Responses to 1Nt Opener or Overcall

Opening 1NT and a 1NT Overcall Are Almost the Same

1NT Overcall Promises Stoppers. We treat a 1 NT overcall the same as a 1 NT opening, except that the 1 NT overcaller has good stopper(s) in the overcalled suit.

N

E

1 ¨

        1NT 1NT ny East says  "West, I was going to open 1 NT and I have good Diamond stoppers. Bid as though I had opened 1 NT"
East Hand

ª Qxxx

© Qxxx

¨ AQx

§ AK

Responders Strength requirements. Strength requirements for responses to 1NT are flexible, with the general understanding that any bid in the game of Bridge should improve the contract.

This means there is effectively no lower point limit for a response to 1 NT.