Conventions in depth
A three-level cue-bid of the opponents’ suit that asks partner to bid 3NT with a stopper in that suit.
In a contested auction the partnership often has the values for 3NT and control of every suit except the one the opponents bid. The only question left is who guards that suit. One hand bids the opponents’ suit to ask: nobody wants to play there, so the cue is free to carry the question.
A three-level cue-bid of the opponents’ suit says: “I have every other suit stopped, but not theirs. Bid 3NT if you hold it.”
The asker usually holds at least partial help in the suit, a stray honour, and is looking to partner to complete the guard.
The level tells partner which question you are asking. A cue of the opponents’ suit at the two level is a strong raise: see the Cue-Bid Raise. The same cue at the three level is this Western cue, asking for a stopper. One is about trumps and strength; the other is about notrump and stoppers.
The Western cue is also why a high cue can lose its two-suited meaning. Over a 1♠ or 2♠ opening, for instance, a bid of 3♠ is read as a Western cue asking for a spade stopper: there is no longer room to treat it as a Michaels two-suiter.
← Back to all conventions