An opening bid of 2♦, 2♥, or 2♠ in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd seat is called a Weak 2 Bid. Opening a Weak 2 typically shows a 6-card suit and 5-10 HCP. A conservative Weak 2♥ opening bid would show a good 6-card suit, 2 of the top 3 or 3 of the top 5, with potentially an outside Ace or King. A hand like ♠42 ♥KQ9843 ♦7 ♣K982 or ♠4 ♥AJT843 ♦7532 ♣J2 would be expected. A conservative preempting style will not allow you to preempt as often as pairs with a more aggressive style. The modern style is to relax the standards for a Weak 2 Bid in 1st seat so you can preempt more often. See our "Preempts by Seat Position" article.
In 3rd seat, a high upside preempt position, you might preempt 2♠ with a weaker suit or a good 5-card suit. With a hand like ♠4 ♥AJ9843 ♦7532 ♣82, you might preempt 3♥ in 3rd seat to put additional pressure on your opponents.
Responding to a Weak 2 Bid
When your partner opens a Weak 2, judging whether you have a game is more about tricks than it is about high card points. If you would like to invite game, it is wise to use a 2NT response as an asking bid to assess whether a game may be available.
The easiest approach is to use 2NT as a Feature Asking Bid. The Weak 2 preempter answers as follows:
- With a poor suit (not 2 of the top 3 honors or 3 of the top 5 honors), rebid your preempt suit.
- Lacking an Ace or a King is a side suit, rebid your preempt suit.
- With a good suit (2 of the top 3 or 3 of the top 5) and an outside Ace or King, bid the suit of your outside Ace or King.
These responses help responder assess whether a game is available. This approach is particularly good for conservative preempters. A 2nd seat preempt should guarantee a good suit. So playing Ogust has little value opposite a 2nd seat Weak 2 bid.
If your partnership preempts aggressively as dealer, you may prefer using a 2NT game try to ask about the quality of the Weak 2 bidders suit and the quality of their hand. This agreement is called Ogust. See our article about Ogust.
