NT What?

[DWM]

First of two hand sI played last night where we got in a mess with a NT bid.

 

Firstly it highlights a need in our system for some more agreements.

 

Hand 1

 

Bidding has gone

 

P - (1♥) - 3♣ - (X)

3NT

 

What should that 3NT bid mean, if anything?

 

A small aside. At the table I could not think of a meaning for it, but thought it really should be some sort of artificial bid as there is no way it could be to play. To try and minamise damage I passed and planned on taking action if it got doubled. Did I do something wrong here?

[gwnn]

A nice guideline is "3NT is always to play".

Even not having fixed this explicitly, 3NT should be to play- you need a very specific agreement to believe otherwise (How come he wants to play 3NT? Opener could have psyched. RHO might have thought he had enough shape in pointed suits to make a double. You may make 3NT on 21 pts, wouldn't be the first time in world history. And he may be in for an "impossible 3NT sacrifice", hoping opps will forget to X). Of course, your pd possibly made up some sort of bid, such as "value raise to 4c", but you shouldn't be worried if you're sure you haven't discussed anything like this beforehand.

 

Your p knows exactly what u have. A decent 6-7 card suit with little strengh outside. If he wants to play 3NT or wants to do anything else, for that matter, he shouldn't need to consult u any further.

 

There is another principle here: if you preempt, you do so once and pass throughout the following bidding. I believe you did the right thing.

[DWM]

Should have added X was alerted as a pen double.

 

I cannot see why 3NT is to play unless I allow for partner to have forgotten to bid his hand first time round.

 

If we can make 9 tricks in NT surley we could make it in clubs and pick up more points.

 

I do strictly follow the idea about bidding your hand once with a preempt, however, partner sometimes does nasty things like forces me to bid again. :)

[gwnn]

In case the double was for penalties, 3NT has no meaning left whatsoever.

 

-strong hand: would have opened

-weak hand with no shape (thus some club tolerance): SHOULD PASS

-weak hand with some shape (no real club tolerance): would have preempted with 6+M. maybe maybe with 55 in sp+d he'd think of bidding, but certainly not 3NT, pushing partnership to an extra level. XX or 3♦ (maybe).

-max passed hand with club honors and pretty good stop in hearts, counting almost 9 tricks (such a hand is very far from reality)/just clubs in general: PASS and collect your 470.

 

3NT cannot mean anything.

[whereagles]

3NT as to play is silly. Unless opps are kidding, you can never have a real 3NT bid here.

 

3NT is usually used here as a save-suggesting bid: "Pard, if your pree has high ODR, please take the save. Otherwise pass their game bid."

[Echognome]

If double is penalty, then 3NT is a very strange bid indeed.

 

Normally you have 3NT and 4m as bids suggestion some sort of fit with your minor. You can use them to distinguish between more defensive hands (we use 3NT) and more offensive hands (we use 4m) so partner can decide whether or not to save.

[Gerben42]

I use the rule of 2 and 3 here.

 

If 2NT can be unnatural, it is.

If 3NT can be natural, it is.

 

However this bid of 3NT is just a bad bid. I would pass as long as we are not doubled, and if we are maybe partner will bid again and we can find out what he meant!

[gwnn]

3NT as to play is silly. Unless opps are kidding, you can never have a real 3NT bid here.

 

3NT is usually used here as a save-suggesting bid: "Pard, if your pree has high ODR, please take the save. Otherwise pass their game bid."

If their double was penalty?

[Robert]

Hi everyone

 

On strange auctions, I tend to try and 'sneak' a peek to 'see' if we are all playing with the same deck of cards. If the backs of the cards do not all match, perhaps the TD should be summoned?

 

Partner may have misheard the auction, his attention may have wandered off and he suddenly decided to bid 3NT. I cannot think of a 'normal type' of reason to bid 3NT here.

 

"If" the double of 3Cs 'had not' been for penalty, I do have a partnership understanding that 'strange' 3NT bids(by an passed hand) and 'strange' doubles/redoubles show an interest in bidding higher 'if' partner feels the urge with an offensive type hand.

 

I play somewhat wide ranging jump overcalls and preempts so I like to 'consult'

partner because I raise too high 'if' he has already 'taken a view.'

 

Regards,

Robert