[smlghs]

My LHO made an opening call 1♠,My partner & MY rho called pass & I replied with 2nt with Aqjxx in ♦& ATxxx in ♣. I had 13 hcps. Without any interference by opponents our call went out like 3♦-4♦-5clubs-5♦. But when I saw my partner's hand he had void in ♦.As per his profile He is an expert.So could someone please tell me what went wrong? And if possible please tell me elaborately the response procedure of unusual 2nt.

p.s.-I put an alert on my 2nt as in minors with same length.

[jvage]

smlghs, on 2011-August-16, 04:52, said:

As per his profile He is an expert.So could someone please tell me what went wrong?

While the description in your partners profile may not be descriptive (many "BBO-experts" are not real experts), many use 2NT in the passout position as natural (around 19-21). It may not have been a good idea to assume this from a random BBO-partner, but I think this treatment is actually the most common among experts. My guess is that your partners 3♦ was intended as a transfer to hearts and 5♣ was as an attempt to reach your best minor when your 4♦-bid revealed that you probably intended 2NT as "unusual".

John

[campboy]

It went 1♠ pass pass 2NT? Most people play that as strong and balanced (19-21 or so), even though 1♠ 2NT is minors. So your partner was probably trying to transfer to hearts.

[Free]

What campboy said

[smlghs]

[quote name='campboy' timestamp='1313493565' post='568518']
It went 1♠ pass pass 2NT? Most people play that as strong and balanced (19-21 or so), even though 1♠ 2NT is minors. So your partner was probably trying to transfer to hearts.
[/quote

[smlghs]

Thank u for the reply.I have a question please kindly answer that. So if the 4th seater replies 2nt against 1st seater's opening call without any interference it shows 19-21 balance hands not unusual 2nt but if 4 seater calls 2nt after 1st seater and his partner call 1♠,2♠ respectively. would that show unusual?

[Hanoi5]

Yes, (1♠)-Pass-(2♠)-2NT would show unusual.

[masse24]

Correct.

A Balancing Seat 2NT is NOT Unusual. It is strong and balanced.

[semeai]

smlghs, on 2011-August-16, 05:54, said:

Thank u for the reply.I have a question please kindly answer that. So if the 4th seater replies 2nt against 1st seater's opening call without any interference it shows 19-21 balance hands not unusual 2nt but if 4 seater calls 2nt after 1st seater and his partner call 1♠,2♠ respectively. would that show unusual?

As others suggest, the balancing seat 2NT is just about universally played as a strong balanced hand.

In contrast, 1S P 2S 2NT does not have a standard meaning, I think. Some play it as minors, some play it as any 2-suiter (partner bids 3C or 3D and you correct one suit up if that's not your suit), some play it as hearts and a minor, and likely some still play it as natural. With a random BBO partner with no agreement, I don't know but I think I would take it as minors, but I'd also allow for the any 2-suiter meaning if my partner bid it.

[barmar]

You've gotten lots of answers that explain how this 2NT bid is usually interpreted, but no one has explained WHY.

Unusual 2NT (and Michaels cue bids) is generally used as a preemptive bid, to make it harder for the opponents to conduct a constructive auction. Most of the time, you have a weak hand when you use it. You don't necessarily expect to make the contract you land in, you just hope that the result is better than letting them find their best contract.

In the pass-out seat, if you have a poor hand, you can simply pass; partner probably doesn't have a good hand, or he would have overcalled or made a takeout double. And if you have a decent hand, just bid your suits naturally. There's not much need to jump.

There's another reason. If you bid 1NT in the balancing seat, most play that it shows something like 11-14 HCP, not 15-18 as it would if you bid in the direct seat. To show 15-18, you first make a takeout double and then bid NT at the cheapest level. You need a way to show an even stronger NT, so we use the immediate jump to 2NT for this.

[zasanya]

What does one do in the balancing position with 5-5 minors and 9+hcp? Natural 2♦?

[masse24]

zasanya, on 2011-August-17, 01:21, said:

What does one do in the balancing position with 5-5 minors and 9+hcp? Natural 2♦?

Sure, why not?

If you feel your hand is worth forcing partner to bid a minor at the 3 level with a direct seat Unusual 2NT, a 2 level "balancing bid" should be fine.
As barmar stated above "Unusual 2NT (and Michaels cue bids) is generally used as a preemptive bid, to make it harder for the opponents to conduct a constructive auction." The "Preemptive" value of 2NT is no longer necessary.

Remember, in balancing position, you do not promise opening values with a 2♦ call. Your partner, realizing this, should adjust accordingly.

[barmar]

Although if you balance with 2♦ and then rebid 3♣, partner may expect more than a minimum balancing hand. Not every hand has a bid that can describe it, so you do your best. Instead of trying to show both minors, you could bid your better one, to get partner off to the best lead if LHO declares.

You could just pass. Since partner and RHO passed, there's a good chance that opener has a big hand (maybe a major 2-suiter), and reopening will give him a chance to show it. Sometimes this is all the help they need to get to a game contract instead of playing in a 1-level part score.

It's a judgement call.

[Quantumcat]

You may want to pass it out with a minor-suited hand. It's quite possible partner has 10-14 or so and no bid (through being long in opener's suit) and responder is very weak with a long heart suit that he couldn't bid. If you reopen you may find yourself defending 2♥ making 3 instead of 1♠ making or minus 1.

If you are willing to play one of your minors at the three-level, it would be nice for 2NT to still show both minors. Then, instead of the auction:

(1♠) Pass (Pass) 2♦
(Pass) Pass (2♥) 3♣
(3♥) Pass (Pass) Pass,

You will have the auction:

(1♠) Pass (Pass) 2NT
(Pass) 3♣ (Pass) Pass
(Pass)

Of course if you choose to do this, you might have the following auction on a different hand:

(1♠) Pass (Pass) X
(Pass) 2♣ (Pass) 3NT

With your 19-count, and go one off when partner would have passed your 2NT re-open.

Then again, you would have had to bid 2NT with your 16-count anyway and that might go one off, so maybe it's a risk worth taking...