Lucas Two bids/Modified Muiderberg

5 card suit with a 4 card side suit Muiderberg - 5 card major and 4 card minor

The 5/4 hand type is about 3 times as common as the 6 card suit, and it makes sense on grounds of frequency to use this as your weak two. Lucas's original definition was a weak 5/4 hand with a five cards in diamonds or a major. If you play it this way in first or second hand you will miss some major games where you hold hearts and spades.

I like to open the weak 6 card majors via a Multi 2 method - which is thus better defined. I am very much against 5332 weak twos. My experience of partner opening these balanced types as 2/ has been either a penalty double, or opponents bidding close games and finding their suits break nicely for them. A mini no trump is more effective.

As for the 6-4 hands I like to open the long major, showing my suit quickly. In Holland they play this gadget strictly 5-4.

A Muiderberg + Multi 2 system has been used successfully by many bridge players and would appear to be especially popular in the Low Countries.

The Lucas or Muiderberg two is pre-emptive, common and partner knows what to do! Sequences such as 2 - 4 seem to always score well. Lucas/Muiderberg is frequent. Generally you get 2-3 weak two openings during a 26 board evening. We have had seven!

Typical hands

• K9xxx Ax Jxxx xx
• x QJT8xx K9xx xx (UK only!)
• xx Q9xxx (in 3rd) x JT8xx
• Jxxx Ax K9xxx xx This last example being a Lucas 2 opening

Simple Responses

We used these for the first 2 years and prospered with them:

• Simple suit - weak take out (except passed 2) generally singleton in your suits and a six carder
• Raise to 3 or 4 - preemptive (four could be to make)
• 2NT - general ask, opener rebids his side suit After 2NT responder may pass, have enough fit to bid game, or bid three of partners major - the invitational sequence.

Original Lucas was a next bid relay asking for the side suit. Simple raises were invitational - but tempo preemptive raise seem more useful to me.

A more advanced system using Lebensohl

Using 2NT as a relay gives you about three extra expressive bids. We think the bother is worthwhile as the hand type is so common (2-3 openings per session) and we wanted to have some system over it. You lose the simple 2NT:what's your minor relay but in practice we found the minor commonly didn't matter much. This turns out similar to what the Dutch use, and much stronger in my experience.

• 2 over 2 - weak take out (except if passed hand when 2 is a playable spot 3+ cards) Generally singleton in opener's suit
• Raise to 3 - a preemptive tempo raise
  • 2NT - Lebensohl puppet to 3 - over which
  • pass, 3,( or 3) weak take out
  • 'Raise forcing and asking for a splinter - 4 of major denies, 3NT also denies (extra values, fast arrival)
• 3NT forcing and asking for the minor
• Other new suit 4, 4, 3/4 of new major is a splinter with slam implications - To catch the super-fit with partners Axxx
• In fact is is quite safe to use a paradox response to the puppet , and bid the minor you don't hold! ie 3 holding KJ9xx xxx x Q8xx The advantage of the Paradox minor method lies in the LAW - you have a potential ten card fit and so are perfectly safe at the four level.
• 3 to play in partner's minor - pass/convert
• 3 artificial invitation to game in the major
• 4, 4 fit jumps (rare)
• 3 of other major - forcing invites support on xxx or Hx
• 3NT to play
• 4 of other major - to play (keep this simple)
• Raise to four - could be preempt, could be strong - very useful!

On several million random computer deals a Lucas two finds an eight card fit 83% of the time. If you include the other major this rises to around 90%, but at the price of partner being worse informed. You pays your money .. you takes your choice.