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© Copyright 1996, Jim Loy
Jacoby Modern was invented by Oswald and James Jacoby. It is fairly close to Standard American. The places where Jacoby Modern differs with Standard American - 5-Card Majors are in italics, like this.
1. Convention Card
General Approach - Jacoby Modern: Opening one of a suit shows 13+ pts and QJ10x in that suit.
Strong 2-Club Opening: Opening 2C shows 23 HCP or 1 trick short of game. Step responses.
Strong 1NT: Opening 1NT shows 16-18 HCP, balanced, with stoppers in 3 suits.
2NT and 3NT Openings: 2NT=21-22 HCP, 3NT=25-26 HCP. The 23-24 HCP range is bid with a Strong 2C.
Non-Forcing Stayman: 2C response, to 1NT opening, asks partner to bid a 4-card major or 2D with no 4-card major. May be used with a weak hand.
Jacoby Transfers: In response to a 1NT opening, 2D shows a 5-card heart suit and forces partner to bid 2H, 2H shows a 5- card spade suit and forces partner to bid 2S.
Double Raise Is A Limit Raise: A double raise response (1H- 3H) shows 10-12 pts, invitational to game.
Convenient Minor - 3-Card Minor: You occasionally have to open a 3-card minor, if there are no biddable suits.
Weak 2-Bids (2D-2S): 7-10 HCP. 6-card suit. 6-3-3-1 or 6-3- 2-2 distribution.
Weak Jump Overcall: Jump overcall is preemptive, 10 pts or less, 6-card suit.
Gerber Over NT Bid: 4C after a 1NT or 2NT opening bid or after a 2NT response is Gerber, asking partner for number of aces, and then 5C asks for kings.
Blackwood Over Suit Bid: 4NT is Blackwood unless partner has bid NT, asking partner for number of aces, and then 5NT 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).
See the topics below, for more detail.
2. Opening Bids
1-suit: 13+ pts. Longest suit. Biddable suit=QJ10x. With no biddable suit, then bid a nearly biddable suit.
1NT: 16-18 HCP. Balanced. Stoppers in 3 suits.
2C: Strong 2C. 23+ HCP or within one trick of game.
2-suit (2D-2S): Weak two-bid. 7-10 HCP. 6-card suit with two of top four honors. 6-3-3-1 or 6-3-2-2 distribution.
2NT: 21-22 HCP. Balanced. Stoppers in all four suits.
3NT: 25-26 HCP. 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 pts, and a 4-card suit. Forcing for one round. Responder shows 4-card suits up the line.
1NT: 6-9 HCP. Denies any 4-card suit that can be shown at the 1-level. Denies support in partner's suit. Last resort.
2/1: Two-over-one. 11-17 pts, and a 4-card suit. Forcing for one round.
raise: 6-9 pts. Support (3-card support for a major, 4-card support for a minor). If this suit is a minor, this bid denies any 4-card major.
jump shift: 18+ pts.
2NT: 13-15 HCP. Balanced. Stoppers in unbid suits. Forcing to game. No 4-card majors at the 1-level.
double raise: 10-12 pts limit raise. 4-card support. Invitational to game.
3NT: 16-18 HCP. Balanced. Stoppers in unbid suits.
4. Rebids After One Of A Suit
After responder's raise, opener passes with a minimum. He invites game by rebidding his suit or bidding 2NT. A new suit is invitational and forcing. Or responder may bid game with 19+ pts.
After responder's 1NT response, opener can pass or rebid his suit with a minimum. He can bid a new suit with a minimum or more. He can invite game by bidding 2NT or by jumping in his suit. A reverse invites game, and a jump shift is forcing to game.
After a 1/1 response, opener normally shows a minimum open- ing hand by rebidding his suit (a 6-card suit is rebiddable), or raising partner's suit, or by bidding NT. He can bid a new suit with a minimum opening hand or better. 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+ pts). Some people play a reverse as 17-19 pts, invitational to game and non-forcing. With a very strong hand opener usually jump shifts. With 19 HCP (exactly), a balanced distribution, and stoppers in the unbid suit, opener may jump to 2NT, forcing to game.
After a 2/1 response, opener invites game with a minimum opening hand by rebidding his suit, or raising partner's suit, or by bidding NT. He can bid a new suit with a minimum opening hand or better. 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, 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), he will often pass, unless forced to bid. He will jump to force to game. And he shows in-between values with non-jumps. A new suit by responder is forcing, so he can bid that with a wide range of points.
