This document introduces and details a radically 'new', all-natural bidding
system, Webster's Extra-Light Opener System. WELOS. WEE-lohss.
Those who understand 4-card major openers, ie those who understand
'prepared rebids', will find it as easy to learn as the first three
letters
of the alphabet, and as fun as a litter of kittens.
Familiarity with limit responses is helpful.
WELOS allows you to open the hands every duplicate player would like to
overcall or balance on, but find too risky.
In practice, WELOS allows you to open as much as 80% of the hands in a
duplicate session. Balancing is almost unheard of in a WELOS session - by
your side! - and it is the opposition that have to overcall or balance.
In Atlanta, where the system was developed, the Bridge Club duplicates
included a wide range of player skills and methods, and the typical
result
was 18 openers on 26 hands, 69%. Later, in the smaller duplicates in
Wichita, 63% was the bottom figure.
The results were definitely 'tops and bottoms' according to detractors.
That
is, 6-9 cold tops and one, sometimes two, cold bottoms, usually due to
system violations by partners who couldn't get over their 5-card major
indoctrination.
It is not suggested that very good players can't find good methods against
WELOS, but notice that at a rate of just 63%, 13/50 = 26% of the
opposition's rote opener-response sequences have been flushed. And at 69%?
38%!!!
By the way, first great partner,Ted Abbot, and I bid many, many Bridge
World
hands. We scored very well. WELOS is wonderfully constructive, especially
given its aggressive nature. And that doesn't include all those hands
where
if we were the unshown opponents our bidding would prevent reaching the
right contract.
WELOS's "PR" Benefits.
==================
PRe-responding. So many times, the response you would like to make to
partner's third or fourth seat opener is precluded by an overcall, or made
less definitive by a take-out double. Pre-respond! Open them! 'Respond'
at
the one level where you might have been forced to 1NT it even without
interference, or blocked from showing your suit.
PRe-balancing. Why wait for pass-1S-pass-pass and have to balance with
four
ratty clubs to the king? Pre-balance! Open them!
PRo-phylaxis. Disease prevention, prevent bad cases of opponent opening
and response accuracy. The 69-31 or even 63-37 edge shows that WELOS
prevents 28% or more of the opponents' automatic sequences. They have to
overcall or shut up.
PRe-emption. Four-card majorites obviously use more room that five-card
majorites on some hands. And WELOS two-bids (MIDIs) are extremely
pre-emptive in comparison to anyone else's bids with the same, very common
hands.
PRe-cariousing. To abuse and hyphenate a real word. Overcalls the
opposition would make against the standard one-bid openers that WELOS
opens
two with are much more dangerous against the WELOS team. Yes, these same
WELOS hands would seem impossible to play in the mindset of a five-card
majorite, but anyone who really understands prepared bids can at least dig
the concept or their play.
PRe-leading. Well, giving partner a lead where no one else will be able
to
help his partner. Yes, it will sometimes help an opponent declarer, but
when the hand was opened as a MINI, as often as not partner has the 'same'
hand strength-wise, and declarer may override what otherwise would have
led
him to a winning play.
Pre-competing. Competition for part scores is very important, and on at
least 63% of the hands the WELOS pair is the one likely to find their fit
first, and perhaps preclude the opposition finding theirs.
a. 22.6% of the time a five-card majorite opens a One, partner instantly
recognizes they have an 8-card or better fit.
b. 28.4% of the time WELOS opens a One, partner immediately knows there
is
an 8-card of better fit.
c. Therefore, for the same number of openers, WELOS/four-card majorites
will have 25% more instant fits.
d. Because WELOS opens a minimum of 63% of the hands, 170% as many as the
opponents, the 25% margin means that WELOS gives their partnerships 213%
as
many instant fits as do somewhat standard bidding systems.
e. When the five-card majorite opens a major his partner does have an
instant fit 48% of the time, but only 6% of the time when opening a 'short
minor'!
Influences
=======
Playing four-card major book Goren with a great partner, Jim Mahorner,
taught me the strength of 4-4, and how to play distributional 4-3 suits.
My psych-a-spade-opener-every-hand phase taught me how frequently
opponents
won't draw your trumps even when you are playing 2-3 or 3-2 trump suits.
