December 1, 2005

The Polish Club: Summary and 1C Auctions

This report describes only the unique features of the the Polish Club bidding system as played by Mike Mardesich, Gil Comeau and Cathy Woodburne. Here is a summary of of the system's key features:

Two companion papers discuss workable approachs to these suit and notrump openings. The remainder of this report is divided into these sections:

Learning a new system is often a struggle for a while. I have marked the inessential bids with an asterisk (*) to help the reader initially focus on the important sequences.

The 1C Opening

The Polish Club system opens 1C on all hands of 19+ points (except those with long diamonds and 19-21 or so points, which are opened 1D, and the 22-23 point balanced hands which are opened 2NT) and weaker hands (12-18 hcp) unsuited for any other opening bid. There are three of these weaker types:

  1. 12-15 hcp, balanced, with no five card major and fewer than four diamonds. Opener may have 5 clubs (e.g. 2335), but in this case will not have a four card major. (The 2C opening describes the 12-15 point x4x5 and 4xx5 hands, along with one suited hands with six or more clubs.) Opener may have as few as two clubs (specifically 4432), but generally has three or more. Note that hands in this range with four diamonds (and possibly longer clubs) prefer the 1D opening.
  2. 12-18 hcp and specifically 4414 (short diamonds).
  3. 16-18 hcp and either six or more clubs, or five clubs and a four card major.

After a forward going response (anything but 1D) opener can generally clarify the situation on his next bid: a minimum club rebid shows the 16+ club hand, a minimum diamond rebid is always artificial and strong, and two of a major rebids are strong (19+ point) and natural. Raises and 1NT rebids are natural. 1S (after 1C-1H) and 2C (after 1C-1major) are natural but forcing one round, possibly conceiling a strong hand. The rebid structure after a 1D response (usually showing 0-6 points) is necessarily more constrained.

Constructive Responses and Continuations to 1C

The 1D response to 1C is artificial and usually shows a weak hand (0-5 hcp) but is also used on some stronger hands that lack a major and are unsuitable for another systemic response. The auctions that begin 1C-1D make more sense once the remaining (constructive) responses are understood so they will explored first.

Responding with Balanced Hands Lacking a Major

Most 1C openings are balanced minimums, 12-15 points. Catering to this the system uses a ladder of NT responses that deny a four card major and  suggest notrump possibilities. (When opener isn't balanced his hand types fall into just a few rather specific categories which his rebid can describe quite clearly. This makes the space consuming 2NT and 3NT responses much more playable than they are in standard systems.) Here is the schedule of balanced hand responses:

After a 1NT response opener passes all weak balanced and three suited hands, raises to 3NT with the 19-21 point balanced hand, or 2NT or 3NT with an otherwise suitable 16+ club hand. 3NT after 1C-2NT is to play. Other non-jump rebids (xD, xH and xS) after both 1NT and 2NT responses show 19+ points and work like this:

Responding to 1C With a (four or more card) Major Suit

Our 2H and 2S responses to 1C show 4-5 points and a six+ card suit. On minimum 1C openings responder will always find at least two card support. This usage is not only preemptive, but it considerably simplifies the issues the partnership would otherwise have to deal with after 1C-1D, 2D. Opener passes on all minimum 1C openings. A raise sets the suit and initiates cue bidding. Other suit rebids are natural and forcing one round. 2NT suggests a big three suiter with a singleton or void in partner's suit - not forcing.

The 1H and 1S responses to 1C show four or more cards in the bid suit and 6 or more points. These responses may be made with a longer minor, the ambiguity is sorted out in subsequent rounds if need be.

After 1C-1major opener has a variety of ways to show stronger hands while largely retaining the natural (and limited) meaning of his raises and minimum rebids. Opener's 1S and 2C rebids are forcing (but natural) and are used on a variety of otherwise awkward hands in addition to their natural uses. Here is the general plan for opener's rebids after 1C-1major:

Responder to 1C has Clubs

The responding structure for hands that are dominated by a club suit is based on the presumption that opener will generally have the balanced 12-15 point 1C hand. The various possibilities for responder include:

Responder to 1C has Diamonds

As in the club case described above, the responding structure for hands that are dominated by a diamond suit is based on the presumption that opener will generally have the balanced 12-15 point 1C hand. There are parallels to the 2C structure, but also differences. Here are the possibilities:

The 1D Response to 1C

The 1D response is used on those hands that cannot make one of the constructive responses described above. Generally this means 0-5 hcp without a major. There are, however, five hand types that are stronger than this yet cannot effectively be developed with a constructive response to 1C that are also started with a 1D response. Discussion of these anomolous auctions was scattered in the previous sections. Here is a consolidated summary of the positive hand types that use an initial 1D response:

  1. 7-10 point hands without a four card major that are unsuitable for 1NT, e.g. x xxx Kxxxx AJxx. When opener now rebids 1H or 1S responder rebids the long minor. Although slightly misleading, there is rarely sufficient strength for game so little harm is done. In the case where opener's major suit rebid actually was strong, you will get another chance to clarify your strength.
  2. 10-12 point hands with 6+ diamonds. After opener's minimum rebid jump to 3D. (Could also be 10-12 and xx54 after 1C-1D,1S, see case 3 below.)
  3. *10-12 point hands with 5+ diamonds and 4+ clubs (unsuitable for 2NT, not strong enough for 2D) rebid 2S over opener's 1H (1C-1D,1H-2S), or 3D over 1S (1C-1D,1S-3D).
  4. 13+ point hands with a powerful 6+ card club suit and slam interest that would be difficult to express after 1C-2C. After opener's expected 1H or 1S rebid, continue with:
  5. 16+ point balanced hands lacking a four card major or five card minor, jump to 2NT after opener's 1H/1S rebid.

