JACOBY MODERN
The concept of the Jacoby Modern evolved from the Convention Card of Mr. Oswald Jacoby and his son, Mr. James Jacoby. This particular bidding system found some favor in the bridge community during the beginning period of evolving conventions, bidding systems and newer bidding methods. Their concept is derived from the the bidding system, which is now known as Standard American. The deviations are minor, but still effective in their approach. Our thanks to Mr. Jim Loy, who has preserved this information, which is presented here for a more historical purpose.
1. Convention Card and General Approach:
Opening one of any suit shows 13 plus points and QJ10x in that suit.
Strong 2
Opening: Opening 2 Clubs shows 23 high card points or 1 trick short of game. The values of the responder are shown by Step Responses.
Strong 1 No Trump: Opening 1 No Trump shows 16-18 high card points, balanced shape, with stoppers in at least 3 suits.
2 No Trump and 3 No Trump Openings:
2 No Trump shows 21-22 high card points.
3 No Trump shows 25-26 high card points.
The 23-24 high card points range is bid with a Strong 2 Clubs opening bid.
Non-Forcing Stayman:
A 2 Clubs response to a 1 No Trump opening asks partner to bid a 4-card Major suit or 2 Diamonds with no 4-card Major suit. This approach may be used with a weak hand.
In response to a 1 No Trump opening, 2 Diamonds shows a 5-card Heart suit and forces partner to bid 2 Hearts; 2 Hearts shows a 5- card Spade suit and forces partner to bid 2 Spades.
Double Raise Is A Limit Raise:
A double raise response (1 Heart - 3 Hearts) shows 10-12 points and is invitational to game.
Convenient Minor:
The opener may occasionally have to open a 3-card Minor suit, if there are no other biddable suits.
Weak Two Bids:
Either 2 Diamonds / 2 Hearts / 2 Spades: Shows 7-10 high card points, a 6-card suit and 6-3-3-1 or 6-3- 2-2 distribution.
Weak Jump Overcall:
A Jump over call is preemptive, showing 10 points or less, and at least a 6-card suit.
Gerber Over No Trump Bids:
4 Clubs after a 1 No Trump or 2 No Trump opening bid or after a 2 No Trump response is Gerber, asking partner for number of Aces, and then 5 Clubs, also Gerber, asks for Kings.
Blackwood Over Suit Bid:
4 No Trump is Blackwood unless partner has bid No Trump, asking partner for number of Aces, and then 5 No Trump asks for Kings.
DOPI/DEPO:
If opponents interfere over Blackwood or Gerber, double is zero Aces, pass is 1 Ace (Dbl-0-Pass- 1 = DOPI).
If the interference is at the 6-level, double is even, pass is odd (Dbl-Even-Pass-Odd = DEPO).
2. Opening Bids Summary
1 any suit: 13 plus points. Longest suit. Biddable suit promises QJ10x. With no biddable suit, then bid a nearly biddable suit.
1 No Trump: 16-18 high card points. Balanced. Stoppers in 3 suits.
2 Clubs: Strong 2 Clubs. 23 plus high card points or within one trick of game.
2-suit (2
/ 2
/ 2
): Weak Two bid. 7-10 high card points. 6-card suit with two of top four honors. 6-3-3-1 or 6-3-2-2 distribution.
2 No Trump: 21-22 high card points. Balanced. Stoppers in all four suits.
3 No Trump: 25-26 high card points. Balanced. Stoppers in all four suits.
3 or 4 of a Suit: Preempt. Weak hand. Long suit. Little side strength.
3. Responses To One Of A Suit
1/1:
One-over-one. Shows 7-17 points, and a 4-card suit. Forcing for one round. Responder shows 4-card suits up the line.
1 No Trump:
Shows 6-9 high card points. Denies any 4-card suit that can be shown at the one level. Denies support in partner's suit. Last resort.
2/1:
Two-Over-One. Shows 11-17 points, and a 4-card suit. Forcing for one round.
Raise:
Shows 6-9 points. Shows support (3-card support for a Major suit opening, 4-card support for a Minor suit opening). If this suit is a Minor suit, this bid denies any 4-card Major suit.
Jump Shift:
18 plus points.
