Responding to a No Trump Opening Bid

1NT in Acol is often a very difficult place to play, the opposition usually have more points than you. So, when your partner opens 1NT you must think about the difficulty s/he will be in if you leave them to play there. If you have a four card Major suit and 11+ HCP

Negative Responses to Partner's 1NT opening bid

Opening Bid	Negative Reply	Points	Meaning of Responder Bid
1NT	Pass	0-7	Game is out of reach and you have no five card suit to bid
1NT	2C	8+	Stayman, promising a 4+ card major asking partner to bid their 4 card major (2H or 2S) if they have one, otherwise rebid 2D (can have as few as 8 HCP for this bid)
1NT	2D, 2H or 2S	0-9	are all sign off bids - promising five cards in the bid suit with only minimum points.

Negative Responses to Partner's 2NT opening bid

Opening Bid	Responders Negative Reply	Points	Meaning of Responder Bid
2NT	Pass	0-2	Game is out of reach and you have no five card suit to bid
2NT	3C	0-3	Stayman, promising a 4+ card major asking partner to bid their 4 card major (3H or 3S) if they have one
2NT	3D/3H/3S	0-2	sign off bids - promising five cards in the bid suit with only minimum points. Opener must pass.

Negative Responses to Partner's 3NT opening bid

Opening Bid	Responders Negative Reply	Points	Meaning of Responder Bid
3NT	Pass	0-7	no five card suit to bid and less than 8 HCP for a slam
3NT	5D, 4H or 4S	0-7	are all sign off bids - promising five cards in the bid suit with only minimum points. Opener must pass.

Instant Progress Quiz - Check all correct answers

Your partner opens 1 NT, what should you bid?

♠A 3
♥J 10 6
♦6 4 3 2
♣A Q J 5

Answer: Your bid is 2 NT - your 12 HCP added to Partners minimum of 12 HCP mean you are just one point short of game. Partner will bid 3NT if they have 13-14 HCP

Practice This Lesson

Respond to 1NT Opening Bid

PLAY

Extra for Experts

A different game on the same subject as this lesson, with questions for community discussion in the comments area below.

Play