Blum on Bridge Strengths, Weaknesses of Major Suit Raises
	In addition to Constructive Raises and the Forcing No-trump, there are several additional methods of supporting partner's major suit opener. We will begin with a forcing raise called the Jacoby No-trump. When we take away the outdated forcing jump raise (1spade-3spades & 1heart-3hearts) and put it to use as a limit raise, 11-12 points as discussed last week, another bid must be substituted for a forcing raise. Holding a hand valued at 13 or more points and four-card support respond 2NT over partner's major suit opener. Opener now bids his singleton or void if he has one. If there is no void or singleton he bids game in either his suit or no-trump with a minimum. Keep in mind responder's 2NT is a game force so an immediate jump bid to game in opener's major simply does not show extra values. The extra strength showing bid by opener is 3 of his major. The reason for this is it gives the partnership more room below game to describe its hands. Knowing which suit will become trump each subsequent call is called a "cue" bid showing first round control (aces) in the bid suit. For example: opener 1 heart-responder 2NT-opener 3 hearts-responder 3 spades-opener 4 clubs-responder 4 hearts. In this bidding sequence opener has shown extra strength by only bidding 3 hearts plus he holds the club ace. Responder has shown the spade ace after his 2NT game forcing response. His final bid of 4 hearts indicates he has no more to say. Should opener wish, he could proceed to slam if he feels the partnership has enough values. I have not quite understood why intermediates are afraid to use "Splinter Bids", an exquisite method for responder to show at least an opening bid, four-card support for partner's major suit, and either a singleton or void in the bid suit. Let's backtrack for a moment. If the auction goes: opener 1 spade-responder 2 clubs the 2 club bid is a 2 over 1 bid showing a good hand with clubs. If the auction goes: opener 1spade-responder 3 clubs the 3 club bid shows a powerful hand with good clubs. Got that! What if the auction went: opener 1 spade-responder 4 clubs? Sounds impossible, doesn't it because there ain't such a bid? Well, not too long ago somebody found a great use for this "double jump" by responder in a suit other than opener's first bid. It is the "Splinter Bid" described above. The follow bids by responder are all Splinters. Opener 1 heart-responder 4 clubs or 4 diamonds. Also opener 1 heart-responder 3 spades. See, 2 spades would show a strong hand so 3 spades is an "impossible bid". We shall use it as a Splinter. Over a 1 spade opening responder's bid of 4 hearts, 4 diamonds, or 4 clubs are all Splinter Bids. Here's a classic hand for a 4-diamond Splinter bid over opener's 1 spade. KQ53-AQ65-3-A752. Notice how much better it describes responder's hand than using the "Jacoby No-trump". If opener held A9432-K83-54-KQ3, a 12 hcp. Hand, he would be thinking slam because responder's Splinter shows shortness in his weak suit. Wow, what a bid to add to your arsenal! Another bid that shows support for partner's major suit is called "Reverse Drury". Because it is easy to forget, I recommend its use only by established partnerships. If, after two passes third hand opens a major suit, it is unknown whether or not he has a full opening bid. To confirm this, first hand who passed originally, bids 2 clubs. This call is an artificial bid that does not show clubs but does show close to an opening bid plus support for partner's major suit. It simply asks partner "Do you have a full opener?" A re-bid of his major at the two-level states that he does not have a full opener. Any other call by him confirms an opener plus length in the bid suit. What often happens is that too often one hand or the other forgets "Drury" and thinks the 2-club bid shows a good hand with clubs. Oops! About 12 years ago, author, teacher and theorist Marty Bergen endorsed a modern series of bids that he improved upon and is now known as "Bergen Raises". Bergen's theory developed from a concept called the "law of Total Tricks" where if the partnership holds nine cards in a suit, under many circumstances that suit can be safely bid at the three level. Assuming opener holds five cards in his major suit, responder with four cards in that suit would (a) jump to three (preemptive) in opener's suit with 0-6 points, (b) jump to three clubs with 10-12 points, and (c) jump to three diamonds with 7-9 points.