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More Notrump Gymnastics - Bidding and Responses
Before we continue our quest for sound
Notrump bidding, let's have a quick review of Notrump
strength requirements:
Points - the 1 Notrump opening range is a
cornerstone of the partnership's system, influencing other 1
level bids and rebids. Here are some common point ranges to
open 1 Notrump:
15-17 This is the modern treatment today,
offering a good compromise between its frequency of
occurrence and the safety of an achievable contract when
partner has a poor hand.
16-18 This was popular in yesteryear,
certainly a solid range with a greater safety range.
However, since more points are required, the player has
fewer opportunities to open 1 Notrump.
Opening 1 Notrump with 13-15 is common with
Precision players since they open 1 Club with almost all 16+
HCP hands (an artificial conventional bid). Common systems
such as Standard American have a huge range when opening a
hand in a suit contract at the 1 level, with as few as 12
points and as many as 21 points. While the Precision system
requires much memory work associated with artificial bids,
an argument can be made for the advantages of bids
expressing a narrower point range. At any rate, all Bridge
systems wisely use a narrow point range to evaluate an
opening Notrump call.
Did you know that "on the other side of the
pond" (from the perspective of those in the United States)
there is another popular system to open 1 Notrump with 12-14
points? It's the Acol system, originally created at North
London Bridge Club located on Acol Street, England. Playing
Acol, players get to open 1 Notrump far more often than the
15-17 point players or those playing the 13-15 point
Precision system. When an opponent opens 1 Notrump with
weaker values, it becomes a bit of a hindrance - the
opponents are no longer able to bid at the 1 level since the
Notrump bid is the highest ranking denomination at a given
level. So the Acol 1 Notrump bid is a bit of a preemptive
bid, opening the bidding with a balanced hand and minimal
values. Opening 1 Notrump with 12-14 points is also the
standard for the Kaplan-Sheinwold system, formerly a popular
system for aspiring Bridge players until the Precision
system emerged.
As if those were not enough variations, a few
creative players open 1 Notrump with 14-16 points. Some play
an even weaker notrump opener when non-vulnerable and this
14-16 HCP range when vulnerable. Players who like split
notrump ranges call it "variable notrump" bidding -
opponents who hate it call it "chicken notrump" - get it?
The players bid a higher range when vulnerable to avoid
getting whacked by the opponents with a penalty double.
That leaves the favorite for those who fear
no evil, opening 1 Notrump with 10-12 points! Talk about a
preemptive range with no concern of painful penalties, this
is it. Enter the "Kamikaze" notrump. Oh, by the way, a
minority of frisky Bridge players use (misuse?) methods that
permit them to open 1 Notrump with less than 10 points; in
some jurisdictions like North America, the Laws state
prohibit the responder from using any conventional responses
like Stayman and Jacoby Transfers when partner opens 1
Notrump with less than 10 points.
Okay, having taken a tour of how some Bridge
players get creative with their 1 Notrump opening range,
let's get back to our 15-17 point 1 Notrump opener. We will
begin by considering balanced hands that are above or below
this point range, those with 12-14 points and those with
18-21 points (above 22 points, many systems open strongly at
the 2 level).
We typically bid a suit at the 1 level and
rebid 1 Notrump with 1-3 points below our Notrump opening
range. Thus, a 1 Notrump rebid normally shows a hand with
12-14 points (or a shapely 15 pointer).
1 minor - 1 major;
1 Notrump
1 Notrump rebids usually show the same shape
as the Notrump opener. This is somewhat controversial
depending on partnership agreements, which may also involve
agreements on reverses and other conventions. How about this
scenario?
1 minor - 1 Spade;
Since the responder may hold a four card
major, the opener often does not hold four cards in the
major suit. Lacking four card support, the opener's options
are limited to rebidding Notrump or a minor suit.
Incidentally, after a 1 Spade response, rebidding 1 Notrump
should truly show a balanced hand with 2-3 Spades. Holding a
short Spade suit, we should bid a minor. Here are some
common scenarios:
1C - 1S
1N
Rebid 1 Notrump with a balanced shape, as:
3=2=4=4, 2=3=4=4, 2=4=3=4
(legend: Spades=Hearts=Diamonds=Clubs)
1C - 1S
2C
Rebid 2 Clubs with an imbalanced hand lacking
stoppers in a short suit, as:
2=3=2=6, 1=3=4=5, 3=1=4=5
Recall our prior lesson on captaincy. When a
player makes the cheapest Notrump bid or rebids a prior suit
at the lowest level, these bids show a minimum hand and are
intended to be signoff bids. Of course, with an invitational
10-12 point hand or a 13+ point game-going hand, the
responder is not obligated to pass.
Today most Bridge players open 2 Notrump with
20-21 points and a balanced hand. Thus, rebidding 2 Notrump
shows opener's range is above the 15-17 point range
associated with the 1 Notrump opener and below the 20-21
point 2 Notrump opening bids. So opener's 2 Notrump rebid
promises exactly 18-19 points.
