Glenfield Technical Library

Opening Bid of One No Trump

Last Updated on 11^th August 2008

This bid typically shows a balanced hand with a point count limited to a range of about 3 points. In England the most common style is to play a weak no trump, showing 12-14 points. Elsewhere the strong no trump (15-17 or 16-18 points) is more popular. Some pairs play a mini no trump (10-12 points).

What are the pros and cons of the different strengths of no trump? Advocates of the strong no trump, and it is becoming increasingly popular at the top levels of the game, argue that more often than not it allows the stronger hand to be declarer, thereby gaining a trick on the opening lead. Such a deal occurred at Glenfield on 24^th July 2002. The downside of the strong no trump is it is more difficult to bid balanced hands that are strong enough to open but too weak to open one no trump. For this reason I prefer the weak no trump.

Champions of the mini would argue that it has pre-emptive value and occurs more frequently than the other types.
Board 20 Dealer W Game All	North ª Q94 © 962 ¨ T73 § AK85		It also means that hands can be opened when traditional opening bids would result in the deal being passed out. This hand occurred in the match between Glenfield A and County C on 6^th March 2003. I am not convinced that anybody in the match was playing the mini no trump yet the hand was only passed out twice. It looks as if East stretched a bit and opened one no trump third in hand. The results were mixed. One East was left to play there and made ten (!) tricks. I cannot see any reasonable sequence of bidding, defence or play to allow this to happen. The other East somehow reached three hearts. The play was more normal than the bidding and they finished one down, which looks about right. Of course, if you are playing a mini no trump, you can open one no trump on the East with a clear conscience. West can pass with no sense of guilt and, on best defence, you will make precisely seven tricks for a three imp gain for your methods.
West ª A83 © QT3 ¨ K962 § J92		East ª KT65 © AK85 ¨ J84 § 74
	South ª J72 © J74 ¨ AQ5 § QT63

Just as there is no universal agreement as to what point range the bid should possess there are also many different views as to what constitutes a balanced hand. The only consensus is that the hand should not contain a singleton. 4-3-3-3 is definitely balanced. Most pairs would always open 1NT with 4-4-3-2 distribution and suitable points; although Crowhurst originally devised his convention on the theory that it is better to open this distribution one of a suit. Most pairs would also open 1NT with 5-3-3-2 distribution and suitable points when the five card suit was a minor; they might even treat 6-3-2-2 or 7-2-2-2 the same way. When the five card suit is a major it is less clear cut. Then the inclination is only to open one no trump if it is a poor suit; say less than two of the top three honours.

Hands that are of unsuitable strength or distribution to open one no trump, usually open one of a suit
Board 15 Dealer S NS Vul	North ª Q32 © AQ6 ¨ JT9832 § Q		Here is why. After two passes North elected to muddy the waters with a semi-psychic opening bid of one no trump. East bid two spades. South bid three hearts. This is forcing, but North decided to pass. East then considered her hand worth a further effort and bid three spades. With eleven points opposite a balanced 12-14 South decided to double for penalties. Again, delaying the moment when his efforts would be revealed to the world, North elected to pass. Well, that moment has arrived! South led the seven of spades, thereby killing North’s queen at trick one. Declarer could see seven tricks; eight if the ace of clubs was right; nine if she could manouvre a heart ruff. Accordingly she led a heart at trick two. North won the queen and, inexplicably, rather than continuing with a trump led the jack of diamonds. South won the king and returned the five to declarer’s ace. A second heart was led, North winning the ace. It was too late now to prevent the heart ruff so North looked for a ruff of his own and led the queen of clubs. Declarer covered and South won the ace. South now had to find a lead. A club would be fatal if East had a singleton. Who was likely to have a singleton club? Who had opened one no trump? Accordingly South switched to a diamond allowing declarer to ruff in dummy and pitch the seven of clubs from hand for her contract. Not surprisingly, this was a top for the East West pair of Barbara Corlett & John Day. I shall spare North’s blushes by revealing no more than he was the partner of the long-suffering webmaster. Top score for North/South went to John Morrey and Bernard Beauchamp who bid and made four hearts. This is quite a feasible contract with the kind position of the diamonds and the king of clubs. You can even afford to lead diamonds from hand for ten tricks.
West ª 864 © J9 ¨ Q6 § T95432		East ª AKJT95 © 732 ¨ A4 § K7
	South ª 7 © KT854 ¨ K75 § AJ86

For what it is worth I always open one of a suit with a good five card suit (i.e. containing two of the top three honours); whether it is a major or a minor. Then, if we are outbid, at least I have given partner a lead.