Opener's Rebids After 1C-1D

With all minimum (12-15 point) hands opener must rebid 1H except with exactly 2 hearts and 4 spades (specifically 4234, or possibly 4225 with weak clubs where opener elected not to open 2C) where 1S is rebid. (Note that the 1H rebid could be a doubleton with specifically 3235.) This approach allows the maximum signoff flexibility at the one level. Although these bids are non-forcing, a decent responding hand having support should raise opener's rebid, particularly 1S, as there are some distributions where opener will rebid in this way with 19-21 points (e.g. 4414, 4xx5 and x4x5 hands). See below.

With an intermediate (16 to about 22 point) hand opener has more rebid options after 1C-1D. In the 16-18 point cases opener will be either 4414 or have long clubs:

With 19-22 or so (but less than game forcing strength) opener, after 1C-1D, rebids:

  1. with long clubs and an unbalanced hand:
  2. with a major suit:
  3. with a balanced hand:
  4. with long diamonds opener should have started with a 1D opening holding less than game forcing strength.

Hands that want to force game regardless of responder's holding use the 2D rebid after 1C-1D to show much the same as a standard 2C opener -- nine or more tricks or, if balanced, 26+ points. It requires that game be reached or that the opponents be doubled if they enter into the auction. A natural rebid structure can be used but there are better alternatives. We use a transfer scheme on the weakest responding hands to conserve space and put the declaration in the strong hand. Stronger hands start with 2H. The whole scheme after 1C-1D, 2D looks like this:

Note that opener is under no obligation to accept a transfer response. Acceptance in a suit constitutes trump agreement. Acceptance in notrump initiates the agreed upon notrump structure.

Players may wish to consider this space conserving structure after 1C-1D, 2D-2H, which shows any 4+ points:

Interference after 1C

When the 1C opening is doubled (for takeout or to show clubs) responder operates as if the opening was natural. Should the auction proceed 1C-X-p-p opener's redouble asks responder to bid something. Here is the the rest of the structure after 1C-X:

After a natural simple overcall we use non-forcing freebids, natural NT bids and two-way negative doubles. A cue bid of the overcalled suit shows a good hand with clubs. Weak jump shifts after a simple overcall are usually effective because opener is usually weak and balanced.

When responder's major suit response is overcalled, e.g. 1C-p-1H-1S, opener uses a support double on all hands with three card support and cuebids (2S in this case) with 19+ hands and four card support. 2D, if available, suggests a strong hand with no suitable rebid.

Review of Oddball Sequences

1C-1D, 2D

This bid creates a game forcing auction and is used on hands that, in traditional methods, would open 2C.

1C-1H, 1S

This sequence is forcing. Generally it shows four spades and a limited hand, but if opener rebids spades again it suggests 19+ and five spades.

1C-1H/S, 2C

In this sequence opener will always have at least 16 points and usually six clubs, but could have an otherwise awkward hand with shortness in partner's suit or various minor two and three suiters. Responder's jump shift rebids are forcing, non-jump rebids are not, except 2D is artificial and of at least invitational strength to which opener rebids naturally.

1C-1H/S, 2D

This bid shows 19+ points and support for responder's major, at least three, and asks responder to clarify his hand. Responder's rebids are oriented toward disclosing strength and discovering if a real (8+ card) fit is present. With only a four card suit and a minimum hand (6-9) responder rebids a second suit, or, with 4333, 3NT. With a four card suit and 10 or more points responder rebids 2NT. With five or more cards responder rebids his suit at the two level on a good hand and at the three level on a weak hand. When responder's suit has been rebid, either by responder, or opener, a fit has been confirmed and the auction proceeds with cue bids and/or some form of  control asking.

1C-1NT, 2D and 1C-2NT, 3D

These diamond rebids show minor suit interest, 19+ points (after 1NT) and request shape clarification. Responder necessarily has at least seven cards in the minors (3-3 at most in the majors). He rebids minimum NT to show no five card minor and a major to show five in the corresponding minor (hearts show clubs, spades show diamonds). After 1C-1NT, 2D responder may have a six or seven card minor. This can be shown with three level rebids, 3C and 3D showing six and 3H and 3S showing seven.

1C-2C

This shows 10+ points and at least five clubs. Opener's rebids are nominally notrump oriented with 2D used on balanced hands which would accept an invitation and 2H/S used to start weaker hands. The 2D rebid is also used as the first move on 19+ point hands because responder will never rebid above 3C.

1C-1D On More Than 5 Points

There are five cases where a 1D response is made holding more than five points. These are hands that couldn't easily be bid with an available positive response. These hands are distinguished from their weak brothers by responder's unusual rebid. The problem hand types are: 

  1. 6-10 point hands with shortness in one or both majors. After opener's minimum rebid show a long minor.
  2. 10-12 point hands with 6+ diamonds. After opener's minimum rebid jump to 3D.
  3. 10-12 point hands with 5+ diamonds and 4+ clubs. Rebid 2S over opener's 1H; 3D over 1S.
  4. 13+ point hands with a powerful 6+ card club suit. Jump rebid to 3C or 3H/D/S: a singleton or void.
  5. 16+ point hands without a four card major or five card minor. Jump to 2NT after opener's 1H/1S rebid.

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