Bridge Corner – 3.5.26

Bid Options	0-7 Points	8-9 Points	10-14 Points
< 4-card Spade or Heart	Pass	2 N/T	3 N/T
Only 4-card S or H	Pass Advertisement	Stayman	Stayman
One 4-card & One	Jacoby Transfer	Stayman	Stamen
5+ card S or H > 4-card Spade or Heart	Jacoby Transfer	Jacoby Transfer Advertisement	Jacoby Transfer

Hello and welcome to The Bridge Corner.  In this session, we want to list and explain the responses to the 1 No Trump opening bid.  The 1 No Trump (N/T) opening bid, like EVERY one-level opening bid, is saying four things: 1) Giving point count (1 N/T = 15 to 17 points); 2) Indicating whether or not there is at least a 5-card major suit in the hand (1 N/T = no 5-card Spade or Heart suit in the hand); 3) If 1 Spade or 1 Heart is opened, then asking for at least 3 cards in the suit opened; if 1 N/T, 1 Diamond, or 1 Club opened, then asking for at least a four card major suit.  So, when 1 N/T is opened, the opener is asking his partner for at least a four card Spade or Heart suit (majors) and at least 8 points in order to respond.

Before we look at the responses to a 1 No Trump opening bid, let’s examine what a N/T hand looks like:  1) No 5-card or longer major suit (Spades or Hearts);  2) No singletons (suits with only one card);   3) No voids (suits with no cards); 4) if there’s a doubleton (2 cards in a suite) there is only 1 doubleton.

PLEASE NOTE:  Whether a 1 No Trump (15 to 17 points), 2 No Trump (20 to 21 points), or 3 No Trump (25+ points) hand is opened, all opening No Trump hands have no 5+ card Spade or Heart suite, no singleton or void, and if the hand has a doubleton, there can only be one doubleton.

Using the chart above, when your partner opens 1 N/T, and your hand is 3 Spades, 3 Hearts, 4 Diamonds, and 3 Clubs with 7 High Card Points (HCP),  you will Pass!  If you are responding to a 1 N/T opening bid holding 3 Spades, 3 Hearts, 4 Diamonds, 3 Clubs with 8 or 9 HCP, then you raise partner’s suit to 2 N/T.  And, if you are fortunate enough to be holding 3 Spades, 3 Hearts, 4 Diamonds, and 3 Clubs with 10 to 14 HCP when your partner opens 1 N/T, you will JUMP to 3 N/T.

In our next session, we will cover the “Stayman” and the “Jacoby Transfer” Conventions.

Tidewater Bridge Club’s Winning Players In The Feb. 25, 2026 Game:

Lillye Holly | Marshall Hutto | Lawrence Owes | Gene Payne

Leon Ragland | Aldis Raymond | Joan Snellings | Sandra Starkey

TIDEWATER BRIDGE CLUB:

Richard A. Tucker

Memorial Library

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2350 Berkley Ave., Extension

Norfolk, VA  23523

The dates for the next four games are: 

1)  Wed., Mar. 11, 2026

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.    

2)  Wed., Mar. 18, 2026

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

3)  Wed., Mar. 25, 2026

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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3)  Wed., Apr. 1, 2026

10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Game fee is $6.25 (paid BEFORE the game thru our voucher system.  Contact L. Owes at email below).   Light snacks and water provided; bring your lunch.

Contact Lawrence Owes at l.a.owes1@gmail.com for additional information.