2 No Trump:
Shows 13-15 high card points. Balanced shape. Stoppers in the unbid suits. Game-forcing. No 4-card Major suit at the one level.
Double Raise:
Shows 10-12 points and constitutes a limit raise. Promises a 4-card support. Invitational to game.
3 No Trump:
Shows 16-18 high card points. Balanced shape. Stoppers in unbid suits.
4. Rebids After One Of A Suit
After responder's raise, opener passes with a minimum. The responder invites game by rebidding his suit or bidding 2 No Trump. A new suit is invitational and forcing. Or the responder may bid game with 19 plus points.
After responder's 1 No Trump response, the opener can pass or rebid his suit with a minimum. The responder can bid a new suit with a minimum or more. The responder can invite game by bidding 2 No Trump or by jumping in his suit. A Reverse Bid invites game, and a jump shift is forcing to game.
After a 1/1 response, the opener normally shows a minimum opening hand by rebidding his suit (a 6-card suit is rebiddable), or raising partner's suit, or by bidding No Trump. The opener can bid a new suit with a minimum opening hand or better. The opener invites game by jumping in one of the suits already bid by the partnership or by reversing. A reverse is invitational and forcing (17 plus points). Some people play a reverse as 17-19 points, invitational to game and non-forcing. With a very strong hand he opener usually jump shifts. With 19 high card points (exactly), a balanced distribution, and stoppers in the unbid suit, the opener may jump to 2 No Trump, forcing to game.
After a 2/1 response, the opener invites game with a minimum opening hand by rebidding his suit, or raising partner's suit, or by bidding No Trump. The opener can bid a new suit with a minimum opening hand or better. The opener shows a strong hand by jumping or bidding game directly or by reversing or by bidding 3 of a suit without jumping. And a jump shift is forcing to game and shows interest in slam.
After stronger responses, the opener either rebids to show his points (as above) or places the contract.
Responder's second bid often clarifies his point count, and further describes his distribution as well. With a minimum hand (6-10 points), the responder will often pass, unless forced to bid. The responder will jump to force to game. And the responder shows in-between values with non-jumps. A new suit by the responder is forcing, so the responder can bid that with a wide range of points.
5. 16-18 High Card Points Showing A Strong 1 No Trump
An opening bid of 1 No Trump shows 16-18 high card points, balanced distribution, and stoppers in three suits.
Responses to 1 No Trump:
2 Clubs: Stayman, showing 8 plus points and a 4-card Major suit. The responder may use Stayman with fewer points, and 5-4 in the Major suits. See below.
2 Diamonds - 2 Hearts: 0 plus points. Jacoby Transfer. 2 Diamonds shows 5 Hearts and 2 Hearts shows 5 Spades. The opener bids the next step (the real suit). The responder can sign off (with 0-7 points) or continues bidding.
2 No Trump: 8-9 high card points. Invitational to 3 No Trump. Balanced or long Minor suit. The opener bids 3 No Trump with a maximum (16-17 high card points).
3 Any Suit: 10 plus points. Good 5-card suit. Forcing to game. The opener raises with 3-card support.
3 No Trump: 10-14 high card points. Balanced or long Minor suit.
4 of a Major: 10-14 points. 6-card suit.
4 No Trump: 15-16 high card points. Invitational to 6 No Trump.
6. Non-Forcing Stayman
A 2 Clubs response to a 1 No Trump opening is Stayman, the method for finding a 4-4 fit in a Major suit in this situation. It is forcing, and asks partner to bid 2 Hearts with a 4-card Heart suit, but no 4-card Spade suit; or 2 Spades with a 4-card Spade suit, and maybe a 4-card Heart suit; or 2 Diamonds with no 4-card Major suit. With Jacoby Modern, the responder may bid Stayman with a weak hand.
The responder's next bid, after Stayman:
1 NT - 2 Clubs - 2 Diamonds:
2 of a Major suit shows 0-7 points. 5-card suit. Signoff.
1 NT - 2 Clubs - 2 Diamonds - 2 NT:
8-9 high card points. Invitational to game.
1 NT - 2 Clubs - 2 Diamonds - 3 of a Suit:
10-14 points. 5-card suit. Forcing to game.