S K 2
H K 2
D Q 10 2
C A K Q 4 3 2
[xxx] [xxx]
S Q 4 3
H Q J 4 3
D K 3 2
C 10 6 5
How many points is North's hand worth? We
count 17 High Card Points and add 2 extra points for the
running Club suit with great honors. So perhaps 1 Club is
the best opening bid. If responder bids at the 1 level
(probably a major suit), opener can rebid 2 Notrump showing
a hand worth 18-19 points. Notice South's flat hand - what
should South bid if North opened 1 Notrump? With the 4-3-3-3
shape lackluster honors and 8 points, South should pass a 1
Notrump opening bid. But in our scenario where opener began
with 1 Club, responder would bid 1 Heart with 6+ points and
opener can rebid 2 Notrump. North is showing a hand worth
18-19 points - now South can comfortably rebid 3 Notrump and
the partnership finds a comfortable game.
As we have seen, the responder generally
passes with flat shape and less than invitational values
necessary to discover game. With invitational values,
responder dutifully makes a trial bid.
After the Takeout Double, the most popular
convention in Bridge is the Stayman convention. After opener
begins 1 Notrump, the responder bids 2 Clubs "Stayman" with
invitational or above values and 1 or 2 four card majors.
Stayman is an artificial convention, forcing opener to
either bid a 4 card major or 2 Diamonds lacking support. On
the lucky day when 1 Notrump opener holds two 4 card majors,
opener rebids "up the line" bidding 2 Hearts (modern
treatment). So after responder's 2 Club Stayman ask,
opener's rebid of 2 Hearts does not deny a four card Spade
suit. Conversely, opener's rebid of 2 Spades indeed denies a
4 card Heart suit. Here's an example of bidding that
resolves the quandary when opener has four cards in both
majors suits.
S A Q 3 2
H K 9 8 7
D A K 2
C 4 3
[xxx] [xxx]
S J 6 5 4
H 4 3 2
D 4 3
C A K Q 2
1N - 2C;
2H - 3N;
4S - Pass;
Fearless North doesn't worry about the
worthless Club doubleton (a believer of our Rule of
Anticipation) and opens 1 Notrump. South responds with 2
Clubs (Stayman). Next, opener rebids the lower 4 card major,
2 Hearts. Not having found a fit in responder's Spade major,
responder assumes opener does not have 4 Spades and attempts
to signoff in a 3 Notrump game with a nice 10 HCP hand. But
wait a second - opener North can infer that since partner
bid Stayman and did not have a 4 card Heart suit, responder
must have 4 Spades. Otherwise, responder would not bid
Stayman and simply invite game by bidding 2 Notrump. Thus,
opener corrects 3 Notrump to 4 Spades and the partnership
still finds their 4-4 major suit fit. Long live "up the
line" major suit bidding after Stayman. So here's a word of
caution to all the busy bidders who love to try new gadgets
- avoid bidding Stayman without a four card major, since
opener may correct a 3 Notrump signoff to 4 Spades!
Good responders have other methods to show
signoff, invitational, and forcing bids with long major
suits that are otherwise difficult to bid. While we will not
explore Jacoby Transfers in this lesson, let's look at a few
more Stayman-related methods.
When responder has less than 6 points, a
shortage in Clubs without a suit stopper (Ace or King) and
no 5 card major, we imagine partner will have a difficult
contract if we pass opener's 1 Notrump bid. With this
holding, the Garbage Stayman bid is an excellent treatment
to win more tricks than simply passing partner's 1 Notrump
opening bid. By the way, the Garbage Stayman does not
require a partnership agreement - the responder is prepared
to pass any 2 level suit rebid made by opener. Here's an
illustrative holding:
1N - 2C;
2x - PASS!
Of course, since the opponents own at least
one half of the points in the deck, they may enter the
bidding. Perhaps it's their auction anyway - certainly we do
not wish to compete when we can clearly see the opponents
have most of the points. Here's an example of our Garbage
Stayman:
S A 4 3 2
H K 9 8 7
D A K 2
C Q 3
[xxx] [xxx]
S 7 6 5
H Q 6 5 4
D Q 6 5 4 3
C 2
On the above hand, playing in a 1 Notrump
contract could be quite costly. The opponents are likely to
take 5 or 6 Club tricks and certainly the Heart Ace. But
playing in a 2 level suit gives the opener a good chance to
make the contract. Now let's rearrange South's hand
slightly, giving responder's hand a primary honor in the
singleton Club suit.
S A Q 3 2
H K 9 8 7
D A K 2
C Q 3
[xxx] [xxx]
S 7 6 5
H Q 6 5 4
D Q 6 5 4 3
C K
These hands are identical to the above hands
except for the C2 becoming a CK. With a stiff Club Ace or
King and no 5 card major suit, the responder usually passes
with a minimal hand. Sometimes you will miss a 4-4 fit,
other times the Rule of Anticipation prevails and opener had
a 5 (or even 6) card Club suit and all is well - but not
this time. Unfortunately, there are few guarantees in Bridge
- your mileage may vary!
