Strong NT - 5 Card Majors

[fromageGB]

...But above all, what I do not miss is the 1S - 1NT - 2NT auction where we were basically guessing and quite likely to go down or miss game.

Of course any contract is a guess when you do not have the strength to do much bidding, but missing game is a bit drastic. Would a 15 hcp Gazzilli help here? If you are thinking of the 15/16 opener and an 8-10 responder, the bidding would not be your 1♠ 1NT 2NT but 1♠ 1NT 2♣ 2♦ 2NT and responder is better placed to bid game.

 

EDIT : and if responder had a 6/7 count the bidding would likely go 1♠ 1NT 2♣ 2♠.

[pescetom]

Of course any contract is a guess when you do not have the strength to do much bidding, but missing game is a bit drastic. Would a 15 hcp Gazzilli help here? If you are thinking of the 15/16 opener and an 8-10 responder, the bidding would not be your 1♠ 1NT 2NT but 1♠ 1NT 2♣ 2♦ 2NT and responder is better placed to bid game.

 

EDIT : and if responder had a 6/7 count the bidding would likely go 1♠ 1NT 2♣ 2♠.

 

Yes, if we were still opening that hand 1S then Gazzilli or some other 2♣ convention would certainly be an improvement.

As it is, I'm quite happy opening 1NT for now. The "rest of room happily in 2M and us stuck in 1NT" nightmare MP scenario just doesn't seem to happen often, for one reason or another, whereas we often get a better score from things like rightsiding the NT contract, accurante quantitative bidding, inferences from systematic opening of 5cM as 1NT both after 1M and after 1NT, the neat way this ties in with our stealthy Stayman and well defined transfers to put opener in the driving seat when appropriate and to hide his hand.