The Rule of 20 is a method of hand evaluation
based on trick-taking potential as opposed to High Card Points (HCP)
alone. Based on the premise that hands with long suits and short suits have greater trick-taking potention that balanced
hands, it allows a player to open the bidding when the HCP's plus the number of
cards in the two longest suits equals 20 or more. For example, if you
hold AQxxx, AJxx, x, xxx, your two longest suits are 5 and 4 cards long which
adds up to 9. Add that to your 11 high card points and the result is 20.
Therefore open 1S.
Bridge expert Marty Bergen believes
that The Rule of 20 offers a number of advantages.
1.
You bid more accurately after your side opens.
2.
It is much easier to open than to overcall.
3. It is better to get in the
first punch rather than having to guess after opps have bid, especially after a preempt
4. It is more fun to bid than pass.
He
offers this example. Dealer holds
S 63
H
AJ742
D 8
C AJ943
LHO
Partner
RHO
Dealer
—
—
—
P*
1S
P
2S
???
Once you have passed and opps have
bid, what do you do? It's a tough position to be in. However, using
the Rule of 20 you would have not passed initially; you would have opened 1H.
According to Bergen, "Either you open at the one level or you guess
later".
There are some experts who do not recommend using The Rule of 20. They feel
partner may expect more from you for your opening bid, and you may easily end up
bidding too high especially if partner has no fit for your suits.
As a compromise,
some people recommend using the rule but modifying it to count only the
HCP's in the two longest suits, not the short
suits. Thus you would open
AJxxx, AQxx, x, xxx but not AJxxx, Qxxx, x Axx.
You and your partner may want to consider adding this method to your partnership agreement.
If you do, don't forget to include it in your convention card, profile
or annoucement.
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