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Responding to 1NT, 11+ balanced

Question 1 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 14-HCP 8.5-loser hand

K 10 7
J 10 8
A Q 7 2
A 6 4

What should you bid ?

1. pass
2. 2 clubs
3. 2 diamonds
4. 2 hearts
5. 2 spades
6. 2 NT
7. 3 NT

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Answer 1 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 14-HCP 8.5-loser hand

K 10 7
J 10 8
A Q 7 2
A 6 4

What should you bid ?
( 7 ). 3 NT

With a balanced hand and stoppers in 3 suits, you can bid No Trumps. (You have no 4-card Major, so there's no point bidding Stayman). You know that you have a minimum of 26 HCP between you. Good enough for game. Your only slight risk is Hearts, but with 26-28 HCP well worth the risk. Bid game in NT.

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Question 2 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 11-HCP 9.5-loser hand

Q 10 7
J 10 8
A Q 7 2
Q 6 4

What should you bid ?
1. pass
2. 2 clubs
3. 2 diamonds
4. 2 hearts
5. 2 spades
6. 2 NT
7. 3 NT

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Answer 2 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 11-HCP 9.5-loser hand

Q 10 7
J 10 8
A Q 7 2
Q 6 4

What should you bid ?
( 6 ). 2 NT

With a balanced hand and stoppers in 3 suits, you can bid No Trumps. (You have no 4-card Major, so there's no point bidding Stayman). Give your partner a point count, 11-12 HCP, by bidding 2NT.

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Question 3 (of 8 on this page)
You decided to open 1NT and your partner replied 2NT. You are vulnerable You have this 13-HCP 7-loser hand

A 9 8
K Q 9
K 10
J 8 7 4 3

What should you bid ?
1. pass
2. 3 NT

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Answer 3 (of 8 on this page)
You decided to open 1NT and your partner replied 2NT. You are vulnerable You have this 13-HCP 7-loser hand

A 9 8
K Q 9
K 10
J 8 7 4 3

What should you bid ?
( 1 ). pass

Your partner only promised 11 HCP, so you can count on only 24 HCP in total, not 25. Of course, your partner could have 12 HCP, but you cannot tell from the bid. Since you are vulnerable, you might want to be a bit more cautious. On the other hand, you might want to add a point for your 5-card minor. . ..

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Question 4 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 11-HCP 9.5-loser hand

Q 10 7
J 10 8
A Q 7 2
Q 6 4

Your partner might easily have 13 HCP, and be thinking of risking a 3NT if you have 11-12 HCP. You'd like to tell him that you have 11 points, and NOT 12. What should you bid ?
1. pass
2. 2 clubs
3. 2 diamonds
4. 2 hearts
5. 2 spades
6. 2 NT
7. 3 NT

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Answer 4 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 11-HCP 9.5-loser hand

Q 10 7
J 10 8
A Q 7 2
Q 6 4

Your partner might easily have 13 HCP, and be thinking of risking a 3NT if you have 11-12 HCP. You'd like to tell him that you have 11 points, and NOT 12. What should you bid ?
( 5 ). 2 spades

With a balanced hand and stoppers in 3 suits, you can bid No Trumps. The simple undifferentiated bid here would be 2NT, showing 11-12 HCP. A better system is to use 2 Spades to show precisely 11 HCP, and 2NT to show precisely 12HCP. Partner can then use this extra information to decide whether to play in 2NT or 3 NT.

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Question 5 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 21-HCP 9.5-loser hand

A Q 10
A Q J
A Q 7 2
Q 6 4

What should you bid ?
1. pass
2. 2 NT
3. 3 NT
4. 4 NT
5. something else

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Answer 5 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 21-HCP 9.5-loser hand

A Q 10
A Q J
A Q 7 2
Q 6 4

What should you bid ?
( 5 ). something else

33 HCP is enough power for a small slam in NT. Go straight to 6NT. The most you can have is 35HCP, which is not enough for a Grand Slam in NT (37 needed).

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Question 6 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 12-HCP 8-loser hand

Q 10 9
J 10
A K 9 7 2
Q 10 8

What should you bid ?
1. pass
2. 2 NT
3. 3 NT
4. something else

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Answer 6 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 12-HCP 8-loser hand

Q 10 9
J 10
A K 9 7 2
Q 10 8

What should you bid ?
( 3 ). 3 NT

Although you can only count on 24 HCP, your hand is worth more than 12. You have a nice 5-card minor, and several 10s. Go straight to game, rather than risking an invitational bid of 2NT (which might be turned down)

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Question 7 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 12-HCP 9-loser hand

Q 10 9
A K 9 7
J 10 2
Q 10 8

What should you bid ?
1. pass
2. 2 NT
3. 3 NT
4. something else

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Answer 7 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 12-HCP 9-loser hand

Q 10 9
A K 9 7
J 10 2
Q 10 8

What should you bid ?
( 4 ). something else

With a balanced hand containing a 4-card Major and 11+ points, you should try to find a Major match. Bid 2 Clubs (Stayman).

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Question 8 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 11-HCP 7-loser hand

K 10
10 9
A Q 9 7 3 2
Q 10 8

With stoppers in 3 suits, what should you bid ?
1. pass
2. 2 clubs
3. 2 diamonds
4. 2 hearts
5. 2 spades
6. 2 NT
7. 3 diamonds
8. 3 NT

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Answer 8 (of 8 on this page)
Your partner opens 1NT; the enemy pass. You have this 11-HCP 7-loser hand

K 10
10 9
A Q 9 7 3 2
Q 10 8

With stoppers in 3 suits, what should you bid ?
( 2 ). 2 clubs

You have stoppers in 3 suits, but with 2 doubletons you are not balanced. This is a risky hand to bid in NT, because your partner would easily be short in one of the Majors. Take out into Diamonds, by bidding 2 diamonds. (If you use Stayman and Transfers, there are various ways of doing this. The best is probably to bid 2 clubs, Stayman, and then pass if opener bids diamonds, or bid 3 diamonds otherwise). One other thought: There is just a chance that you could make game in diamonds, since with your 13 points including shape, 27 could be there between you. A long shot perhaps, but you might think about bidding straight to 3 diamonds if you're not vulnerable.

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