Respond 3 NT with No 4-card Major

SAYC

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Preface

  SAYC (Standard American Yellow Card)
  1. Introduction
  2. Bidding Hierarchy
  3. Determine Opening Bid
  4. Opening Bid Options
  5. Scoring Structure
  6. Bidding Strategy

  Statistics

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Open 1 Level

Open 1 Level
   Open 1 ♠
   Open 1 ♥
       Open 1 NT
           Open Better Minor
               Open 1 ♦
               Open 1 ♣

Opening Bid & Table Position

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Respond to 1 Suit Openings

   Guidelines for Responses
         Support Suit (Distribution Points)
         Propose Suit (1-over-1 Restriction)
  • Respond to 1 ♠
  • Respond to 1 ♥
  • Respond to 1 ♦
  • Respond to 1 ♣
Opener's Next Bid (Bid 3)
   Responder Supports the Bid Suit
   Responder Proposes a New Suit

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Respond to 1 NT

Respond to 1 NT
    Transfers (1NT)
       Stayman (1NT)
          No 4-card Major (1NT)
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Transfer Convention
Stayman Convention

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Weak Bids

Weak Opening Bids
• 6-card suit           2 ♦ 2 ♥ 2 ♠
• 7-card suit 3 ♣ 3 ♦ 3 ♥ 3 ♠
• 8-card suit                   4 ♥ 4 ♠
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Respond to Weak Openings
  • Respond to         2 ♦ 2 ♥ 2 ♠
  • Respond to 3 ♣ 3 ♦ 3 ♥ 3 ♠
  • Respond to                  4 ♥ 4 ♠

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Strong 2 ♣

Open 2 ♣
Respond to 2 ♣
  • 2-Diamond Waiting (SAYC)
  • 3-Point Step (Social Bridge)
  • 2-Diamond Bust (Social Bridge)

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Strong NT Bids

Open 2 NT or 3 NT

Responses

Respond to 2 NT
    Transfers (2NT)
       Stayman (2NT)
          4-card Major (2NT)
Respond to 3 NT
    Transfers (3NT)
       Stayman (3NT)
          No 4-card Major (3NT)

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Other Bids

• Jacoby 2 NT
• Slam (Blackwood & Gerber)
• Overcalls
• Doubles
• Balancing

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Taking Tricks

• Leads on Defense
• Leads on Offense
• Finessing a Tenace

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Practice

• Open 1 Level
• Responses to 1 Suit Openings
• Open 1 NT (14 Examples)
• Open 1 NT (16 Examples)
• Responses to 2 ♣ Opening
• Overcalls

Practice Websites

   • SAYC Bidding Practice
   • Trickster
   • Bridge Base On Line

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Duplicate

Duplicate Protocol
Duplicate Scoring
1. Contract Points Scoring
2. Match Points Scoring

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Downloads

• SAYC Summary
• Open 1-Level Bids
• Respond 1-Suit Opening
• 1 NT Openings & Responses
• Responses to Weak Openings
• Responses to 2 Club Openings
• Handout Duplicate Bridge Contract Points

Respond 3 NT with No 4-card Major

Responses to 3 NT Opening with No 4+card Major

When the partner does not have a 4+card major, the partner can be balanced or can have a long minor suit. The partnership must resort to contract in No Trump or in a minor suit.

Partner's Requirements

• Suit Length: The partner does NOT have a 4+card major.
• Point Count: The partner must have at least 5 points. With 4 points or less, the partner must PASS.

Table for No 4+card Major Responses to 3 NT Opening

Step 1: Opener bids 3 NT .

Step 2: Partner's initial response depends upon the partner's HCPs and suit length:
    • 0 to 4 pts - PASS - This bid indicates no 4+card major, and less than 5 HCPs. The opener might have to play a 2 NT contract.
    • 5 to 8 pts - Bid 3 NT - This indicates 5 to 8 points and no 4+card major. There are enough points for a game in No Trump, but not enough for a game in a minor suit, even with a long minor suit. The opener will likely PASS, and play a 3 NT contract. A long minor suit might help in No Trump.
    • 9 to 12 pts - There are enough points for a game in No Trump, and enough for a game in a minor. The partner's bid depends upon suit length:
         • Balanced - Bid 3 NT . The opener will likely PASS, and play a 3 NT contract.
         • 6+Clubs - Bid 3 ♠ . This artificial bid is a transfer request to clubs. There are enough points for a game in clubs, so let the opener decide what contract the partnership should play.
         • 6+Diamonds - Bid 4 ♣ . This artificial bid is a transfer request to diamonds. There are enough points for a game in diamonds, so let the opener decide what contract the partnership should play.

Step 3
    • If the partner bids 3 NT, The opener will likely PASS.
    • If the partner requests a transfer to clubs or diamonds, the opener knows there are at least 6-cards in the desired minor suit and enough points for a game in that minor suit. The opener can accept the request for transfer and bid 5 ♣ or 5 ♦ . Or the opener can decline the request and bid 3 NT . Taking 11 tricks in No Trump will score higher than taking 11 tricks in a minor. The long minor suit might be most helpful in taking extra tricks in a No Trump contract.

2/24/2024

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