Five-card majors for offensive purposes. However, if the trump cards break 4-1 or 1-4, then drawing trump will result in no trumps left for offensive purposes. The value of five-card majors can be understood then on two levels: But five-card majors have several drawbacks: Both partners must agree to follow the five-card major bidding treatment on their opening bid. Opener must have at least five cards in hearts or spades to start the bidding with that suit. Responder is expected to show support with three-card support, indicating an eight-card fit. With only four cards in a major suit, the opening bidder is
Canapé (bridge) suit is held. Thus, eight-card or longer major suit fits are found right away and some otherwise difficult to bid hands are handled easily. If no major suit exists, the partnership can play in the opener's longest suit. Opening four-card majors frequently has a preemptive value because takeout doubles are less effective in cases where the opponents have not opened their longest suit. When four-card majors were popular in the United States, even the most adamant proponents of "natural" bidding opened four-card majors ahead of five-card minors on hands that presented rebid problems. The following examples apply to some canapé