The weak no-trump
Opening 1NT in ACOL shows a balanced hand (no void, no singleton, and at most one doubleton — shapes like 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2 or 5-3-3-2) with 12 to 14 high-card points. High-card points are counted ace = 4, king = 3, queen = 2, jack = 1. This is the "weak" no-trump: some systems open 1NT with a stronger 15–17 range instead, but 12–14 is standard ACOL.
Opening bids
The taught ladder, checked in this order:
- 23+ points — open 2♣, the strongest opening, telling partner you want to reach at least game.
- 20–22 points, balanced — open 2NT.
- 12–14 points, balanced — open 1NT (the weak no-trump above).
- 12–19 points (and not already covered by the weak no-trump) — open one of your longest suit: with two five-card-or-longer suits, bid the higher-ranking one first; with two equal four-card suits, bid the lower-ranking one first.
- Fewer than 12 points — pass, for now.
Responding to a suit opening
When partner opens one of a suit, the response depends on your points and whether you can support their suit:
- 5 points or fewer — pass; game is out of reach.
- Four-card support, 6–9 points — raise partner one level (e.g. 1♥–2♥).
- Four-card support, 10–12 points — jump to the three level, inviting game.
- Four-card support, 13+ points, a major suit — bid game in the major directly.
- 6+ points, no fit yet — bid your own longest suit if you can do so at the one level.
- 6–9 points, nothing to bid at the one level — respond 1NT to keep the auction alive.
- 10+ points and a five-card-or-longer suit — bid a new suit at the two level.
- 11–12 points, balanced, no fit — invite game with 2NT.
- 13–15 points, balanced, no fit — bid the no-trump game directly, 3NT.
Responding to 1NT — and the two conventions
Partner's 1NT opening is precisely described — balanced, 12–14 — which is exactly what makes two conventional asking bids possible in response. With no five-card major to transfer into and no four-card major worth asking about, respond on points alone instead:
- 10 points or fewer — pass; 1NT is high enough.
- 11–12 points — invite game with 2NT.
- 13–18 points — bid the no-trump game directly, 3NT.
Stayman — asking for a 4-card major
With 11 or more points and a four-card major (but not a five-card major — that uses a transfer instead), respond 2♣. This has nothing to do with clubs; it asks partner whether they hold a four-card major too. Partner answers:
- 2♥ with a four-card-or-longer heart suit (hearts come first when both majors are 4-4 — a taught simplification).
- 2♠ with a four-card-or-longer spade suit but not four hearts.
- 2♦ to deny holding a four-card major at all.
If opener finds your major, you continue on your combined strength:
- 11–12 points — invite game by raising to the three level (e.g. 3♥).
- 13+ points — bid game in the major directly (e.g. 4♥).
If opener denies a major (2♦), you continue in no-trumps instead: 2NT to invite with 11–12, or 3NT directly with 13+.
Worked example: partner opens 1NT. You hold a four-card heart suit and 15 points — enough to ask, so you bid 2♣ (Stayman). Partner, who also holds four hearts, answers 2♥. With the fit found and 15 points between you, you go straight to game: 4♥. Because partner was the one who actually named hearts, partner becomes declarer — your hand goes down as dummy.
Transfers — showing a 5+ card major, any strength
With five or more cards in a major, at any strength, transfer into it: bid the suit one step below the major you actually hold.
- 2♦ shows five-plus hearts, and asks partner to bid 2♥.
- 2♥ shows five-plus spades, and asks partner to bid 2♠.
Partner always completes the transfer, whatever their own hand holds — the taught subset has no "super-accepts". That means partner ends up playing the hand as declarer, while your hand — the one that actually named the suit — goes down as dummy, hidden from the defence throughout. Once the transfer completes, you continue based on your length and points:
- 0–10 points — pass; the contract is already sitting in your long suit.
- Exactly five in the suit, 11–12 points — bid 2NT, offering partner the choice between the major part-score and no-trumps.
- Exactly five in the suit, 13+ points — bid 3NT, game values, leaving partner the final say between the games.
- Six or more in the suit, 11–12 points — invite game by raising to the three level.
- Six or more in the suit, 13+ points — bid game in the major directly.
Worked example: partner opens 1NT. You hold five hearts but only 9 points — nothing to shout about on strength alone. You still transfer: 2♦, asking partner to bid 2♥. Partner completes it automatically with 2♥. With only 9 points you pass — there's nothing more to explore, but your long suit is now the trump suit anyway, even though yours was the weaker hand at the table.
Both conventions are taught inside Bridge Gym's Stage 3 lessons, playing out real auctions with the app's own bidding engine — see Learn bridge for how the full lesson path is structured, or jump into the app and try them directly.