OMNIBUS
TWO NO TRUMP

The definition of Omnibus is: pertaining to or dealing with numerous objects or items at once. Every now and then one comes across a convention which can be used by bridge partnerships opening up a 4-card Major or partnerships who will only open with a 5-card Major. The Omnibus Two No Trump Response To Major openings is one of those conventions.

Dealer: North	Responder: South
1 or 1	2 NT
3 x	3 4 NT 3 NT 4 4 4

The 2 No Trump response indicates:

1. either a balanced hand with stoppers in the unbid suits and 13-20 high card points

2. or a strong raise of opener's suit with at least 4-card support and 16-18 Support Points

The 3 Clubs rebid of the opener indicates either an interest in a Major suit contract or an opening bid worth more than the minimum. The rebid of the opener is completely artificial and tells his partner nothing about his Club holding. All other bids following are generally artificial and provide only descriptive information about the high card point range.

The rebid of the responder of 3 Diamonds shows 16-18 high card points.

The rebid of the responder of 4 No Trump shows 19-20 high card points.

If the responder has a high card point range of 13-15, then the responder informs his partner whether he has support for the bid Major suit. If the responder does not have the required support in the bid Major, but does have a 4-card support in the second Major suit, the responder is required to inform his partner.

If the responder does not have support in the bid Major suit, and does not have a 4-card support in the second Major suit, then the responder simply bids 3 No Trump.

If the responder is within the 16-18 support point range, the responder can bid below the bid Major suit of the opener on the Four Level to indicate minimum or maximum support point range. These bids are generally artificial.

4 :		indicates the maximum Support Range, and is also the cheapest bid over 3 Clubs
4 :		indicates an average range, but may also show a 4-card plus length in Diamonds
4 :		indicates an average range, but may also show a 4-card plus length in Hearts
4 :		in the case above, indicates a minimum hand within the promised Support Range

Dealer: North	Responder: South
1 or 1	2 NT
3	3 4 NT 3 NT 4 4 4

A 3 Diamond rebid by the opener after the Omnibus Two No Trump response indicates that the opener has three 4-card Suits. If the opener has bid 1 Spade, then the singleton is in Clubs. If the opener has bid 1 Heart, then the singleton is in Spades. If the singleton is in another suit, then the opener is required to bid 3 Clubs.

The responder can then bid 3 No Trump over the 3 Diamonds rebid by the opener, showing no 4-card support in any of the suits of the opener.

A 3 Hearts response after the 3 Diamonds rebid by the opener is artificial and imparts no information about his Heart holding. The 3 Hearts response is asking opener to more closely define his strength. The opener bids in Step Responses, which follow.

3 :		12 high card points or less
3 NT:		13-14 high card points
4 :		15-16 high card points
4 :		17-18 high card points

After the Omnibus Two No Trump response, the opener can also bid 3 Hearts or 3 Spades. Each of these two bids is completely artificial, but indicates, however, that the opened suit is a 5-card suit. The meaning of the 3 Hearts signifies that the opener has length in Clubs and a minimum hand. The meaning of the 3 Spades signifies that the opener has length in Diamonds and a minimum hand.

That, in general terms, defines the Omnibus Two No Trump Response to a Major suit opening. The ensuing bids are artificial in general and relay certain information to each partner.

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.