Nil Vul N Dealer	♠ 10 3 ♥ A 8 7 6 ♦ K Q J 6 2 ♣ K 4
♠ J 9 6 ♥ Q J 3 2 ♦ 10 7 4 3 ♣ 10 8		♠ A 7 4 2 ♥ 9 5 4 ♦ 9 8 ♣ Q 9 7 3
	♠ K Q 8 5 ♥ K 10 ♦ A 5 ♣ A J 6 5 2

Hi Andy,
I asked this hand around and it seems like I am getting different answers so I am wondering what you think. My thought was over 1NT I can bid 4NT, a quantitative bid, asking partner to pass with a minimum, and move on with a maximum. Would appreciate your thoughts.

Much appreciated.

Hi Sue,
Whilst the 4NT bid is a quantitative bid, I think the hand is slightly too weak for it as you probably need one point more, or perhaps a more internally solid club suit. Sometimes opener is allowed to accept the invite with a good 13, so on this hand for instance, with a good 13 count along with a great 5-card diamond suit (the jack is pulling a lot of weight), I would happily accept the invite with opener’s hand.

In any case, one other thing I wanted to point out is that when as the responder you have enough points for a game (at least), it is generally best to start the auction with your longest suit. Thus, over the 1♦ opening bid I would prefer to respond 2♣, planning to rebid 2♠ to show my 5-4 distribution. Majors-first is an important concept sure, but when you have a strong hand, there’s less likelihood of dealing against enemy preemption so it’s best to describe your hand as accurately as possible. That way, sometimes you will find a 6♣ slam which can well be better than 6NT (and sometimes 6♣ can make whilst 6NT fails!). For example, give opener ♠Ax ♥Axxx ♦Kxxx ♣Kxx where it is maximum of 14 HCP, opposite the actual South’s hand, 6♣ is a decent contract assuming a 3-2 break where you cash ♣AK (don’t need the finesse) and ruff a spade, but a 6NT contract requires the club finesse to succeed.

Hope that helps,
Andy