Roth-Stone was very important because of its tremendous reliance on
balancing, and hence I REALLY learned the importance of balancing.
Any and all play with five-card majorites taught me how ugly their
sequences
are, how Rub-Goldberg their systems are when compared to prepared-rebid
four-card majorite sequences.
All taught me to love natural bidding.
And, of course, duplicate play taught me, rightly or wrongly (and
Roth-Stone
not withstanding), to open light.
Goren
====
But Goren, and Mahorner's early exposition of Goren's structure, was the
key.
13 minimum opener plus jump (13+) support equals 26/game.
13 minimum opener plus 2-level takeout equals 23-24, equals safe 2NT or
3-level suit contract.
13 minimum opener plus 6/7 one-level response equals safe takeout by
opener
at the two level.
6/7 minimum response plus reverse (19) = 25/26 equals game.
16-18 NT plus 7/8 response equals 23/24 equals safe 3-level suit
contract.
Etc. Those being the critical numbers.
Development and insight
==================
During a period in which I was not playing I worked obsessively on
discovery
of an extra-light, natural system.
Usually, of course, I came up with a gadget, a repsonder's gadget or two
that had to handle way too great a range and variety of opening hands.
Even
ACOL had to come up with things like third/fourth suit forcing, and they
open rocks compared to WELOS.
The problem, thus, was how to increase the range of openers, and not
increase the load on responders to one-bids.
The answer was in the MIDI. Remove the middle hands from the range of
openers, leaving either MINIs or MAXIs in the one bids.
The MINIs would not be psychics. They would be required on all hands with
the minimum count, and could rebid.
That left the count ranges.
Oh. As a Gorenite I knew and loved the distributional count.
I fiddled a long time with this question, and again after less-than-8-hcp
hands were banned.
MIDIs; the key to the structure
======================
All hands that count 12-15 are opened with either a natural MIDI/weak NT
or
natural two or a suit.
I do not like that wide a range, but have had to use it, so if you have
reason to count just 11, or count 16, do it!
MIDI NT
======
Hey, you already play weak no-trumps. Do what you want with them. But if
you reject some structure or feature from them, be sure to open with a
MIDI
two unless you can count the hand as 11 or 16.
MIDI Twos
=======
If you understand the prepared rebid good four-card majorites must
understand, then that's how to open a two, with 4(+) cards in the suit.
You
are in the position of a standard opener rebidding after a one-level
response. Do select the lower suit that gives you a rebid, and certainly
prefer a four-card suit to a weak higher suit. Partner will realize that
in
constructive bidding you have lost room and bid up the line with
more-or-less equal suits, and no interest in game.
And he will certainly understand that an overcaller is probably sticking
his head out for chopping if he has values and no good fit to your opener.
There is no particular system for responses and rebids that is forced by
basic structure.
A 2NT response can be used similarly to the function of the standard 1NT
response to a one-bid, or forcing, in which case a lower-ranked suit at
the
3-level may show less-than-game values.
The cheapest suit relay response is very helpful, asking for second suits.
(For Goren's sake, don't rebid the damned 5-card major if you have a
cheaper
minor or major!) The relay is as close as WELOS comes to 'needing' a
convention, other than standard responses to NT openers.
We won't say more in this introductory write up. Partnerships that
understand prepared rebids can work out their own methods.
Just remember, 12/13 plus 10/11 equals safe 3-level suit contract and
15+10/11 may quite likely equal game.
OOAS (One Of A Suit)
================
OOAS does not include game forcers the way I play them, although they
could
with some risk.
Either way, with MIDI NTs and MIDI Twos, and an 8-count minimum (including
distribution count, and we do NOT subtract a point on MINIs for no ace)
the
opening OOAS promises four or more cards in the suit, but not so solidly
strength in the suit as do most systems:
MINIs: 8-11
MAXIs: 16(+)
Responses to OOAS
===============
The MINIs are much more frequent than MAXIs so responses must be geared to
them.
MAXI hands are much more likley to result in big contract hands, which is
more a consideration in IMPs or cash games, so responses must be geared to
them.
Fortunately, Goren and Mahorner take care of that.
