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3NT opening


Do you like 3NT gambit?  

47 members have voted

  1. 1. Do you like 3NT gambit?

    • 1) No it is flawed and wrong-side the contract
      28
    • 2) Yes it is descriptive and useful
      19


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I do not play it any more, because it is way to easy to defend against.

 

You can use it as a hand you normally had opened with 4 in a minor so that you once in a while reach 3 NT, something impossible after a 4 m opening. ^^

 

I like to play it as a strong one suiter with around 8,5 playing tricks and a solid suit, something like AKJTxxxx, Ax,xx,x, ah hand which sometimes causes trouble in clasic bidding because it is too strong in playing strength for a 1 Spade opening but too weak defensivly for a strong opening.

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I think it's not so bad as everybody says it is. Bidding and rebidding your suit just doesn't feel right when you have a solid suit and a few quacks around. That said, I'd like to know how 3NT=6-5 in the majors, minimum ish works, I'd definitely like to try it.
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I actually find 3N valuable more as an aid to slam bidding than when it's passed out. Knowing partner has 7 solid and nothing outside does allow partner to count the tricks pretty accurately.

 

I do remember with fondness a partner who I didn't think was capable of this sort of thing psyching 3N off KQxxxxx and out. The man on lead did what you're supposed to and led A and another on seeing dummy's Jx and declarer scrambled 7 tricks. 1 trick would have been enough undoubled.

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It's not so great but seems to score well. Also gains by negative inference when opener does something else.

 

However, it is much better than Namyats combined with 3NT as a 4-level minor prempt. Hate to lose those natural 4C/D openings.

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I still play the 3NT gambling with my most regular pard, and I don't have any qualms about it : it's rare (we only play 400 boards a year), and you get mixed results with it (sometimes they don't have an ace to lead, sometimes you bid an excellent slam, sometimes you/they get hammered, etc.).

 

My favorite way to play the 3NT opening bid is "a la Vernes" (Vernes is the guy who discovered the LTT years before LC made it popular worldwide). This method has surely scarcely been published outside of France yet, and is a component of Vernes first artificial system (La Majeure d'abord, see. Here for a brief description, ... in french).

 

The 3NT-Vernes opening is described as :

- a 6+m suit (any quality) ;

- no 4M

- 13 to 15 "mixed" points (MP).

 

Mixed points are calculated with the 4321 scale in the m-suit, and 321 scale (Ace=3) in the 3 other suits. The 7th card in your minor count as a full MP.

 

Example :

x KQx AQJxxx AJx is a 3NT opening (13MP) in Vernes system !!

 

This looks very scary but it works very well in practice in *average*. The theory behind this opening is that you need around 17,5+ MP to make 3NT. Opponents have to lead and defend blind (leading an ace is usually awful).

 

OK, now that you all think it's crazy. Then I just suggest you deal 100 boards with this opening w/ your favorite dealer program, and try to imagine the final results (just imagine 1. you have the right tools to pass/correct when doubled or want to play in minor -- 2. declaring slam is not really a problem -- 3. finding Major fits is alway a problem, unless responder can bid a natural NF 4M by himself). What do they lead, how do they defend ?

 

With my second pard, we play 3NT as "Vernes" but 16-17MP.

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It is possible that other agreements may affect the meaning of 3NT. For example, if you play Namyats (4m is a "good" 4M opening), then you need some way to show a natural 4m preempt - and 3NT is usually it. I think Namyats is a useful agreement, so I like to play 3NT this way.
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Hm. Interesting idea. It sounds a bit like what Anderson and Zenkel called "Kantar 3NT". IAC, I've not played it, so I dunno. Maybe I'll give it a try, if I can find a willing partner.

It's way way better than regular Namyats. But it's not GCC legal, stupidly.

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Actually, you could probably wrangle it...

 

STRENGTH SHOWING OPENING AT THE TWO LEVEL OR HIGHER that asks for aces, kings, queens, singletons, voids or trump quality and responses thereto.

 

So just play responses like

 

4=Shortness somewhere

4=No shortness

 

and you're golden (or play control showing responses or something)

 

While somewhat weasly, this should be fully legal under the ACBL guide line that a strong opening is whatever the player making it thinks it is...

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couldn't answer the poll because I don't think 3N showing a broken minor preempt is really "Gambling 3NT". It is just what we do when 4m shows something else.

The ideas about 3NT showing the 8 trick hand in a major are good, and we might switch. But, my point was about not calling what we currently do "gambling 3NT"

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Hm. Interesting idea. It sounds a bit like what Anderson and Zenkel called "Kantar 3NT". IAC, I've not played it, so I dunno. Maybe I'll give it a try, if I can find a willing partner.

It's way way better than regular Namyats. But it's not GCC legal, stupidly.

It won't be the first convention that is stupidly not allowed.

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