Responding to One No Trump with a Balanced Hand

With a balanced hand and no four card major it is usual to play the hand in no trumps and the only decision is how many:

	1NT shows 10-12	1NT shows 12-14	1NT shows 15-17
8-9 points	Pass	Pass	Invite game
10 points	Pass	Pass	Bid three no trumps
11-12 points	Pass	Invite game	Bid three no trumps
13-14 points	Invite game	Bid three no trumps	Bid three no trumps
15 points	Bid three no trumps	Bid three no trumps	Bid three no trumps
16-17 points	Bid three no trumps	Bid three no trumps	Bid four no trumps
18 points	Bid three no trumps	Bid three no trumps	Bid six no trumps
19 points	Bid three no trumps	Bid four no trumps	Bid six no trumps
20 points	Bid three no trumps	Bid four no trumps	Bid five no trumps
21 points	Bid four no trumps	Bid six no trumps	Bid five no trumps
22 points	Bid four no trumps	Bid six no trumps	Bid seven no trumps
23-24 points	Bid six no trumps	Bid five no trumps	Bid seven no trumps
25 points	Bid five no trumps	Bid seven no trumps	Bid seven no trumps
26 points	Bid five no trumps	Bid seven no trumps	Get a new partner
27 or more points	Bid seven no trumps	Bid seven no trumps	Get a new partner

The bids of four no trumps and five no trumps above are natural but inviting partner to a small and grand slam respectively. Over four no trumps opener passes with the minimum point count, bids five no trumps with the median point count and bids six no trumps with the maximum point count. Over five no trumps opener bids six no trumps with the minimum point count and seven no trumps with a maximum point count. This is all based on the theory that, with balanced hands, we need 33 points in the two hands combined to make a small slam a good proposition and 37 points for a grand slam.

The above tables are not hard and fast rules. A more cautious approach can pay dividends at pairs; as it did on this hand from the 2002 final of the Gimson.
	North ª K75 © T65 ¨ K975 § AQ6	Dealer North NS Vulnerable	North opened one no trump. East passed. South with 11 points, a flat hand and poor intermediates decided to pass. West, wisely, passed as well. East led a club. Despite the helpful lead, the unkind distribution of the cards meant that North was unable to make more than six tricks.
West ª QT86 © KJ42 ¨ A62 § J2		East ª J42 © 93 ¨ QT8 § KT754
	South ª A93 © AQ87 ¨ J43 § 983

The cautious approach would also have paid on this deal from the Leicestershire Green Point Swiss Teams on 28^th September 2003.
Board 4 Dealer W Game All	North ª Q8632 © T53 ¨ 74 § J93		Peter opened the West hand one no trump. It is more difficult to be cautious vulnerable at teams as it is worth bidding a game that has about a 33% chance so, this time, with 11 points, I bid two no trumps. Peter had a better than average hand (13 points), so went to game. It looks as if it is possible to develop three spade tricks, three club tricks and a heart to go with the top diamond honours but there aren’t enough entries to dummy to lead clubs twice and Peter drifted one down. Fortunately the same contract and result occurred at the other table for a flat board.
West ª AJT © 987 ¨ KT5 § KQ72		East ª K95 © KJ2 ¨ A832 § 864
	South ª 74 © AQ64 ¨ QJ96 § AT5

Responding to One No Trump with a Four Card Major Suit

With a four card major and the values or distribution to proceed safely beyond one no trump, it is usually best to look for a fit with partner with a view to playing in a suit if the hands fit. Most pairs undertake this investigation by means of the Stayman Convention.

