Rubens advances constitute a bridge

Contract bridge

Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...

 bidding method that can be used by a bridge partnership to respond to overcall

Overcall

In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A direct overcall is a bid made directly over the opening bid by right-hand opponent; an overcall in the 'last seat' is referred to as a balancing...

s. The method was devised by Jeff Rubens

Jeff Rubens

Jeff Rubens is a bridge player and writer; he is the editor of the magazine The Bridge World and the author of several bridge books, including Secrets of Winning Bridge....

 and published in The Bridge World

The Bridge World

The Bridge World , the oldest continuously published magazine about contract bridge, was founded in 1929 by Ely Culbertson. It has since been regarded as the game's principal journal, publicizing technical advances in bidding and the play of the cards, discussions of ethical issues, bridge politics...

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Using Rubens advances, the available bids in the suits starting with the cue bid in opponent's suit up to and including the bid below a two-level support bid of the overcall are all transfer bids to the next suit. Furthermore, the available bids in the suits below the cue bid are all natural and forcing for one round. The no-trump bids at various levels are not affected by this method of advancing partner's overcalls and retain their normal meaning.

The claimed advantage over other treatments is that - thanks to the transfer nature of the various bids - hands with a wider range of strengths can be introduced following partner's overcall.

Examples

When playing Rubens advances, the following applies after an opposing 1 opening and a 1 overcall:

(1) - 1 - (pass) - ??

2 : transfer to diamonds

2 : transfer to hearts

2 : transfer to spades (a support bid too strong for a natural raise)

2 : natural support bid

When partner's overcall does not skip any suits, the Rubens advances reduce to the standard treatment in which new suits are forcing and the cue bid promises support. For instance:

(1) - 1 - (pass) - ??

2 : natural, round forcing

2 : natural, round forcing

2 : transfer to spades (a support bid too strong for a natural raise)

2 : natural support bid

Extensions

The methodology is often extended to cases in which the opener gets raised. It is then common to utilise the double as lowest 'transfer bid':

(1) - 1 - (2) - ??

dbl : transfer to diamonds

2 : transfer to hearts

2 : transfer to spades (a support bid too strong for a natural raise)

2 : natural support bid