Suction convention
5631402
223864561
2008-07-06T06:02:27Z
Insanephantom
1093478
/* Restricted use */ .
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'''Suction''' is a [[contract bridge|bridge]] [[convention (bridge)|convention]] used for intervention over an opponent's 1NT opening.
When suction is agreed, a suit overcall of a 1NT opening is conventional and ''denies'' the suit actually bid. It shows ''either'' (1) a one-suiter in the next higher ranking suit or (2) a [[two suiter]] in the other two suits.
If responder passes, advancer is required to bid the next higher ranking suit. If overcaller has the one-suited hand, he passes. Otherwise, he bids yet the next higher suit, showing that suit plus the remaining, unbid suit. Advancer then takes a preference by passing or bidding the remaining suit.
To summarize:
*2♣ shows either diamonds or both majors
*2<span style="color:red">♦</span> shows either hearts or both black suits
*2<span style="color:red">♥</span> shows either spades or both minors
*2♠ shows either clubs or both red suits
The two-suiters corresponding to the four suit bids are touching pairs one suit further up the line (perhaps better thought of this way ~ "both majors" requires memorising .. they happen to be the touching pair the lower of which is one up the line from diamonds).
There are also two "non-touching" pairs, namely C & H, and D & S. The first can be thought of as the "junior" pair and shown by "Double"; the second is the senior and can be shown by 2NT. This requires the penalty double to be forgone; if unwilling to forgo, then 2NT must show both, requiring identification.
==Use as pre-empts==
Suction bids can be used as pre-empts, giving a way of opening many weak hand types cheaply. Responder bids the next suit up with a weak or non-descript hand, and makes any other bid to force for one round. These mean forgoing the artificial 2{{Cs}} opening, so work best in a strong club context. This has the advantage that one can use the same structure for weak 2 openings, a defence to 1NT and (at the 1-level, with a "Double" replacing 2{{Cs}}) a defence to a strong 1C opening.
==Restricted use==
Suction is not permitted in events governed by the [[American Contract Bridge League|ACBL]] General convention chart, except as a defense to artificial opening bids (such as [[Precision club|Precision]], [[Strong two clubs|strong 2{{Cs}}]] openings, [[Flannery]], etc.).
==See also==
*[[List of defenses to 1NT]]
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[[Category:Bridge conventions]]