5. 16-18 HCP Strong 1NT
An opening bid of 1NT shows 16-18 HCP, balanced distribution, and stoppers in three suits. Responses to 1NT:
2C: Stayman, showing 8+ pts and a 4-card major. May use Stayman with fewer pts, and 5-4 in the majors. See below.
2D-2H: 0+ pts. Jacoby Transfer. 2D shows 5 hearts, 2H shows 5 spades. Opener bids the next step (the real suit). Responder can sign off (with 0-7 pts) or keep on bidding.
2NT: 8-9 HCP. Invitational to 3NT. Balanced or long minor. Opener bids 3NT with a maximum (16-17 HCP).
3 suit: 10+ pts. Good 5-card suit. Forcing to game. Opener raises with 3-card support.
3NT: 10-14 HCP. Balanced or long minor.
4 major: 10-14 pts. 6-card suit.
4NT: 15-16 HCP. Invitational to 6NT.
6. Non-Forcing Stayman
A 2C response to a 1NT opening is Stayman, the method for finding a 4-4 fit in a major in this situation. It is forcing, and asks partner to bid 2H with a 4-card heart suit, but no 4-card spade suit; or 2S with a 4-card spade suit, and maybe a 4-card heart suit; or 2D with no 4-card major. With Jacoby Modern, you may bid Stayman with a weak hand. Responder's next bid, after Stayman:
1NT-2C-2D:
2 major 0-7 pts. 5-card suit. Signoff.
2NT 8-9 HCP. Invitational to game.
3 suit 10-14 pts. 5-card suit. Forcing to game.
3NT 10-14 pts.
1NT-2C-2 major
pass 0-7 pts.
2S 8-9 pts. 5-card suit. Invitational to game.
2NT 8-9 HCP. Invitational to game.
raise 8-9 pts. 4-card support. Invitational to game.
3 suit 10-14 pts. 5-card suit. Forcing to game.
3NT 10-14 HCP. Less than 4-card support.
raise game 10-14 pts. 4-card support.
3C over a 2NT opening bid is also Stayman. In that case, it is forcing to game. A 4C response to 3NT is Gerber (a 4D Stayman is sometimes used).
7. Jacoby Transfers
In response to a 1NT opening, 2D or 2H is a Jacoby Transfer. 2D shows 5 hearts, 2H shows 5 spades. Opener bids the next step (the real suit), completing the transfer. Opener may rarely jump to 3 of the transfer suit with a maximum 18 HCP, and 4- cards in the suit. The main purpose of the Jacoby Transfer is to let the stronger hand be declarer. Responder can sign off (with 0-7 pts) or keep on bidding.
2S is a transfer to the minor suits, with a weak hand. Opener bids 3C, which responder may correct to 3D. Opener then passes. There are other ways to transfer to the minor suits.
A Jacoby Transfer can also be made after a 2NT opening.
8. Strong 2C With Step Responses
An opening bid of 2C shows 23+ HCP or one trick short of game, and is virtually forcing to game. 2C is an artificial bid, as it bears no relation to opener's club suit.
In Jacoby Modern, responder uses a form of Step Responses:
2D=0-3 HCP
2H=4-6 HCP
2S=7-9 HCP
2NT: 10+ HCP.
Opener's first rebid, regardless of responder's response:
suit: 5-card suit. Forcing.
2NT: 23-24 HCP. Balanced. Not forcing. 3C is Stayman.
3NT: 27-28 HCP. Balanced.
Further bids of new suits show 4-card suits. Rebid of a suit shows 6 cards. Of course the opening 2C and the response do not show real suits. So 2C-2D-3C only shows 5 cards in clubs. NT denies further 5-card suits. Once a fit is found, slam bidding may take over.
9. NT ranges
Opener, with a balanced distribution, has these ways to get to NT, depending on his HCP count:
12-15 1minor-1/1-1NT
16-18 1NT
19-20 1minor-1/1-2NT
21-22 2NT
23-24 2C-any-2NT
25-26 3NT
27-28 2C-any-3NT
10. Weak Two-Bids
An opening bid of 2D, 2H, or 2S is a weak two-bid. It shows 7-10 HCP. 6-card suit with two of top four honors. 6-3-3-1 or 6-3-2-2 distribution. Partner then knows your hand pretty well and can probably decide on the contract. Responder's 2NT is the forcing reply, asking for more information. Answers to responder's 2NT:
3NT: Solid suit.
rebid: 7-8 HCP.
new suit: 9-10 HCP. Ace or king in suit bid.
11. Others
Preempts, competitive bidding, and slam bidding are similar to other systems.