One of the benefits of opening 1NT is that it usually puts partner in charge. Even when he asks for more information, most of your replies require little more than recounting your high-card points or the number of cards you hold in a major.
As we gain experience, we find there's more to
think about. Here’s a simple one:
You open 1NT (15-17) and partner makes a
standard invite of 2NT. What’s your call with ♠KQJ
♥AK6 ♦Q109 ♣J654 ?
Beginners don’t have the hand-evaluation skills to make accurate decisions with this in-between strength. For simplicity – and because they tend to be timid bidders -- they’re usually taught to just bid 3NT with any 16 or 17.
You may know experienced players who still do this. Some treat almost any invitation as a transfer to game, but for the rest of us, this is a tougher decision. Partner should have 9 or a very good 8 points. With 16 opposite 9, you have a reasonable play for 3NT (better than 50 percent). If partner has just 8 points, your odds drop to around 40 percent.
This is a 3NT bid if you’re vulnerable at teams, where you want to bid any game that’s at least 40 percent. At pairs scoring, though, it’s more important to avoid a minus score, so you should accept the invitation only if you evaluate your hand as a “good” 16.
What makes a good 16? The assets, in order of importance, are a 5-card suit, two 4-card suits, honors in your long suits and high spot cards (10s and 9s). This hand’s 3-3-3-4 distribution is its biggest liability, followed by the concentration of honors in the 3-card suits. At matchpoints, it’s a pass of 2NT.
Super-accepts: Transfer auctions offer another opportunity for advancing players to use their judgment. One option is the “super-accept”, which involves going past two of responder's suit to show a big fit. Would you do this with ♠AQJ10 ♥KQ ♦J732 ♣KJ4 after partner transfers to spades?
Pairs use several different schemes for showing the super-accept – the first step past partner’s suit, 2NT to ask for another feature, 3 of a new suit to show a doubleton or a side suit. Any of these can work, but they also give the opponents extra information. I’ve found that the straightforward jump to 3 of partner’s suit works best.
There’s a lot of confusion about the meaning of a super-accept. It doesn’t just say, “I have great trumps and a maximum.” The more practical message is, “I have such a good supporting hand that we can probably make game if you have 6-7 points – and it’s likely we’re safe at the 3-level if you have fewer.”
There’s a big difference between those two messages. To communicate the second, your hand needs:
4+ trumps. Never 3, even if it’s AKQ.
Maximum strength. Usually 17 points, although an outstanding 16 might qualify.
Any distribution but 4333. A side suit with a losing doubleton (xx) is ideal. Second-best is Ax.
The example hand is not a good super-accept. It has 7 losers, but the 5 points in the doubleton aren’t pulling full weight and the spades might actually be too strong. Your hand would be better if it had more tricks in the side suits -- ♠AJ102 ♥43 ♦KQJ2 ♣AQ4 (6 losers).
Another misconception is that a super-accept is a “Law” bid – that a 9-card fit makes the 3-level safe and you should get there immediately. That can be good advice in other types of auctions where the opponents are likely to compete. Over a strong 1NT, though, the opponents – both of whom already passed -- are probably going to pass 2S. If they happen to balance, you can always decide later whether to take the push to 3S.
Two more caveats:
Five-card support does not make your hand worth a jump to the 4-level.
Super-accepts are not recommended if you play a weak 1NT opening. The preemptive value of 1NT may have already put you ahead of the field. There’s no reason to squander that advantage, especially when your limited high-card values may not be enough to survive the 3-level.
© 2022 Karen Walker