Rule of 17: How to Respond to a Weak Two Bid

The Rule of 17 tells you when to try for game after partner opens a weak two. Add your high card points to the number of cards you hold in partner's suit: with 17 or more, bid game or ask with 2NT; with less, pass or make a preemptive raise.

The rule belongs to the response structure of weak two bids, which are standard in 2/1 Game Force, Standard American and many Acol partnerships. It assumes a typical weak two: a six-card suit and about 5 to 10 or 11 HCP.

Partner opens 2♥ or 2♠ and the next player passes. You count:

1. Your high card points.
2. The number of cards you hold in partner's suit.
3. Add them.

Why the trumps count so much: a weak two has few high cards outside its suit. The tricks come from the long suit, and every extra trump you hold means fewer losers in it and more chances to ruff.

You have two ways forward:

• Bid game directly (4♥ or 4♠) when you have a fit and a clear picture. With three or more trumps and good controls, this is the simplest choice. It also gives the opponents the least information.
• Bid 2NT to ask when the total is close to 17, or when game depends on whether partner is minimum or maximum. Depending on your agreement, opener answers with a feature (a side ace or king) or with the Ogust steps that rate both strength and suit quality. You can see what 2NT means in every system.

With a total of 20 or more and a doubleton or better in partner's suit, also consider 3NT. That works when you have stoppers in the other three suits and an honor in partner's suit, so that it runs.

Game is unlikely, so think about the opponents:

• No fit, total well under 17: pass. Do not try to "rescue" partner into your own suit.
• Three trumps: raise to three. Partner has six, you have three: nine trumps, and the law of total tricks says the three level is safe enough. The raise is not invitational, it is a preempt.
• Four or five trumps: raise to game as a preempt, especially at favorable vulnerability. With ten trumps the opponents usually have a game or a good save.

Partner must pass your preemptive raise. You, not partner, are captain once you respond.

The Rule of 17 is a guideline. Adjust when these show up:

• A singleton or void in partner's suit. A total of 17 with one trump is a misfit hand. Partner's suit may have three or four losers. Look at 3NT or a partscore instead.
• Honors in partner's suit. The ♠K or ♠Q opposite partner's ♠AJ10xxx can be worth two tricks. Count them as gold.
• Queens and jacks in short suits. ♥QJ doubleton or a singleton ♦K adds points but few tricks.
• Aces outside. Aces are entries and quick tricks, and the weak hand cannot provide its own. A hand with three aces is better than its count.
• Vulnerability and style. If partner's weak twos at favorable vulnerability are very light, add a point to the target. If they are disciplined when vulnerable, take one off.

You have 16 HCP and two spades: 18. Your ♠A fills partner's suit, and the ♥AK and ♦K give three side tricks. Bid 4♠ directly.

The combined hands hold only 24 HCP, but partner's spades are worth five or six tricks with the ace in your hand. Double dummy, ten tricks make in spades on this layout, while 3NT makes nine. Notice that 4♠ is better even though you have only a doubleton: the six-card suit plus your ace means few spade losers.

Partner opens 2♥. You hold ♠K83 ♥1084 ♦Q9652 ♣74: 5 HCP + 3 hearts = 8. Raise to 3♥. You have no game, but nine trumps let you take away a level from the opponents, who likely hold the balance of power.

Partner opens 2♠. You hold ♠Q83 ♥A94 ♦KQ72 ♣J63: 12 HCP + 3 spades = 15. Pass or raise to 3♠ as a preempt. Partner's best hand is about 10 HCP, so the total is at most 22 with no long side suit to set up.

Partner opens 2♠. You hold ♠5 ♥AQJ4 ♦AJ62 ♣KQ84: 17 HCP + 1 spade = 18. The count says game, but which game? 4♠ with a singleton opposite a weak suit can lose three trump tricks. Bid 2NT first. If partner shows a maximum with a good suit, 3NT is a fair shot because the spades can run once they are set up. If partner is minimum with a bad suit, sign off in 3♠.

The Rule of 17 was built for the majors, where game is ten tricks. After a weak 2♦, game in diamonds needs eleven tricks, so 5♦ is rare. The real target is 3NT:

• With 17 or more, stoppers in the majors and clubs, and an honor in diamonds, bid 3NT. Partner's suit runs, and you supply the rest.
• Without a diamond honor, partner's suit may never be set up with entries. Bid 2NT to ask, or pass.
• With a weak hand and diamond support, raise to 3♦ as a preempt.

Note that in many European partnerships 2♦ is not a weak two at all but the Multi (a weak two in either major), so the rule applies only once you know the suit.

• Raising with a singleton because the total reaches 17. Count trumps only when you have them.
• Passing with four trumps and a weak hand. That is the best moment to raise to game as a preempt.
• Bidding a new suit "to rescue". A new suit over a weak two is forcing in most methods; with a weak misfit, pass.
• Ignoring partner's style. Partner's weak twos may run from 5 to 11 HCP. Know your range before you trust a borderline total.
• Taking a preemptive raise as an invitation. As opener, pass partner's raise to three.

Want more? Bid random deals in the BridgeDummy Bidding Room with EPBot robots playing your system, and every time partner opens a weak two, count to 17 before you bid. Related: preempts and the losing trick count.