♠️A2 ❤️82 ♦️K9743
♣️J976 Three ways to bid this hand:
- 1NT-2NT good old fashioned asking partner to bid game with a maximum
would be perfect for this hand
- 1NT-2♣️-2x-2NT (alerted) if playing basic 4-way transfer
- 1NT-2♠️ Expert standard: 6+ clubs or Range Ask. A
useful way to play 4-way transfers without having to bid Stayman when
you don’t want to hear partner’s majors. Opener’s replies:
- 2NT Minimum (15-16)
- 3♣️ Maximum (16-17) or a good fit
Examples
- opener: ♠️KQ4 ❤️KT43 ♦️AK93 ♣️76
- opener: ♠️AJ92 ❤️AKQ2 ♦️QJ2 ♣️93
- 1NT-2♠️-3♣️ show maximum.
- responder: ♠️A2 ❤️82 ♦️K9743 ♣️J976
- 1NT-2♠️-2NT-Pass opener has minimum
- responder: ♠️A2 ❤️82 ♦️K9743 ♣️J976
- 1NT-2♠️-3♣️-3NT opener has maximum
- responder: ♠️642 ❤️2 ♦️432 ♣️QT9763
- 1NT-2♠️-2NT-3♣️ sign-off with clubs
- responder: ♠️K2 ❤️2 ♦️Q432 ♣️AJ9763
- 1NT-2♠️-3♣️-3❤️ Transferring to a minor and bidding a new suit at
the 3 level shows a singleton or void. Whenever we have a 4-card major
and a longer minor, we would start with Stayman. So transferring to a
minor and bidding a major doesn’t need to be natural.
- 1NT-2NT Diamond transfer. Opener’s replies:
- 2♣️ I don’t like diamonds
- 2♦️ I like diamonds. Maximum or a good fit.
- opener ♠️AKJ2 ❤️Q82 ♦️K93 ♣️K43
- 1NT-2NT-3♦️ I like diamonds
- opener: ♠️AQJ2 ❤️Q82 ♦️K94 ♣️K43
- 1NT-2NT-3♦️-3❤️-3♠️ Partner showed heart shortness. The 1NT Opener
should avoid bidding 3NT and proceed with the most natural bid they can.
Here we should show partner how strong our spades are. If partner has a
hand with three spades to go with their singleton heart, 4♠️ could
easily be the best game.
- responder: ♠️Q2 ❤️82 ♦️K43 ♣️AJ9763
- 1NT-3NT Wrong hand to transfer. We only transfer to clubs when we
are planning to pass 3♣️ or if we want to tell partner about
shortness.
Inviting with spades
- We were taught to transfer to 2♠️ and bid 2NT with 5 spades and 8-9
points. Experts have found a better way to invite: Stayman followed by
2♠️. Examples of aggressive invites with 5 spades: ♠️KJT83 ❤️4 ♦️83
♣️K9432 or ♠️AK843 ❤️87 ♦️T9832 ♣️4
- responder: ♠️AKJ92 ❤️542 ♦️3 ♣️8763
- 1NT-2♣️ Stayman. Planning to invite with spades.
- opener: ♠️54 ❤️AK64 ♦️A764 ♣️A52
- 1NT-2♣️-2❤️-2♠️-Pass Even with a 7 card fit, we are much better off
playing in 2♠️ in this hand. This is the main benefit: stop in
2♠️ when partner has a minimum.
- opener: ♠️96 ❤️KJ42 ♦️KQT3 ♣️AQ3
- 1NT-2♣️-2❤️-2♠️-Pass minimum without a fit.
- opener: ♠️74 ❤️AK93 ♦️KQ93 ♣️AJ6
- 1NT-2♣️-2❤️-2♠️-2NT maximum without a fit.
- opener: ♠️Q72 ❤️AK92 ♦️AQ92 ♣️93
- 1NT-2♣️-2❤️-2♠️-3♠️ fit, interest in game.
Only
one way to bid garbage. This is a small price to pay for the previous
agreement.
- ♠️Q9764 ❤️K543 ♦️Q32 ♣️6
- 1NT-2♣️-2♦️-2❤️ We cannot bid 2♠️ on this hand as it would show
invitational values. We would have had enough to invite game had partner
shown a fit for one of our majors, but now we must back off. 2❤️ says we
were just bidding garbage stayman. It could be longer in either
major.
Minor suit slam tries
after 1NT opening
- 1NT-2♠️-2NT/3♣️
- 3♦️/3❤️/3♠️ singleton or void
- 4♣️ slam try in clubs, no diamond control
- 4♦️ slam try in clubs, diamond control
- 4❤️/4♠️/5♦️ exclusion Blackwood
- 4NT RKCB in clubs
- 1NT-2NT-3♣️/3♦️
- 3❤️/3♠️ singleton or void
- 4♣️ slam try in diamonds, club control
- 4♦️ slam try in diamonds, no club control
- 4❤️/4♠️/5♣️ exclusion Blackwood
- 4NT RKCB in diamonds
Source: 1 NT
Opening Structure by Gavin Wolpert