldn't be as useful as having a bid for the minors that is this destructive!

3 suit - Preemptive

3NT - To play. You could play this as a Gambling 3NT if you want, though.

That's it! The only comments I would make on this system is that you and your partner need to be on the same page about what to do as overcallers (since now you are always overcallers), and that the responses and rebids to the 1C opening should be discussed in detail (1C is the easiest bid for the opponents to overcall). For example,

Responses to 1C: NO PASS! Normally you could pass a takeout double of 1C, but you might miss a game if you do in this case.
           1D/1H/1S = 0-7 pts, 4 card suit (could be as short as 3)
           1NT = 7-10 pts, balanced
           2C = 12+ pts, any shape
           2D/2H/2S = 8-11 pts, 4 card suit
           2NT = 11-13 pts, balanced

Opener will rebid a new suit, or "cuebid" clubs again with a stronger hand (21+ pts).

With interference over 1C, responder would pass with 0-7 pts, bid something with 8-11 pts, and cuebid the most recent opponent bid to show a game-forcing hand.

Alright, you probably get the idea by now. Obviously, you should use the bids you and your partner already use in competition, asking yourselves questions like, "Are responses to 1 suit forcing or non-forcing?" or "how do I show a game-forcing raise of 1M?" By the way, if you play in an ACBL-sanctioned event with this system, I wouldn't recommend opening with less than 8 points. Plus, you need to mark on your convention card that you play very light openings. Happy bidding!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Defense to 1NT

So, Meg has been kind enough to try Cappelletti defense to 1NT which shows the following after opponent's bid 1NT:

Double = penalty
2C = 1-suited hand
2D = 2-suited in the majors
2H = 2-suited in hearts and a minor
2S = 2-suited in spades and a minor
2NT = 2-suited in the minors

The minuses of this system of overcalls is that with a 1-suited hand (which happens more often) you are bidding at such a low level that opponents can be bidding with you and sometimes you never get to show partner your suit (unless you bid at a level perhaps higher than you intended). After debating the other defenses to 1NT like Brozel, DONT, Astro, etc. Meg and I decided to create our own system which has the following characteristics:
1. Double is penalty. This way we can play this system over weak NT as well as the normal 15-17 range.
2. 2M is natural. This takes up enough space to be a pest and shows immediately the strain we most likely want to be in.

So, after looking at the GCC (General Convention Chart, which is the rules we must follow in ACBL tournaments), I discovered that Double AND 2C can be used artificially without having to show any particular suit. Here's what we came up with:

Double = penalty
2C = 2-suited in a major and a minor
2D = 2-suited in the majors
2H = Natural
2S = Natural
2NT = 2-suited in the minors
3C/3D = Natural (typically a 6-card suit)

This takes care of all 1- and 2-suited hands. The only bid that is a problem is 2C which shows a major and a minor, neither of which partner knows. Responses in an uncontested auction to the 2C overcall are as follows:

2D = asks partner for the major (support or tolerance for either major)
2H = support or tolerance for hearts, NO tolerance for spades
2S = support or tolerance for spades, NO tolerance for hearts
2NT = asks for partner for the minor (support or tolerance for either minor, NO major tolerance)

This is new for us, so if anyone has a name they would like to give this system of overcalls of 1NT, I would appreciate it.