October 2023 - 65

Special Contributor
BY DR. JAMES
MARSH STERNBERG
mmay001@aol.com
W
hen a 1NT opening is
passed around to you, it's
not a question of what system
you are playing. I don't want to
get involved. Whatever you are playing
is probably OK. Some are better
than others and, of course, I have my
opinions. The issue at hand is whether
to bid or pass. If you choose to bid,
the method is up to you.
Remember, this situation is completely
different than acting in the
direct seat. When your right-hand
opponent opens 1NT, you need real
values and/or distribution to bid. At
this point in the auction, you don't
know whose hand it is. The trouble
I see with all systems that players
commonly use is the abuse and
overuse of them. Bidding to show the
majors with a hand like:
sQ 5 4 3 2 hK J 8 7 dA 3 c8 7
in the direct seat just because you
have a new toy means you should stop
playing whatever convention you are
using/abusing.
However, in the balancing seat, it's
a different ball game. You know your
partner has some values; the opponents
have said they are not interested
in going to game. The less you
have, the more your partner has. You
should want to bid with any reasonably
good one-suited hand (a suit with
texture) or some distribution, typically
a two-suited hand.
The late expert Bernie Chazen
strongly suggested balancing with
any hand containing a singleton,
using whatever methods you have.
Mike Lawrence, in a February 2010
Bridge Bulletin article, said, " If 1NT
is passed to you, and you have a singleton,
try really hard to bid something. "
Consults
with the Doctor
Balancing after 1NT-Pass-Pass-?
Why? Because 1NT is a race to
seven tricks. It's likely your partner is
going to get your side off to a bad start
by leading whatever suit your singleton
is in. With a singleton, it's almost
always right to bid.
Let's look at some examples of when
you should and should not balance.
After 1NT-Pass-Pass-?
sK J 6 5 hQ 10 2 dQ 6 4 cA K 4
Pass. Even if you play double as
penalty, doubling is bad. LHO has
most of the points. You may set them,
you may not. You will be constantly
endplayed. It's easy for declarer when
he knows where the high cards are.
sK Q J 9 8 7 h6 4 d8 6 4 c8 7
Bid 2s. You have more than a minimum.
sK
9 5 3 2 h9 5 dA 7 5 cK Q 8
Pass. A balanced hand. If you have
enough to make 2s, you are probably
setting 1NT.
sQ 10 6 4 2 hJ 10 7 5 3 d9 c5 3
Use whatever bid you have to show
the majors. Good shape.
sQ J 6 5 h5 3 d7 5 3 cA K 9 8
Dangerous, but if you can show a
major-minor two-suiter, bid. Do you
want partner to lead a heart?
s3 2 hA 10 7 5 4 d4 cK J 9 8 7
An easy major-minor balancing
situation.
s8 hK Q 9 5 3 d5 3 cQ J 10 7 6
Only 8 HCP, but it's safer to bid
with this hand than the 15-HCP one
sorrypartner.com
October 2023 | Bridge Bulletin |
65
shown in the first example.
sQ 10 9 8 7 hK 8 6 dK J 3 cK 3
Pass. You have some values, but no
suit, no shape.
s10 9 8 7 6 hA Q 8 7 6 d6 c9 8
The majors. Your shape says bid.
sA J 10 7 h5 dQ J 8 7 4 c9 6 3
You have a singleton and a major-minor
hand. Do something.
sA J 7 6 hK J 8 6 3 d3 c9 7 5
Only 4=5 in the majors but you have
a singleton. Bid. Again, do you want a
diamond lead?
A double in the passout seat can be
played in different ways than your
usual convention. It can have different
meanings depending on various
vulnerabilities.
If partner is weak or prefers to bid,
she can respond as if balancer opened
1NT. For example, after (1NT)-Pass-
(Pass)-Dbl; (Pass)-2c is Stayman,
while 2d or 2h is a transfer. 2
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October 2023

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