Responding to One No Trump with Five or More Cards in a Major Suit

With five or more cards in the major it is usual to make a transfer bid

Responding to One No Trump with a long Minor Suit

Often with a six or seven card minor suit (e.g. S K86 H 6 D AQT9754 C J6) it is best to immediately bid three no trumps). Such an approach gives the defenders little information to decide whether to play an active or passive defence or even which suit to lead.

What to Do When Opponents Double your Partner’s 1NT

Some players carry on as if the double hadn’t happened with their Stayman and transfers. Peter and I play naturally; all our two bids show a wish to play no higher than the two level and fix the suit. Some people prefer a convention called Halmic.

The One No Trump Overcall

The overcall of one no trump is similar to the opening bid of one no trump in that it shows a balanced hand, a range of about three points, which should be agreed with your partner. I play that in most circumstances the bid shows 15-17 points and a decent stop in the opposition suit. In the protective position I would have 12-14 points and I wouldn’t worry quite so much about stopping the opponent’s suit. In either position, if I were too strong for the overcall I would begin with a take out double and bid no trumps later.

Failure to adhere to these methods meant three pair missed game in the match against Ashby A on 8^th January 2003 Even so they did better than the south who bid game.
	North ª T83 © K ¨ Q982 § Q7543	Dealer West Game All	After two passes east opened one heart. South with 18 points was too strong for a one no trump overcall so began with a take out double. West passed (two hearts would not have been a crime) and north bid two clubs. East passed (I think they should try two hearts). South rebid two no trumps to show 18-20 points in a balanced hand and north completed the bidding with three no trumps. West began with a heart. East took the ace and led another. South won and threw the two of diamonds from dummy. This was reasonably good technique as it avoids any danger of the suit being blocked should the diamonds break 3-1. (The alternative is to be sure to retain the two of diamonds for the fourth round by playing the eight and nine under the ace and king). South continued well by playing the jack of clubs. West ducked, reasonably, in case East had a singleton ace. The contract was now there with two hearts, five diamonds, and two clubs. However, by now south had forgotten about the unblocking diamond discard and thought that dummy had started with just three diamonds. He played the ace of diamonds, cashed the ace of clubs in case the king was doubleton and crossed to the queen of diamonds. When east showed out he thought he had a diamond to lose and lost it immediately. A surprised west won the jack of diamonds, cashed the king of clubs and cleared the hearts. South could take another diamond trick but had to finish one down. That was one Glenfield south. The other Glenfield south made nine tricks in no trumps but had made an immediate overcall of one no trump which had been passed out. Nevertheless, this undistinguished performance was enough to gain on the board. One Ashby pair bid to four diamonds which can be beaten by red-hot defence (tackling spades before hearts) and duly was. The other Ashby pair let us play three hearts and took the obvious five tricks.
West ª 954 © 976 ¨ JT4 § K982		East ª AQJ6 © AT8532 ¨ 6 § T6
	South ª K72 © QJ4 ¨ AK753 § AJ

Statistics at MPs – 1NT Opener	Partner	Hands	MPs	Top	%
2006 Buckby Cup	Peter Neville	5	69.9	16	87.38
Gimson - North Semi Final	Peter Neville	1	5	24	20.83
Gimson Final	Peter Neville	4	30	20	37.50
Total for 2006		10	104.9		57.01
Gimson Final	Peter Neville	6	55	18/20	48.25
Total for 2007		6	55		48.25
Total		16	159.9		53.66

