tennis, life and a few things in between

No Trump is the 5th suit in bridge, and it’s the highest of the four.

To bid

• 1N: 16-18 hcp, balanced hand
• 2N: asking for major suit
• 3N:
• 4N: asking for A
• 5N: asking for K

The math: opening with 1N, means I’ve 16-18 hcp. Two partners should have

• 26 points to bid a game
• 32 points to bid a small slam
• 36 points to bid a grand slam

1NT opening. You know your P has at least 16 hcp. Plus your own hand:

• 0-7 HCP: Signoff Responses
• 8-9 HCP: Invite to game.
• 10-13HCP: Game with no interest in slam.
• 14-15HCP: Game forcing, slam invitational.
• 16-17HCP: Small slam forcing
• 18+ HCP: Grand Slam Invitational/Forcing (depends on hand)

Response to NT bid

• 2N
• 3N
• 4N
• 5N
• …

Tonight, it felt like a losing game because we failed more than succeeded. But after counting closely, out of 15 hands, I played five and won four; collectively we only made 8.

The 4♦️hand: I’ve 14 hcp and my P has 12, with a void of spade ♠️. I couldn’t remember what was the reason to land us in 4 diamonds, which I’ve 3 and P has 4. But her void of spade helped a lot.

The last hand, I’ve 19 hcp, my P has 12 hcp. I dealt and opened with 1NT and my P respond w/ 2C:

A “2 club” response to a “1NT” opening in bridge is typically a Stayman bid, which means the responder is asking partner if they have a 4-card major suit, prompting the opener to bid their longest major suit if they have one; if not, the opener should rebid 2 diamonds to show no 4-card major.

1. me 1 NT; p; PT 2♣️: asking for a major suit
2. Pass; me 2♥️; pass;
3. PT 4H

So 4 hearts it’s, and I made 5.