Incidentally, when opponents have a long suit
like the Clubs here, they will often enter the auction. If
East had a few of West's honors along with the long Club
suit, most East players would be eager to enter the auction.
This type of bidding may actually save the broke responder
as we have witnessed above on South's holdings.
When responder has a 4=5=x=x shape and 0-7
HCP, the Crawling Stayman is a nice treatment. Holding four
Spades and five Hearts, responder generally does not expect
partner to hold a four card major. In the usual situation
where opener rebids 2 Diamonds to deny a four card major,
the responder initiates the Crawling Stayman treatment by
bidding 2 Hearts. Certainly this bid isn't part of the
normal Stayman sequence of rebids and is a conventional
treatment. So please do not spring it on your unsuspecting
partner without first discussing the meaning of the Crawling
Stayman! Playing Crawling Stayman, responder's bidding
sequence is 2 Clubs, followed by 2 Hearts (after opener
rebids 2 Diamonds). This shows four Spades, five Hearts, and
no game interest. Here's the scenario:
1N - 2C;
2D - 2H
Opener Passes with 3 Hearts or corrects to 2
Spades when holding three Spades. Let's see an example with
illustrative hands:
S A 2
H A Q 2
D A K 3 2
C 5 4 3 2
[xxx] [xxx]
S K 6 5 4
H K 9 8 7 6
D 5 4
C 7 6
Our Crawling Stayman bidding would go:
1N - 2C;
2D - 2H;
Pass
When opener holds three Spades and an implied
eight card fit, opener rebids 2 Spades:
S A Q 2
H A 2
D A K 3 2
C 5 4 3 2
[xxx] [xxx]
S K 6 5 4
H K 9 8 7 6
D 5 4
C 7 6
Of course, on a good day opener will bid a 4
card major and responder generally passes. One exception
would be where opener bids 2 Hearts - with a 9 card trump
fit and a shapely hand, responder should consider an
invitational 3 Heart bid such as this holding:
S A Q 2
H A 2
D A K 3 2
C 5 4 3 2
[xxx] [xxx]
S K 6 5 4
H K 9 8 7 6
D 6 5 4
C 6
Okay, here's one more Stayman-like bid before
we wrap-up the discussion on Notrump bidding. This one is a
nameless adjunct to the Stayman convention, used to show an
invitational hand with 8-9 total points, 5 Spades and 4
Hearts.
On the Crawling Stayman, after opener denied
a four card major by bidding 2 Diamonds, responder bids 2
Hearts to begin a signoff sequence. But what would it mean
if instead responder rebid 2 Spades instead of 2 Hearts?
1N - 2C:
2D - 2S;
Clearly something different is going on here.
This bid shows 5 Spades, 4 Hearts, with 8 or 9 points
(actually 7-8 HCP, with 1 extra point for the fifth Spade).
Opener should pass with a minimum and no fit. With a major
suit fit and extras, opener places the contract in game.
With a fit yet an adversity to making a poor choice with
questionable values, the opener may be tempted to rebid 3
Spades (3 Hearts is signoff, simply correcting to the best
fit); rebidding 3 Spades certainly passes the buck back to
the responder, albeit a torturous auction!
Let's conclude our Notrump lesson recapping
opener's bidding criteria when holding a five card major. Do
you ever open 1 Notrump with a five card suit? If so, when
do you count an extra distribution point for the 5 card
suit? Inquiring minds must know!
S Q 3 2
H K 3 2
D A 3
C A Q J 3 2
The Club suit may generate 5 tricks (16HCP +
1 distribution point). With the auction: 1N - 2N, opener
happily accepts an invitational game.
S A K
H Q J 2
D J 5 4 3 2
C Q J 2
We have several defects here. Do not count
extra for 5 Diamonds with a poor suit. The Queen-Jack honors
are not desirable in short suits and the Ace-King doubleton
is yet another defect. Open 1 Diamond.
S K 2
H 4 3 2
D A 3 2
C A K Q J 2
We normally open 1 Notrump with 15-17 HCP,
but this hand is worth 18 points with the lovely 5 card Club
suit. Open 1 Club with plans to rebid 2 Notrump after
partner's response (showing 18-19 points).
S K 2
H A Q J 3 2
D Q J 2
C K 3 2
If we open 1 Heart and partner bids 1 Spade,
what would we bid next? Rebidding 1 Notrump shows 12- 15
points; rebidding 2 Notrump would show 18-19 points. Neither
bid describes our hand - our partner will likely pass
without 10+ points, missing game. So when we have Notrump
opening values and a 5 card Heart suit, consider opening 1
Notrump.
S A Q J 3 2
H K 2
D Q J 2
C K 3 2
Exchanging majors from the above hand, we
open 1 Spade with no rebid problems. So with 16 HCP and an
extra distribution point for the nice promotable Spade suit,
if responder bids 1 Notrump we plan to invite by bidding 2
Notrump with a hand worth 17 points and nice distribution.
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