Santa Fe Canapé
Written by Mr. Bill Isham and Mr. Paul Lanier
Santa Fe Canapé is not the name of our system. It is just the name of this pamphlet. As far as we can tell, the system has never been played in Santa Fe. If anyone there ever plays it, we will change the name of the pamphlet to the Sodona System.
Introduction
Canapé style is employed for two-suited hands (5-4 or better) unless the four-card suit is Clubs. The four-card suit is opened first. The opener rebids his five-card suit on the second round.
The advantages of Santa Fe Canapé include playing in a 4-4 Major fit without disclosing a side 5-card suit, and declaring from the stronger hand more often. In addition the opponents may overcall the hidden 5-card suit.
The system uses The standard Work High Card Point Count, which is 4-3-2-1, for balanced and semi-balanced hands. We use the Losing Trick Count to estimate the offensive potential of unbalanced hands, although the system could also be played using High Card Points.
The Losing Trick Count
Originally described by Mr. F. Dudley Courtenay in The System The Experts Play, 1934, the Losing Trick Count estimates the offensive potential of distributional hands.
Losing tricks for each suit are counted for each first, second or third round control missing.
A doubleton has at most two losers, a singleton one, a void none.
Three losers would be counted for the following suits: xxx, Jxxx,10xxxx.
Two losers would be counted for the following suits: Axxx, KJx, Qxxx, Q10xx, xx, QJ.
One loser would be counted for the suits: AKxx, AQx, Ax, Kx, AQ, K, Q, J, x.
Zero losers would be counted for a void or for the suits: AKQxxx, AK, A.
Suits headed by AJ10 are counted as only one losing trick.
The Losing Trick Count for a hand is the sum of the losing tricks in all suits. A hand with seven losers has the offensive potential of a minimum opening bid, 12-14 high card points. A six-loser hand is about one trick better, roughly equal to a 15-17 high card point hand. A five-loser hand is about the same as a hand good enough to jump shift or rebid 2 No Trump. A four-loser hand is often worth a strong forcing two-bid. Adjustments to the Losing Trick Count are made according to the complete hand. An extra loser is counted for a suit headed by the Queen unless there is another suit headed by an Ace. An extra loser is counted for hands with 4-4-4-1 pattern.
We open all seven-loser hands which contain at least two defensive tricks. Some defensive strength is required, since partner may double the opponents or bid 3 No Trump.
Normally an opening hand facing an opening hand will make game in No Trump or a Major. Thus, two seven-loser hands will normally contract for game. A six-loser hand facing an eight-loser hand will normally produce the same result. So an eight-loser hand with six Spades facing an opening 1 No Trump would normally make four Spades. Two six-loser hands, or a seven-loser hand opposite a five-loser hand, will normally play six of a suit if a fit exists.
Opening Bids
With a two-suited hand (5-4 or better), the opener first bids the four-card suit, unless it is Clubs, and rebids his longer suit on the second round. If the opener instead rebids his suit, he shows at least a six-card suit. The opener's rebid in No trump shows a 5-3-3-2 pattern or else a 5-4-2-2 or a 5-4-3-1 pattern, where the four-card suit is Clubs. The opener can not open a four-card Club suit and rebid his longer suit.
1  |
A weak No Trump showing 12-14 high card points;
A gap No Trump showing 18-19 high card points;
A 6-card or longer Club suit, or a strong 4-4-4-1 pattern with 17+ high card points and forcing.
1  |
1  |
1  |
At least a four-card suit. The opener may have a side five-card or longer suit. 1 Diamond is always forcing. 1 Heart and 1 Spade are forcing unless responder has a four-card fit and 0-5 high card points.
| 1 NT |
Promises 15-17 high card points, balanced or semi-balanced.
| 2 |
Forcing, artificial and strong (Standard). Normally a four-loser or better hand, but the opener may choose to open at the One Level, since the responder will rarely pass. Also used for 22-23 high card points and 28+ high card points and No Trump opening.
| 2 |
Roman, showing 11-16 high card points with
any 4-4-4-1 pattern.
Forcing unless the responder has 0-6 high card points and a 6-card Diamond suit.
| 2 |
| 2 |
Weak, 7-9 Losers depending on vulnerability. Less than two defensive tricks.
| 2 NT |
20-21 high card points, balanced or semi-balanced (Standard). May have a 5-card Major.
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 |
| 3 |
Weak. In first or second seat, 6-8 Losers. In third seat, 7-9 Losers. Less than two defensive tricks.
| 3 NT |
25-27 high card points, balanced or semi-balanced. No 5-card Major (Standard).
