[Deblk]

Totally confused with cue bid and michaels cue bid. My robot partner used cue bid in support of my opening suit. When do I know whether it's a support bid for my suit or Michael's showing suits that have not been bidded?

[smerriman]

Robot-related questions should go in the GIB forum, but this isn't actually related to robots so ignore that

A Michaels cuebid occurs when the opponents open the bidding with 1 of a suit, and you bid 2 of the same suit:

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If the opening bid was a minor, it shows both majors; otherwise it shows the missing major and one of the minors.

But when your *partner* opens the bidding, and the opponents overcall, it is a completely different situation:

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Cuebidding here shows a good (invitational or better) hand with support for your partner. This is because it is standard to play that after the opponents overcall, jumping to 3♥ or 4♥ shows weak hands, making it harder for the opponents to work their way into the auction.

[Stephen Tu]

Michaels is when someone bids the opening suit of the opponents, (1c)-2c, or (1s)-2s, partner hasn't been in the auction yet. It is sometimes also extended to other situations, like (1c)-p-(1nt)-2c, still showing both majors.

A support cue bid is when partner has already opened or overcalled, like 1H-(2c)-3c, or (1c)-1H-(p)-2c.

So generally if they open, your direct cue shows a 2-suiter, Michaels. Note that some cues when both opponents have bid a suit are *not* typically Michaels though; e.g. (1c)-p-(1H)-2H typically shows *hearts*, natural, even though RHO has already bid them (you might have 6 good hearts when RHO has 4 baby ones). (1c)-p-(1h)-2c is up to partnership agreement; some people like this as other 2 suits, but others just prefer this to be natural clubs (since opener can be 3 small clubs).

If partner opens or overcalls, your cue as responder or advancer shows a good hand in support. So 1 suit - (overcall)-cue, or (1 suit)-overcall - ? - cue.But note that a cue bid by *opener*, after responder has shown a suit (e.g. 1c-(p)-1h-(1s)-2s), usually *denies* support for responder's suit initially. This is because opener with support has plenty of strength showing jump raises and splinters available, typically. Cue bids by responder or advancer are typically used for good support hands, because the jump raises are utilized as weaker more distributional hands. When you've opened, your jump raises are power rather than weak distribution, and you need the cue for really strong hands *without* support, typically looking for a stopper in the opponent's suit to play 3nt.

[mycroft]

Others have described the difference between a support cuebid and a Michaels cuebid accurately and well.

However, In case you're just confused about the term "Cuebid" - well, you're not alone.

A cuebid, in basic, is simply "a bid of the opponents' suit". Like any other call, it doesn't mean anything by itself; it can be assigned a meaning by a pair, that meaning depending on the previous auction and meanings of the opponents' calls. In the case (1♥)-2♥, the standard meaning (Michaels) is "5-5, spades and a minor". In the case 1♥-(1♠)-2♠, the standard meaning is "strong (limit or better) raise of hearts".

These are the two most common, but there's also the "stopper ask cuebid", looking for 3NT if you can stop them from running their suit. It also has different names depending on circumstances and agreements (whether it's asking for a full stopper or whether it's showing half a stopper (like Qx) and asking for the other half (Jxx or Kx)).

But it gets more and more confusing, partly because Bridge is complicated, and partly because of a [deprecated] historical usage. Feel free to read until your brain explodes and then stop; while you will eventually need to know this, maybe Not Now.

What if the opponents show a suit they haven't bid? 1NT-(2♦ "Hello", showing hearts), is 2♥ a cuebid? Is 3♦? Remember my definition above. The standard answer (but likely not the "flight C answer") is "2♥ is a bid of the opponents' suit" and therefore a cuebid, and 3♦ is "a bid of a suit the opponents haven't shown" and therefore not. Now what that 2♥ cuebid shows strongly depends on your agreement (I play it as takeout of hearts, with double being diamonds and 3♦ being GF with diamonds and 3♥ being GF Stayman without a heart stopper).

What if the opponents bid a suit "naturally" that they may not have? 1♦ Precision "11-15 HCP, could be 1 diamond". Now the cuebid (it could be a 5-card suit, just like standard, so it's "the opponents' suit) might be best defined as "I have more diamonds than they do". Again, agreements (my partnerships do not change our agreements. Others definitely do.)

