Top
& Bottom
by Walt Sturm
The
majority of players use some version of Michaels Cue Bid in direct seat (&
maybe balancing?). An alternative
usage which I find more frequent and effective is called Top & Bottom. If you prefer to keep on using
Michaels, here is a way to have your cake and eat it too.
Probably
the most dangerous bid in bridge is the NT overcall. We usually get by with it here because few of our members
would ever double anything at the one level, most especially 1NT. However, if you should encounter an
aggressive doubler who is confident in his defensive skills, you will often be
in serious trouble. With the usual
NT overcall, you can double and then rebid NT if it appears in order. This approach frees up the direct NT
overcall to use as Top & Bottom.
Top
& Bottom shows a minor-suit overcall which includes four cards in the
ranking unbid major. For example,
over 1D or 1H, 1NT would be a club overcall which contains four spades. How often have you puzzled over this
type of hand? Should you make an
off-shape take-out double holding four spades or overcall in clubs and let
partner guess?
At
first, this Top & Bottom NT overcall seems infrequent. However, your failure to use it both
alerts partner that you don`t have a four-card major (he should only introduce
a five-carder) and it avoids the danger of the 15-17 HCP NT overcall.
Over
1S, 1NT shows four hearts with a club overcall. You may double with Top & Top, i.e., hearts with a
diamond overcall; if partner responds in clubs, you correct to diamonds to show
this hand without promising extra values.
Another
possibility, if you cannot give up the natural NT overcall, is to substitute
Top & Bottom for Michaels.
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