1 NT - 2 Clubs - 2 Diamonds - 3 NT:
10-14 points.
1 NT - 2 Clubs- 2 of a Major Suit:
pass 0-7 points.
1 NT - 2 Clubs- 2 Hearts - 2 Spades:
Shows 8-9 points. 5-card suit. Invitational to game.
1 NT - 2 Clubs- 2 of a Major Suit - 2 NT:
Shows 8-9 high card points. Invitational to game.
1 NT - 2 Clubs- 2 of a Major Suit - Raise:
Shows 8-9 points. 4-card support. Invitational to game.
1 NT - 2 Clubs- 2 Diamonds - 3 Spades or
1 NT - 2 Clubs- 2 Hearts - 3 Spades or
1 NT - 2 Clubs- 2 Spades - 3 Clubs/Diamonds/Hearts:
Shows 10-14 points. 5-card suit. Forcing to game.
3 No Trump:
Suit Fit not found. 10-14 high card points. Less than 4-card support.
Raise to Game:
10-14 points. 4-card support.
3 Clubs over a 2 No Trump opening bid is also Stayman. In that case, it is forcing to game. A 4 Clubs response to 3 No Trump is Gerber (a 4 Diamonds Stayman is sometimes used).
7. Jacoby Transfers
In response to a 1 No Trump opening, 2 Diamonds or 2 Hearts is a Jacoby Transfer. 2 Diamonds shows 5 Hearts, 2 Hearts shows 5 Spades. The opener bids the next step (the real suit), completing the Transfer. The opener may rarely jump to 3 of the transfer suit with a maximum 18 high card points, and 4- cards in the suit. The main purpose of the Jacoby Transfer is to let the stronger hand be declarer. The responder can sign off (with 0-7 points) or continue bidding.
2 Spades is a transfer to the Minor suits, with a weak hand. The opener bids 3 Clubs, which the responder may correct to 3 Diamonds. Opener then passes. There are other ways to transfer to the Minor suits.
A Jacoby Transfer can also be made after a 2 No Trump opening.
8. Strong 2 Clubs With Step Responses:
An opening bid of 2 Clubs shows 23 plus high card points or one trick short of game and is virtually forcing to game. 2 Clubs is an artificial bid, as it bears no relation to opener's Club suit.
In Jacoby Modern, responder uses a form of Step Responses:
2 0-3 high card points 2 4-6 high card points 2 7-9 high card points 2 NT: 10 plus high card points Opener's first rebid, regardless of responder's response:
Any Suit:
Shows a 5-card suit. Forcing.
2 No Trump:
Shows 23-24 high card points. Balanced. Not forcing. 3 Clubs is Stayman.
3 No Trump:
Shows 27-28 high card points. Balanced shape.
Further bids of new suits show 4-card suits. Any rebid of a suit shows 6 cards. Of course, the opening 2 Clubs and the response do not show real suits. So 2 Clubs - 2 Diamond - 3 Clubs only shows 5 cards in Clubs. No Trump denies further 5-card suits. Once a fit is found, slam bidding may take over.
9. NT ranges
The opener, with a balanced distribution, has these ways to get to No Trump, depending on his high card point count:
12-15 points: 1 Minor - 1/1 - 1 No Trump 16-18 points: 1 No Trump 19-20 points: 1 Minor - 1/1 - 2 No Trump 21-22 points: 2 No Trump 23-24 points: 2 Clubs - Any Bid - 2 No Trump 25-26 points: 3 No Trump 27-28 points: 2 Clubs - Any Bid - 3 No Trump
10. Weak Two-Bids
An opening bid of 2 Diamonds, 2 Hearts, or 2 Spades is a Weak Two bid. It shows 7-10 high card points. A Weak Two bid shows a 6-card suit with two of the top four honors. 6-3-3-1 or 6-3-2-2 distribution. The partner then knows the hand pretty well and can probably decide on the contract. The responder's bid of 2 No Trump is the forcing reply, asking for more information.
Answers to responder's 2 No Trump:
3 No Trump: Shows a solid suit Rebid: 7-8 high card points New Suit: 9-10 high card points. Shows an Ace or King in the suit bid
11. Others
Preempts, competitive bidding, and slam bidding are similar to other systems.
If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.
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