Responses to Opening Bids
Opening 1 No Trump, 2 Clubs, 2 Hearts, 2 Spades, 2 No Trump, and Three Bids are standard and are not discussed here. Responses to openings of 1 Club, 1 Diamond, 1 Heart, 1 Spade and 2 Diamonds are listed by opening bid.
| 1 |
1 Diamond is negative, 0-6 high card points.
1 Heart and 1 Spade are natural, promising at least a four-card suit.
1 No Trump is 6-10 high card points and denies a four-card Major.
2 Clubs is forcing and natural, 9+ high card points.
2 Diamonds shows a six-card suit and 9+ high card points.
2 Hearts and 2 Spades are preemptive, showing at least a six-card suit and exactly nine losers.
2 No Trump shows 10-12 high card points and denies a four-card Major.
3 Clubs is preemptive, 5-9 high card points, and promises a five-card suit.
3 Diamonds, 3 Hearts and 3 Spades are preemptive.
3 No Trump shows 12-15 high card points and denies a four-card Major.
| 1 |
1 Heart is 0-8 high card points and may be a three-card suit.
1 Spade shows 0-8 high card points, and may be a three-card suit, and denies as many as three Hearts.
1 No Trump is 0-8 high card points and denies a three-card Major.
2 Clubs is artificial and waiting, shows 9+ high card points, and denies a five-card Diamond, Heart or Spade suit. The responder may or may not hold five Clubs.
2 Diamonds shows 6-10 high card points, denies a four-card Major, and promises at least four Diamonds.
2 Hearts or 2 Spades shows 9+ high card points and a five-card suit.
3 Diamonds shows 12+ high card points, denies a four-card Major, and promises four Diamonds.
3 Clubs, 3 Hearts and 3 Spades are Splinter bids.
| 1 |
Pass shows 0-5 high card points and four-card support.
1 Spade is 0-8 high card points and may be a three-card suit.
1 No Trump shows 0-8 high card points and denies three Spades.
2 Clubs is artificial, showing 9+high card points, and denies a five-card Diamond or Spade suit. The responder may or may not hold five Clubs.
2 Hearts shows 5-9 high card points with four-card support.
2 Diamonds and 2 Spades show a five-card suit and 9+ high card points.
2 No Trump is Jacoby with 16+ high card points.
3 Clubs, 3 Diamonds and 3 Spades are Splinters.
3 Hearts is a limit raise, 9-11 high card points.
3 No Trump is a forcing raise.
| 1 |
Pass shows 0-5 high card points and four-card support.
1 No Trump shows 0-8 high card points.
2 Clubs is artificial, showing 9+high card points, and denies a five-card Diamond or Heart suit. The responder may or may not hold five Clubs.
2 Spades shows 5-9 high card points with four-card support.
2 Diamonds or 2 Hearts shows a five-card suit and 9+ high card points.
2 No Trump is Jacoby with 16+ high card points.
3 Clubs, 3 Diamonds and 3 Hearts are Splinters.
3 Spades is a limit raise, 9-11 high card points.
3 No Trump is a forcing raise.
| 1 |
2 Hearts, 2 Spades, and 3 Clubs are weak signoffs and may be made with a three-card suit.
2 No Trump is artificial and asks opener to show the singleton and point range.
Opener's Rebids
The following rebids, listed by opening bid, refer to calls made in uncontested auctions.
In a Canapé sequence, opener's rebid of the opening suit shows 5-5 or better. A rebid in the second suit shows 6-4 or better.
| 1 |
After a negative response, opener rebids 1 No Trump with 18-19 high card points. 1 Heart or 1 Spade shows 12-14 high card points and may be a three-card suit. 2 Clubs shows a six-card suit and 5-9 high card points. 2 Diamonds is Big Roman, 17+ high card points and 4-4-4-1 shape. 3 Clubs shows a six-card suit with 4-5 Losers. After a forcing raise, opener rebids 3 No Trump with 18-19 high card points. With a minimum, the opener may rebid 3 Clubs to deny a Major stopper, 2 No Trump to show both Majors stopped, or 2 of a Major to show a Major suit stopper.
The opener's subsequent bid of 2 No Trump or 3 Diamonds shows a minimum hand. After any other positive response, the opener rebids 1 No Trump or raises responder's Major to show 12-14 high card points. The opener shows the Big Roman hand by splintering (jump-shift) with a fit or bidding Diamonds at the lowest level if the partner has bid opener's singleton. With the gap No Trump, 18-19 high card points, the opener can rebid 2 No Trump or raise partner's Major to the Three Level.
| 1 |
| 1 |
| 1 |
With a two-suiter, the opener rebids in the longer suit, or shows the Canapé, unless the responder has made a negative response in opener's longer suit. In this case, the opener would pass with a minimum but raise with extra values. The opener's bid in No Trump shows 5-3-3-2, 5-4-3-1 or 5-4-2-2 patterns, where the four-card suit is Clubs. A rebid of the opening suit guarantees a six-card suit. The opener's jump or jump-shift shows five or fewer Losers. Minimum rebids show 6-7 Losers. A double jump-shift after a positive response is a Splinter.
| 2 |
The opener passes responder's signoff unless the responder has bid opener's singleton. In this case, the opener bids the next step to show a minimum (11-14 high card points) or bids two steps up with a maximum (15-16 high card points). The responder then places the contract. After the responder's 2 No trump inquiry, the opener bids his singleton at the Three Level with a minimum. With a maximum, the opener shows a singleton Spade by bidding 3 No Trump or shows any other singleton by bidding it at the Four Level. The responder then places the contract.
