Back on the home page and in the introduction, the claim was made that GaLwood  was so flexible that it allowed for the usage of common conventions with minimal, if any, adjustments.

 

This is in fact true:

 

1.  Inverted minors were incorporated by default, early on in GaLwood's development.  However, due to GW's flexibility, two way inverted minors are now included, meaning that either partner may invoke the convention, and either partner may invoke Minorwood.  (Now, THAT is an improvement!)

 

2.  Minorwood was added on May 3rd, 2012, with minimal effort. (The only part not yet included is the queen ask.)

 

3.  A variant of the Ogust convention was also added on May 3rd, 2012, however, the trigger, the 2N response over a weak 2 opening bid, is still the same but the responses are:

 

3C =

3D = 6 card suit, weak hand, 8-9ish HCP; 

3H = 6 card suit, medium hand, 10-11ish HCP;

3S = 6 card suit, good hand, 11-12ish HCP;

3N = 6 card suit with AKQ.

 

4.  The J2NT was incorporated verbatim for the 1H and 1S opening bids.  For the 1C - 1D; 1H/1S, sequences, the J2NT sequence was changed to require only 3 card support.

 

5.  Smolen was added without any adjustments.

 

6.  Transfers to majors were added without any adjustments.

 

7.  Texas transfers were added without any adjustments.

 

8.  Over opponents' 1N opening, either a weak NT (12-14) or the current standard NT (15-17),  any convention can be used.  However, the two preferred ones are Brozel and Juggler's Defense.  Please ensure that you make the proper evaluations and adjustments for quality of the suits and point counts, taking into account vulnerability.

 

Brozel basically consists of a double, to show a long suit to be named later.  Any other 2 level overcall shows a two suited hand, with 2C showing clubs and hearts, 2D showing diamonds and hearts, 2H showing hearts and spades, and, 2S showing spades and a lower suit (namely a minor).

 

Juggler's  is slightly different, giving a bit more options for spades.  A double shows both black suits, 2C shows clubs and spades, 2D shows diamonds and hearts, leaving 2H and 2S as natural 5+ suits.

 

9.  Defense to Michaels cue bid:

 

Michaels is a cue bid made by opener's LHO, overcalling opener's suit with a 2 level bid of the same suit, i.e., 1C-2C, 1D-2D, 1H-2H, 1S-2S.  These bids usually indicate being 2-suited, with at least 5-5 and either 6-11 or 15+ points.  Over 1C and 1D, Michaels indicates being two suited in the majors.  Over 1H and 1S Michaels indicates the other major and an unspecified minor.  GW uses this information as a platform for responder to give opener significant information. 

 

9a.  Over 1C-2C, responder bids are:

pass = 0-9 HCP
Dbl = 10+ HCP, non-descriptive
2D = 10+ HCP, 5+ diamonds
2H = 10+ HCP, heart void/singleton 4144, 5044, 4054, 4045 shapes
2S = 10+ HCP, spade void/singleton 1444, 1544, 1454, 1445 shapes
2N = 12+ HCP, stoppers in both majors, GF
3C = 10+ HCP, 6+ suit
3D = 10+ HCP, 6+ suit
3H = 14+ HCP, heart void 5044, 4054, 4045 shapes
3S = 14+ HCP, spade void 0544, 0454, 0445 shapes

 

9b.  Over 1D-2D, responder bids are:

pass    = 0-9 HCP, non-descriptive

double = 10+ HCP, non-descriptive

2H = 10+ HCP, heart void/singleton 4144, 5044, 4054, 4045 shapes

2S = 10+ HCP, spade void/singleton 1444, 1544, 1454, 1445 shapes

2N = 12+ HCP, stoppers in both majors, GF

3C = 10+ HCP, 6+ suit

3D = 10+ HCP, 6+ suit

3H = 10+ HCP, heart void 5044, 4054, 4045 shapes

3S = 10+ HCP, spade void 0544, 0454, 0445 shapes

 

10.  Over Unusual No Trump (UNT), i.e., 1H/S by opener an immediate bid by an opponent of 2N showing both minors, the responses are similar:

pass    = 0-9 HCP, non-descriptive

double = 10+ HCP, non-descriptive

3C       = 10+ HCP, club singleton/void, 4441, 5440, 4540, 4450 shapes

3D       = 10+ HCP, diamond singleton/void, 4414, 5404, 4504, 4405 shapes

3H       =  10+ HCP, 6+ suit

3S       = 10+ HCP, 6+ suit