Partner opens the bidding

Being left to play in a 1 No Trump contract can be difficult to play, often the opposition ends up with more points than you, so when your partner opens 1NT you must think about the difficulty s/he will be in if you leave them to play there.

Responding with a medium hand 10-12 points

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Look at your own hand and add your points to partners take the shape of your hand into consideration as well, is it balanced or do you have singletons or voids and long suits? Distributional points cannot be counted when you bid notrump.
If your partner opened 1 NT they are saying that they are balanced with at least two cards in each suit and they have 12-14 HCP If your partner opened 1 in a suit they have from 11-19 TP.

Your hand is medium and balanced

Your Points	Your NoTrump Bid
10 -14 HCP	3NT

*Invitational Bids If game is possible (10-11 points), responder bids 2NT (2 No Trump) or with unbalanced hand and 10-11 points bid another suit at the 2/3 level These are called an “invitational bids” as they invite opener to bid game with maximum point count; opener will pass with a minimum point count.

Your hand is unbalanced

If the shape of your hand is unbalanced with more than one doubleton, singleton or void it is much more suitable for the partnership to be in a suit contract.
If you jump-bid 3H or 3S opener must not pass. You have shown 12-14 HCP and with 10-11 HCP game can be bid has not been reached. With four or more cards in responder’s suit, opener should raise to four hearts or four spades.

Responder Points	Responders Longest Suits	Responders Suit Bid
10-12 TP	6+ cards	4♠, 4♥
10-12 TP	two four card majors suits	If partner opens 1NT - 2♣ - Stayman Convention*
10-12 TP	two 4-5 card minor suits and no fit for partners major suit/s	3NT

Practice Game for this lesson (with full commentary)

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