Do You Really Know When to Open 1NT?

In this lesson:

Many players would tell you this is easy. If you have 15-17 HCP and a balanced hand, you open 1NT.  If you don't meet both of those requirements, you open in a suit. Case closed!

Sorry, but Marty begs to differ. There is a lot more to this. Take a look at the following hands.

What would you open? Marty thinks the correct answer is logical, but he believes that many players would do the wrong thing.

Hand 1: ♠QJ2 ♥QJ2 ♦QJ32 ♣KQJ

This is a balanced hand with 15 HCP (on the surface). If you would open 1NT with this, Marty's best advice is: "Don't tell anyone, and hope that you never pick up this hand." This pile of garbage is NOT worth 1NT. The correct opening bid is 1♦.

Hand 2: ♠AQ ♥AQ98 ♦109542 ♣KJ

This hand has two doubletons, so it is not balanced."The correct description for 5-4-2-2 distribution is semi-balanced. But if you open 1♦ and partner responds 1♠, a 1NT rebid would show a minimum opening bid. Therefore, Marty hopes YOU would correctly open 1NT and avoid a rebid problem.

Of course, most hands are not as obvious as these two. Marty hopes you will join him in taking a closer look at this important topic. This lesson will definitely improve your "open 1NT or not?" judgment.

The many topics he will discuss include the following:

• - Why 1NT should be your favorite opening bid
• - What experts recommend for hands with a 5-card major
• - When you should open 1NT with a 6-card minor
• - When you should open 1NT with two doubletons
• - How seat and vulnerability affect borderline hands
• - Should you go with the field?

Marty will discuss how to correctly evaluate your HCP and distribution so you will be able to determine which hands are:

• - too weak to open 1NT
• - too strong to open 1NT
• - the right strength to open 1NT

Here is an example of what Marty will present in this lesson.

You hold: ♠A542 ♥A1098 ♦A63 ♣A2

You are dealer. Both sides are vulnerable. What do you open?

You should open 1♦. Why is that?

It's not because Marty doesn't like "aces and spaces" hands. He loves aces even when they're not accompanied by other honors.

Here are his reasons for not opening 1NT with this attractive hand.

1. There is an excellent chance (over 65%) that partner will respond in a major, and you will be delighted to jump to three in his suit. But if you open 1NT, partner will pass with a weak hand and a 4-card major. He will also raise to 2NT or 3NT with a 4-card major with 4-3-3-3 distribution. With this hand, you want to maximize your chances of playing in a major.
2. You have no tenaces. That suggests that you'd be better off if partner declares, even though you have the stronger hand. If the opening lead is in a suit where partner has a queen or a KJ, he'll be the beneficiary of a free finesse.
3. In Marty's method of hand evaluation, the real value of this hand is 18 points. Therefore, it is too strong to open 1NT.
4. Whether or not partner responds in a major, you will not have a rebid problem. With 18 points, your rebid will be the same as if you had opened 1♦ with ♠AQ43 ♥KJ72 ♦AJ9 ♣K10.