Few players can resist the temptation to open a weak two-bid with a six-card suit and five to 10 high-card points. Do you and your partner know how to compete effectively against one?

Basically you treat it like a one-bid, but with a few differences. When you enter the auction, assume partner has six or seven points. A jump overcall is intermediate, not weak; it shows some 14 to 16 high-card points and a good six-card or longer suit. A third variation crops up in today's deal.

After North makes a takeout double, if South were to bid a natural two no-trump, it would show 10 or 11 points. (If you use Lebensohl, you know what two no-trump means.) So here, South must advance with three clubs (or three diamonds). Then, when North cue-bids three hearts, it asks South to bid three no-trump with a heart stopper.

Against three no-trump, West leads the heart four. With only five top tricks (two hearts and three clubs), South must establish three diamonds and one spade. Here, though, if he wins trick one and plays a diamond, West should take the trick and lead his second heart, establishing that suit while East still has the spade ace as an entry. And if South leads a spade at trick two, West should play his jack. Then East will take dummy's queen with his ace and return a spade, giving the defenders four spades and one diamond.

The winning play is to let East win the first trick. This is usually best when you have two stoppers in the suit led and two high cards to dislodge.

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