Opening 1NT with a singleton

[camilleln]

Hi...I wondered if a partnership has an agreement to open 1NT (strong) hands with a singleton, if this needs to be alerted? Thank you.

[bluejak]

Alerting rules differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, which is one of the reasons we ask all opening posters to say where the problem originated, or put 'Online'. So I am afraid I cannot answer your question until you tell us where.

[NickRW]

Speaking in the general as no jurisdiction is given, I'd consider it a matter of simple good 'bridge manners' to alert - or at the very least pre-alert - if you routinely open 1NT with in range 5431 shapes etc.

 

It does, or can, get into a more grey area. In one partnership we agree to open in range 4441s with a single A or K only. Strictly speaking (in the EBU) we should announce this - and indeed it is so described on the CC. But, frankly, it is a) bad enough explaining to unfamiliar opponents exactly what "a good 12 to a bad 15" means and b] it comes up so rarely that I've only picked up one such hand in the last 2 years iirc - by the time you add in the possibility of upgrading an extreme 11 or downgrading a totally rotten 16 or an outright psyche the frequency of NT openings with a singleton is, for practical purposes, non existent - so announcing it hardly seems worth it.

 

Anyway, slight rant moment over, like David says, tell us the jurisdiction.

 

Nick