Wednesday, October 15, 2014

The Second Negative - Part 1

The “second negative” is also called the “double negative.” Don’t confuse it with the “negative double” – they are totally different bids.

Partner opens 2

When partner opens 2 and you have a crummy hand, you first respond 2. This is just a negative bid, showing 0 to 7 points. But if you are truly dreadful, you need to turn partner off from his lofty dreams by giving him a “second negative.”

If you have zero (zippo, nada, 0000000) to 3 points, with no king (kings are good; you are bad), first bid 2 and then bid 3. The cheaper unbid minor (almost always it will be clubs) is the second negative after 2… it shows you are broke.

You
3 2                        Partner        You
Q 9 8 6                 2               2  
 9 8 7 4 3               2               3
9 7

Your first response, 2, showed 0 to 7 points. But there is a big difference between the bottom half – zero to 3 – and the top half – 4 to 7.

Your second bid, 3, is the second negative.