[mike777]

Balancing NT

what is the range of your balancing NT
1X-P-P-1NT?
What do you bid with hcp outside your range?

What do you play over the balancing NT by partner
system on?
all bids natural to play?
other?

[DavidKok]

There's two answers here: 'what do I play without much discussion' and 'what do I think is best'. They are not the same.

Without much discussion, I commonly play an 11-14 1NT range in passout. Over this I play 'system on'. The transfer to their major, if available, is either left idle or asks about the quality of the stopper, depending on the level of detail of the agreements. Stayman leaks information about their major, if they opened one. Oh well.

With much more discussion, I think it's wise to treat 1m openings by the opponents differently from the 1M openings. Over 1m there is a good chance that we can double-then-bid-1NT. Over 1M we likely will not get such an opportunity. This calls for different NT ladders. There's even a case for treating 1♣ different from 1♦, especially if (say) 1♣ is 2+ while 1♦ usually shows 5 for these particular opponents.
Also, my experience is that people are, on average, overly scared of passing out an auction at the 1-level. Being passed out at the 1-level is frequently bad for the opener, and I don't see a need to stretch in passout seat. By all means make a natural bid or takeout double, but if you have a flat boring hand there's no need to be all that aggressive. This is further reinforced by my aggressive overcall style, which takes pressure off of fourth seat. In theory partner can hold up to a semibalanced 15-count and be stuck for a bid after the opening, but the balance of probability lies somewhere else entirely. For these reasons I think it's better to play a 12-14 NT over 1m openings, and a 13-16 NT over 1M openings. This gives relatively smooth NT ladders despite the opening. This is further reinforced by some custom agreements on the (1M)-P-(P)-X; (P)-? auctions, but that's a bit beyond the scope of the question. The NT ladders are:
Over (1m)-P-(P)-?

• 0-11: pass
  
• 12-14: 1NT
  
• 15-18: X-then-1NT
  
• 19-21: 2NT
  
• 22+: X-then-cue or X-then-jump-in-NT

Over (1M)-P-(P)-?

• 0-12: pass
  
• 13-16: 1NT
  
• 17-19: X-then-2NT/raise (my custom agreements do come in here)
  
• 20-22: 2NT
  
• 23+: X-then-cue or X-then-jump-in-NT

The ranges are a little stressed, especially having to jump respond 2NT with 19 after 1m. It might be wise to flip that part of the ladder, and put (say) 19-21 in X-then-raise while direct 2NT shows 22+. I know some other people use a direct 2NT as approximately 20-22, a point stronger than my ladder - maybe they play the direct overcall as 12-15? Thankfully it comes up so rarely that I don't really worry about it much.


Over the direct 1NT bids I play system on. This is not optimal, but it's easy to remember and covers most bases. Over the delayed NT bids (so that partner has already told something of their hand) I play everything natural, with the cue being a generic forcing asking bid.

[Huibertus]

I play growing NT with all humans I've had a partnership with.

1♣ - p - p - 1NT - 11-14HCP
1♦ - p - p - 1NT - 12-15HCP
1♥ - p - p - 1NT - 13-16HCP
1♠ - p - p - 1NT - 14-17HCP

If possible to agree a simple to remember mix of system on/natural that applies to direct NT overcalls as well as reopening NT;

after 1X - 1NT or 1X - p - p - 1NT

2Y if Y is a lower suit then X = natural
2X up to 2♥ = transfers
2♠ = game forcing stayman
and optional (we prefer never to invite over 1NT overcalls) 2NT upwards transfers.

[Tramticket]

DavidKok, on 2025-September-25, 14:32, said:

Over (1M)-P-(P)-?

• 13-16: 1NT

What do you do over a 1M in direct seat with a balanced 13 or 14 points? If you are passing, there must be a risk of passing out 1M with a combined 25 or 26 HCPs. I can understand the wish to extend the top end of the range, but we would prefer to extend the range to (say) 12-16 or 11-15 (with a 2C enquiry for range & shape).

DavidKok, on 2025-September-25, 14:32, said:

Over (1m)-P-(P)-?

• 12-14: 1NT

It is easier to compete over 1m in the direct seat, now there is less reason to protect with shaded values!

[DavidKok]

There's a risk of passing out a deal while we have game. However, it is a very small risk.
It's easier to compete over 1m in direct seat, but there's also more room to balance. The two need not be negatively related. I'm aiming to make the most of the space and the information of the auction so far, not pinning the ranges to game or the likes.

[Zelandakh]

The traditional way is 11-14, with 2NT natural (~19-21) and other ranges Double. At expert level it has become increasingly popular to raise the top end of the 1NT overcall a point or two, often varying the range slightly depending on the opening bid. For club players, I would tend to recommend the traditional (simplest) way.
In terms of follow-ups, the majority play system on with a transfer to opponent's major having an artificial meaning. It is also not uncommon, especially over a major, to play weak natural takeouts with a cue replacing Stayman. Some other more complex structures are also available but generally unsuitable for club players. It matters less what you choose here than that you both agree, so just use whichever you and your partner find easiest to remember, keeping in mind that it does not come up often so it might be quite a while before you have to recall the decision.