No-trump Overcalls - "16 Tons" by Marti Ronemus

Remember Tennessee Ernie Ford singing about his burdens in that wonderful baritone voice? Well, today, WE are the ones with the burden. Our RHO (right hand opponent) opens the bidding, and we've got a heavy load... hands we would have opened 1NT had we been in opening seat.

SO! What should we do? If we hold 15-17/18 pts., AND have a stopper or two in their suit, bid the No-trump. BTW, most pairs play that the No-trump player's Pard can use Stayman and transfers. This is called "systems on."

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ K Q 8
♥ A J 9
♦ Q J 8 3
♣ Q J 2

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♥
?

A: 1 No-trump: This is so classically perfect. We've got a solid no-trump opener, with nice stoppers in RHO's suit. Also think about this: If the opening lead is a Heart, and RHO holds both the ♥K and ♥Q, you've got two tricks in Hearts if you duck the first.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ K 6 3 2
♥ A K 9 3
♦ K 7
♣ Q 7 2

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♦
?

A: Double: This time, No-trump is likely to put us deeper in debt (ala "16 Tons"). Yes, we have a sort-of stopper, but we don't have a great source of tricks. We like a Take-out Double as being the more descriptive bid. Let's make our problem our Pard's problem. Let him pick the suit.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ K J 9 2
♥ A Q 6 5
♦ J 8
♣ K Q 4

Q: 3 -

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♣
?

A: 1 No-trump: This is very similar to last hand with one major difference: the 1-1/2 stoppers in Their suit. Yes, we've still got the four-card majors, but remember, Pard can use Stayman and transfers in response to our bid. We won't miss a major fit. Worried about the Diamonds? Don't. Just tote that load of points to victory. Perfect hands rarely exist.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ K J 8 3
♥ A Q 9 4 3
♦ K 9
♣ Q J

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
?

A: 2♥: Your load isn't that heavy this time. Yes, we've got 16 HCP, but the minor points are not "working" points. We've got stoppers in Their suit, but we also have a distributional hand. Let's show our five-card major and see what happens.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ A 9 4
♥ K 3
♦ A 8 4 2
♣ A 7 4 3

Q: 5 - South?

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	1♠
?

A: Pass: I know, I know. Here we are with a load of 15 HCP, but listen: Just because we're all dressed up for the party doesn't mean we get to go. This is a load of coal dust. Sometimes the best hand at the table has to pass. Don't make a bad bid; trust your partner. Something will happen.

And now, let's see if we end up "owing our soul to the company store" when we play our hand.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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