Fred E. Ferguson

fred@oneNT.com

Hilton Head Island, SC

Opening notrump bids and rebids are natural when they show a balanced hand and a willingness to play in notrump.  In addition to opening bids of 1Nt, 2Nt, and 3Nt used in SAYC, most advanced bidding systems today incorporate additional notrump ranges to cover all levels of balanced hands.¹   

After an opening bid of one in a suit and a response of one in a suit, a 1Nt rebid shows a notrump hand, but only with 12 to 14 hcp (i.e., not 15 to 17 hcp).  Specifically the “1Nt Rebid” is any of the following 6 bidding sequences: 1♣-1♦–1Nt; 1♣-1♥–1Nt; 1♣-1♠–1Nt; 1♦-1♥–1Nt; 1♦-1♠–1Nt and 1♥-1♠–1Nt.

The 1Nt Rebid is a special bid and requires some thoughtful attention.  The 1Nt Rebid is special in that by the time opener defines a notrump hand both opener and responder have already made natural suit bids.  The system bids the partnership normally uses over notrump hands such as Stayman and Jacoby Transfers are no longer useful.²  The partnership now has to make natural bids over a notrump defined hand, and bidding naturally over notrump does not come easy when partnerships are use to system bids.

The other reason that this bid requires attention is because the 1Nt Rebid bidding sequence (one of the six bids listed above) comes up more often than any other notrump bidding sequence.³ 

The 1Nt Rebid is not just a bid that you make if you do not have a fit with partner and don’t know what else to bid.  The 1Nt Rebid has a very specific meaning.  It is a natural notrump bidding sequence showing a 12 to 14 hcp balanced hand.  

You open 1♣ and partner bids 1♠. The rebid of 1Nt now best describes this hand. You have 14 hcp and a balanced hand.  The 1Nt Rebid: promises at least a doubleton in partner’s bid suit (no singletons please: partner would not be happy if she jumps to 4♠ holding ♠K10xxxx opposite your ♠x); denies 4‑cards in partner’s bid suit (major or minor); and denies 4-cards in an unbid major higher ranking than responder’s bid suit (1♣-1♦–1Nt denies 4 hearts or 4 spades, and 1♣‑1♥–1Nt denies 4 spades).  In addition, the 1Nt Rebid does not promise stoppers in the unbid suits any more than an opening bid of 1Nt promises stoppers in unbid suits.

Responder’s 2^nd Bid:  Natural bids over notrump cause problems for partnerships that regularly use system bids.  The partnership may get confused because they are not use to making natural bids, but the real issue is that natural bids limit the ability to define minimal, invitational and forcing hands.  After a 1Nt Rebid, there are no natural invitational bids available in suit contracts.  Responder has to decide if her hand is game forcing or not!  In a suit contract, with 6 to 10 hcp responder should rule out game and with 13 hcp responder must make a forcing bid (game forcing … one round forcing bids are not available). 

With 11 to 12 hcp and any semblance of a balanced hand (e.g., 5-4-2-2 or 6-3-2-2) responder can make an invitational bid to game in notrump, but with an unbalanced hand (desire to play in a suit contract) responder must use judgment to downgrade her hand to a 2‑level bid (under-bid) or upgrade her hand to a game forcing 3‑level bid (over-bid).

Like all notrump bids, after a rebid of 1Nt, opener has defined his hand and responder has captaincy of the auction.  Responder now bids to: find a better part-score, invite to game in 3Nt, make a game forcing bid or initiate a slam bidding sequence.

Minimal Values (6 to 10 hcp) – Non-Forcing

· Pass is to play in 1Nt.

The following bids are in search of a better part-score … they are not invitational … they are not forcing … opener may pass or bid again.

· Raise partner’s suit at the 2-level. (w/ 4-cards)

· Rebid your suit at the 2-level. (at least 5-cards)

· Bid a new suit at the 2-level that ranks lower than your 1^st bid suit. *

Invitational Values (11-12 hcp)

· With a balanced hand 2Nt is invitational to 3Nt.

· With an unbalanced hand, responder must choose between a non-forcing or forcing bid.

Forcing Values (13 hcp) – Game Forcing

The following bids are game forcing … the partnership is now committed to game … opener may not pass.

· Bid a new suit at the 2-level that ranks higher than your 1^st bid suit. (Reverse)

· Jump in any suit to the 3-level.

· 3Nt is to play.

The following bids show interest in slam.

· 4♣ is Ace asking. (Gerber)

· 4Nt is natural and invites to 6Nt. (Quantitative)

Remember Bridge should be fun!

New Minor Forcing (NMF) 3 of 4 – 1Nt Rebid