What if the opponents bid a suit that is totally artificial? 1♣ Precision, or 2♣ in standard, or 2♦ (mini-Roman, 11-15, 4441 with an unknown shortness)? Now bidding that suit isn't technically a cuebid (and shouldn't be called such, but people will), but again you have to assign a meaning to it (I would not recommend Michaels, but it's not a *bad* meaning as long as both partners are on the same page).

Now the historical usage. In the past, "cuebid" was also used with a totally different meaning - in a slam auction, bidding a suit that wasn't trumps would show a control (A or void, potentially K or singleton) in that suit, whether or not the opponents had bid the suit or any suit. Because of this long-standing double meaning and the confusion it has caused and still causes, there has been a push in the last 20 years to refer to this as a "Control bid" rather than a "Cuebid". It has - not completely succeeded. So watch out for that.

If you understand that the question you asked was equivalent to "what is the difference between a double and a Negative Double" - even if what was meant to ask was "what is the difference between a Penalty Double and a Negative Double" - and realize that "cuebid" refers to a type of call like "double", and "[type] Cuebid" is assigning a specific meaning to a cuebid in a specific sequence (like [type] Double), you'll likely be less confused in future. But know that, just like "which doubles are what is the hardest thing to understand", cuebids come close - for exactly the same reason: "natural is not useful here (except rarely), so let's assign a useful meaning (which is different in each situation)".

[Deblk]

Erm....thanks guys, I think 🤔🙂

[helene_t]

Basically, you use the cuebid to show support when partner has opened or overcalled.

When you have opened or overcalled yourself, you don't use the cuebid that way - in that situation, the cuebid just shows some awkward strong hand, often a single-suited hand looking for a stopper. Similarly, when partner has made a t/o double, you cuebid with a random strong hand.

When opponents have bid two suits and we have found a minor suit fit, I think the most common agreement is that we bid the suit in which we have a stopper.

This is a bit oversimplified and there are also some things which you need to agree with partner.

But Michaels cuebid only applies in three specific situations:

(1banana)-2bananas
(1banana)-pass-(pass)-2bananas
(1banana)-pass-(1NT)-2bananas

[Cyberyeti]

Also to confuse you further, if opponents open a weak 2, overcalling 2♠ with 3♠ is not played by most as Michaels but saying "bid 3N with a spade stop", overcalling 1♠ with 3♠ is the same thing. Mycroft mentions this also.

[DavidKok]

Cyberyeti, on 2022-July-01, 02:36, said:

Also to confuse you further, if opponents open a weak 2, overcalling 2♠ with 3♠ is not played by most as Michaels but saying "bid 3N with a spade stop", overcalling 1♠ with 3♠ is the same thing. Mycroft mentions this also.

Most, maybe. But it is not recommended anymore.

[pescetom]

DavidKok, on 2022-July-01, 02:38, said:

Most, maybe. But it is not recommended anymore.

What is the current recommended meaning?

[DavidKok]

Weaker Michaels than Leaping (or, if you don't play Leaping Michaels over weak two's, just any Michaels). And to clarify a bit: I'm not sure whether or not this Michaels bid is 'expert standard', or even statistically superior to other uses. But I've noticed that people around me chuckle when I explain (2♠)-3♠* as 'source of tricks, do you have a spade stop', so I think the Michaels treatment is more fashionable at the moment.

[bluenikki]

Stephen Tu, on 2022-June-30, 03:11, said:

So generally if they open, your direct cue shows a 2-suiter, Michaels. Note that some cues when both opponents have bid a suit are *not* typically Michaels though; e.g. (1c)-p-(1H)-2H typically shows *hearts*, natural, even though RHO has already bid them (you might have 6 good hearts when RHO has 4 baby ones). (1c)-p-(1h)-2c is up to partnership agreement; some people like this as other 2 suits, but others just prefer this to be natural clubs (since opener can be 3 small clubs).

After (1♣) - P - (1♥) - ? there are two calls that show spades and diamonds -- double and 2NT. The need for a third is dubious, to be polite.

And it is *not* necessary for 1♣ to be three-card for it to be the strain you need to declare.