The MINI is not likely to be able to rebid in competitive auctions so:
FIRST PRINCIPLE OF WELOS: always show support for openers suit
immediately!
No fiddling around. Exception: Game forcing jump takeouts (or jumps to
game
in self sufficient suit but no likely slam?)
Jump shift:
---------------
Perhaps both a single jump and a double jump, either/both forcing to game
opposite a minimum MINI.
Raises
----------
Raises are limit. The exact range depends on how your partnership wants to
count. I use Goren's count as a supportive responder, which counts more
than
most folk are likely to do. (Remember, if you can't force to game
opposite
a min MINI, show your support! Don't temporize and lose your chance to
show
support under well-defined circumstances.)
Raise to three:
--------------------
A max MINI of 10/11 would be on for game opposite a 15/16 response and a
min
MINI of 8/9 would be safe so 15 is the minimum for a raise to three, and
16
the max. (It can be amazing how rarely bid 15+15 (or so) slams are bid in
minors that other players don't find (when opener has a MAXI).)
Raise to four:
------------------
17-20 support points. Not enough for slam opposite a max MINI usually.
Jump
shift with the 19-20 if you fear loss of the slam, or make partnership
agreements on which you will do with what kind of holding.
Raise to two.
------------------
As after a standard opener and with a weak hand you want to use up room so
raise with raise with support and 6/7.
If opener has a max MINI of 10/11, you don't want to force him to guess
whether game is possible so your max is 14.
But free bid with around ten, up to usual raise max of 14. Remember that
if
opener has already 'done it' to 'them' by opening a MINI, straining for a
raise is not necessary and may scew up the hand. (Don't try 'doing it' to
opponents twice in one hand! That's the Second Principle of WELOS.)
But be sure to put in the free raise with what you choose to count as 10.
Opener may have a MAXI.
8+14 is not good enough for game opposite a max MINI of 10/11, so go to
two
with 6/7-14.
8+15 is good enough for safety at the three level so don't just raise to
two with it.
8+6 is ok at the two level because it is certainly 'their' hand.
Takeouts
=======
Respond in a new suit just as you would in standard, with the exception
that
you always show your support first off. However, only jumpshifts are
forcing
so don't fiddle around.
No-Trump Responses to OOAS
=======================
It is NOT good to respond with an ordinary standard 1NT over a club or
diamond opener. Indeed, there are many reasons not to. It violates the
First Principle if you have support, screwing up the WELOS advantage in
instant fits. It violates basic four-card major, prepared rebid principle
by
by-passing the major fit.
Look for the fit.
When you do bid 1NT, even over majors, make it (9)10-14(15).
The minimum is 'all' a flat MAXI needs to know.
The maximum won't excite a max flat MINI.
With 15(+) and no game force, various WELOS partners have wanted to do
variousthings.
Some want a 2NT to show 15-16/17 even though the MINI could have only 3-4
HCP. (These also want the 1NT to be 6/7-14.)
But there is no game on if opener doesn't want to rebid (as you will see
in
opener rebid section) so... !!!! temporize with a takeout instead, and
maybe
you can get in a responder's reverse.
2NT can easily and well be played as your favorite gadget, adjusted for
(and
used because of) a likely MINI opener.
REBIDS by Opener
==============
A MAXI will rebid just as in standard, the reverse being a wonderful
thing.
A 1NT rebid is a MAXI.
Even a minimum MINI can rebid at will as long as it is not a reverse. It
shows no extra values and is not forcing but ill-advised after a raise so
make a partnership agreement about that.
1-2-3 STOP is normal. 1-2 -overcall-3 shows max MINI and a distributional
hand.
1-2-overcall-takeout shows a MAXI.
Re-opening after a second-hand overcall or a fourth-hand balance shows a
MAXI. The MAXI plays Roth-Stone, you might say.
-----------
That's it for now. Something has gone haywire on this old 98 system and
some
spaces have required as many as a dozen keystrokes, and other strange
things
are going on.
Do realize, for now, that 3rd and 4th hand situations are very different
for a WELOS player.
(c)eleaticus/webster
ee-lee-AT-i-cus
--
eleaticus
ee-lee-AT-i-cus
eleaticus@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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