Statistics at IMPs – 1NT Opener	Partner	Hands	IMPs	Imps/Bd
Markham – Leicestershire 2 Oxfordshire 18	Bharat	3	25	8.33
Glenfield A 6 Phoenix B 6	Baerbel Sandhu	3	11	3.67
Stanley Trophy 2005/6 - Heat 5	Harry Gordon	3	-11	-3.67
Leicestershire Green Point Swiss Teams	Ken Smith	3	-3	-1
Glenfield A 6 Grantham A 6	Judith Taylor	2	0	0
Markham – Derbyshire 0 Leicestershire 20	Peter Neville	2	-2	-1
Glenfield A 2 Castle Donington 10	Peter Neville	4 (6)	4 (2)	1 (0.33)
Porter – Leicestershire 20 Staffs & Shrops 0	Peter Neville	2 (8)	6 (8)	3 (1.00)
Porter – Lincolnshire 0 Leicestershire 20	Peter Neville	2 (10)	12 (20)	6 (2.00)
Stanley Trophy 2006/7 - Heat 1	John Glover	4	-14	-3.5
Total for 2006		29	29	1.00
Glenfield A 4 County A 8	Peter Neville	1 (11)	-6 (14)	-6.00 (1.27)
Glenfield A 6 Phoenix A 6	Peter Neville	2 (13)	0 (14)	0.00 (1.08)
Glenfield A 9 Loughborough A 3	Peter Neville	3 (16)	8 (22)	2.67 (1.38)
Porter – Leicestershire 5 Oxfordshire 15	Peter Neville	4 (20)	7 (29)	1.75 (1.45)
Total for 2007		10	9	0.9
Total		39	38	0.97

Statistics at IMPs – 1NT Overcall	Partner	Hands	IMPs	Imps/Bd
Glenfield A 6 Phoenix B 6	Baerbel Sandhu	2	1	0.50
Glenfield A 6 Grantham A 6	Judith Taylor	1	-11	-11
Markham – Derbyshire 0 Leicestershire 20	Peter Neville	1	0	0
Glenfield A 2 Castle Donington 10	Peter Neville	1 (2)	-1 (-1)	-1 (-0.5)
Total for 2006		5	-11	-2.2
Glenfield A 2 Castle Donington 10	Peter Neville	1 (3)	0 (-1)	0 (-0.33)
Total for 2007		1	0	0
Total		6	-11	-1.83

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6.1 Bidding	Strategy	Acol	Psychic Bidding	Precision	Blue Club
6.1.1 Hand Evaluation	Defensive Tricks	Losing Trick Count	Playing Tricks	Point Count	Total Number of Tricks	Passing
6.1.2 Opening Bids	One Club	One Diamond	One Heart	One Spade	One No Trump	Pre-empts
	Two Clubs	Two Diamonds	Two Hearts	Two Spades	Two No Trumps
6.1.3 Responding to an Opening Bid	Simple change of suit	Opener’s Rebid	Responder’s Rebid	Preference	Opener’s Second Rebid	Jump in a new suit	Responding in no trumps
	Limit Raise	Inverted Minors
6.1.3.1 Responding to 1NT	Transfers
6.1.3.2 Responding to 2NT	Transfers	Baron
6.1.4 Conventions	Stayman	Fourth Suit Forcing	Reverse	Crowhurst
6.1.4.1 Conventional Opening Bids	Lucas Twos	Multi Two Diamonds	Weak Twos
6.1.4.2 Competitive Conventions	Jump Overcall	Lebensohl	Unassuming Cue Bid	Unusual No Trump	Continuing after opponent’s take out double	Take out Double	Cue Bid
	Fishbein	Defence to 1NT	Halmic	1NT Overcall	Redouble	Simple Overcall
6.1.4.3 Slam Conventions	Blackwood	Gerber	Roman Key Card Blackwood	Splinter	Jump to 5 of a suit	Grand Slam Force	Acol Four No Trump Opening
	Asking Bids	DOPI and ROPI
6.1.5 Doubles	Optional	Penalty	Lead Directional
6.1.6 The Protective Position
6.2 Declarer Play
6.2.1 General Technique	End Play	Squeeze	Finesse	Lose tricks early	Pin	Avoidance	Restricted Choice
6.2.2 Trump Management	Ruffing	Ruffing Losers before drawing trumps	Trump Coup	Ruffing Finesse	Loser on Loser	Coping with bad splits	Cross Ruff
	Dummy Reversal
6.3 Defence	Second Player	Signals	Third Player	Play the cards you are known to have
6.3.1 Defensive Tactics	Forcing Defence	Passive Defence	Merrimac Coup
6.3.2 Opening Leads	Fourth Highest	Third and Fifth	MUD	Top of Nothing
6.3.3 Plays in Third Hand	Finesse Against Dummy	Finesse Against Partner
6.3.4 Entry Management	Unblocking
6.4 Probability
6.5 Glossary of Terms
7 Through the Pack