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 2opening

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! For example 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.