[AL78]

---

Playing Acol, 3 weak twos, weak NT with a scratch partner. What now?

[mike777]

If one NT shows around 8-11, then 3NT now.

[AL78]

mike777, on 2025-December-03, 18:08, said:

If one NT shows around 8-11, then 3NT now.

1NT shows 6-9 HCP.

[jillybean]

..

[jillybean]

This is the draw back of the weak nt
Pass

[mike777]

jillybean, on 2025-December-03, 18:12, said:

This is the draw back of the weak nt
Pass

In Acol is partner allowed to bid 2c or 1D with 6-7 or so and some cards, rather than 1nT, after an one club opening?

Don't you want to avoid no trump from partners side with 6 pts playing acol after a one club opening?

[jillybean]

I don't know about Acol
But with a un passed hand, 2C would be gf
1C 1D is traditionally 8-10 nf

Yes, ideally we want the opening bidder playing 1nt. Yesh, we need transfers!

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

x

If p cannot stand it, he can always bid 3C or 3D.

I would do this at both MP and IMPs, it is more
interesting playing IMPs.

with kind regards
Marlowe

[P_Marlowe]

mike777, on 2025-December-03, 18:36, said:

In Acol is partner allowed to bid 2c or 1D with 6-7 or so and some cards, rather than 1nT, after an one club opening?

Don't you want to avoid no trump from partners side with 6 pts playing acol after a one club opening?

Traditionally i seem to remember, that 1NT promised values, but i dont believer it ever became
mainstream.
I also dont think, that bidding 1D with only 3 small cards and 6/7 was ever mainstream.
So you either bid 1NT or 2C, the later is only an option, if you dont play inv. minors.

[apollo1201]

Not familiar with Acol but the bidding is not over yet. Partner knows from my non-opening of 1NT that I have either real clubs or a strong hand. Do I need to re emphasize it?

They have a minor oriented hand (sometimes 3343 and we have no fit) so can always balance with 3C if they have more than a dead min and want to compete. What would 2NT mean? Upper limit to play facing a strong NT or to correct to 3C otherwise, or a 5D/3C hand fighting for the partscore, no mt willing to impose C as D might play better facing a strong NT? Would partner skip a 5-cd D suit with a notrumpy hand?

[paulg]

Double shows a strong no trump without a decent stop, seems simple enough.

[Cyberyeti]

AL78, on 2025-December-03, 18:09, said:

1NT shows 6-9 HCP.

Does it guarantee 4+♣

[DavidKok]

Does 1NT show 3=3=3=4, or are other distributions also possible? If partner would bid a four card suit at the 1-level ahead of 1NT (especially good to get out of the way for the strong NT!), and would raise 1♣ with 5 (especially attractive as 1♣ shows 4+), this is the only remaining shape. Back when I played a weak (12-14) NT in a natural system we even allowed 1♣-1♦ on a 3-card suit to get ahead of this problem. If so we might not be able to pass and wait for partner to keep it open, as partner doesn't have a clear takeout double with three spades under the overcall and a pancake hand.

I would like double to be takeout. I think a few decades ago people reserved the double for the strong NT, but I don't think that style is very playable. What are your agreements here?

It's a little bit surprising that the opponents wandered into a 6-card spade fit rather than their 8-card heart fit, especially vulnerable. I am not sure whether 3NT will make - the odds are slightly against it - and defending 2♠ (even undoubled) might score better than bidding 3♣. It would be better to defend 2♠X though, I think.

[mike777]

 AL78, on 2025-December-03, 18:09, said:

1NT shows 6-9 HCP.

Guess double it is then...🙈

[Tramticket]

Cyberyeti, on 2025-December-04, 02:20, said:

Does it guarantee 4+♣

It would for us and I would expect that should be standard in Acol. We used to play that a raise to 2C was 5-7ish and 1C-1NT was 8-10.

But these days we play inverted raises and a raise to 3C would be a distributional raise, whereas 1NT would be 6-9 balanced with four clubs. Competing with 3C seems normal. A penalty Double would be an aggressive pairs action (even if available), but might be the right choice against some opps!

[mw64ahw]

P_Marlowe, on 2025-December-04, 01:47, said:

Traditionally i seem to remember, that 1NT promised values, but i dont believer it ever became
mainstream.
I also dont think, that bidding 1D with only 3 small cards and 6/7 was ever mainstream.
So you either bid 1NT or 2C, the later is only an option, if you dont play inv. minors.

Doesn't the Acol bot on BBO play something similar? I'm not sure you can have 3 small though since with a Major, bid it, with Clubs raise so this leaves 3343 at worst where 1N has the higher range with 4♦?

[P_Marlowe]

mw64ahw, on 2025-December-04, 09:41, said:

Doesn't the Acol bot on BBO play something similar? I'm not sure you can have 3 small though since with a Major, bid it, with Clubs raise so this leaves 3343 at worst where 1N has the higher range with 4♦?

Could it, I have played with the Acol bot, but not much and hence have no idea, how much different
he is to the 2/1 bot, except the most obvious stuff.