Responder's Rebids
After a 1 Club opening followed by a rebid in No Trump, the responder's rebid in Diamonds is New Minor Forcing and may be artificial. If the responder has made a positive response and the opener has rebid Clubs, the responder's new suit is forcing and may be artificial.
After an opening of 1 Diamond, 1 Heart or 1 Spade followed by a negative response, the responder places the contract. A new suit by the responder at this point is to play and is not forcing. After a positive response of a suit at the Two Level, the responder's rebid of a new suit is forcing one round.
Competitive Bidding
After a 1 Club opening followed by an opponent's overcall, the opener passes with the weak No Trump hand or rebids Clubs with a six-card suit. With the Big Roman hand, the opener will Double to show the opponents have bid opener's singleton or else bid Diamonds.
The responder uses the Negative Double only after a 1 Club opening. After an opening of 1 Diamond, 1 Heart or 1 Spade, a call of double is positive, showing 9+ high card points and no other suitable bid.
The responder's bid of a suit other than the opener's suit shows 9+ high card points and a five-card suit.
Support Doubles (three-card support for responder's Major) are used only after a 1 Club opening.
Following a One Level opening other than 1 Club, the opener's pass after an opponent's overcall usually shows 5-3-3-2, 5-4-3-1 or 5-4-2-2 pattern (where the four-card suit is Clubs), but could also mean than the opponent has bid opener's longer suit. Following a positive response (9+ high card points), the opener normally makes a penalty double if the opponents bid opener's Canapé at the Three Level.
More on the Losing Trick Count
When evaluating a distributional hand facing a No Trump hand, it is useful to consider that a weak No Trump is equal to a 7 Loser hand, a strong No Trump (15-17 high card points) is equal to a 6 Loser hand, and a gap No Trump (18-19 high card points) is equal to a 5 Loser hand.
Since the opener makes a minimum suit rebid with 6-7 Losers, the responder should invite game with a 9-11 high card points hand or a hand with 8 Losers.
With a two-suited five-loser hand in the Minors, the opener should not jump-shift with less than 17 high card points. The responder will be inclined to bid 3 No Trump, with disastrous results.
Likewise, the opener should be wary of opening a seven-Loser hand lacking in high card points, as the responder may bid 3 No Trump or make a penalty double if the opponents intervene. The opener will then need to guess whether to run.
The responder may also consider that some honor cards (A,K or Q) or short suits will cover the opener's Losers. In general, 1st, 2nd and 3rd round controls in partner's bid suits should be subtracted to estimate the total Loser count in the combined hands. Honors in the opener's unbid suits, other than the Ace, may be worthless. If the responder chooses to place the contract level based upon cover cards, the previously described method of adding the Losers in the two hands should not be used.
Two Suiters with 5-5 or 6-5 Shape
The opener should strive to bid a long Major on the second round, in order to show a five-card Major as soon as possible. Holding 5-5 in Diamonds and Hearts, for example, the opener should bid Diamonds on the first round and Canapé into the Major. The responder will then know about the five-card Major and may find out about the five Diamonds later. With 6 Hearts and five Diamonds, the opener should bid Diamonds first, Canapé into Hearts, and rebid Hearts. The responder will think opener is 6-4 but will know about the six-card Major, which is usually more important.
Non-System Conventions
Moscow
Rescue:
After a direct or balance Double of opening 1 No Trump for penalties, an immediate
Pass denies a five-card suit. If Pass would end the auction, Redouble denies a five-card
suit. Four-card suits are then bid up-the-line. Following a direct Double, Redouble
is to play.
Second-Round Stayman:
After a negative 2 Diamond rebid following responder's Stayman,
the responder's rebid of 3 Diamonds shows 5-5 in the Majors and invitational or better
values.
Transfer to Opponent's Suit in Response
to 1 No Trump Overcall:
This bid asks overcaller to bid No Trump with a double stopper in the opener's suit.
Other Conventions:
Puppet Stayman (after opening 2 No Trump or 2 Clubs followed by 2 No Trump rebid)
Two Spades Transfer to Three Clubs in response to opening One No Trump
If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.
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