Good Bad 2NT: Bridge Bidding Convention

Good-Bad 2NT.

This is a description of the Good/Bad 2NT convention as played in my partnership. This convention uses 2NT in competitive situations mostly after a bid in the sandwich position by the opponents. It is used as an artificial bid to show a hand that is weaker than bidding directly at the three level. The intended audience for this article is expert players in steady partnerships.

Consider this contested auction:

1	1	Dbl	2
?

You hold one of these hands that should compete respectively to 3, 3, 3:

84 A742 AK53 Q97
8 K7 AKT9543 Q97
84 4 AKT53 AQ974

You hold one of these hands that should invite to game:

8 AJ42 AK532 Q97
8 A7 AKT9543 K97
84 4 AKQ53 AQJ74

As you can see, it is hard to make affordable natural bids that clearly distinguish between competitive and invitational values in this situation.

Now try another one:

1	1	2	2
?

Suppose the bidder would like to bid a suit at the 3 level. This time, the auction is already game invitational for the bidder's side. So the issue is how to show whether the hand is competitive or game-forcing.

A good solution in these sequences is to use 2NT as an artificial bid that shows the weaker (bad) of the two hand types in the given situation. This allows direct bids at the 3 level to be natural and the stronger of the two hand types.

WHEN IS IT GOOD/BAD 2NT?

The biggest problem in using Good/Bad 2NT is knowing for sure whether it applies to each possible situation. Expert practice varies widely.

The following 3 requirements must all be met, otherwise it is not Good-Bad 2NT:

Both sides have bid.
There have been 3 or more non-passes, and the most recent bid is 2 of a suit by right hand opponent (RHO). Special case: if RHO made a weak jump overcall, then 2NT is Good-Bad.
You wish to bid a specific suit that is lower in rank or (rarely) equal to that of RHO's suit.

The partner of the Good/Bad 2NT bidder usually bids 3. Partner should make some other bid to show suit preference, an unexpectedly long strong suit or enough extra strength to force the bidding higher. If the opening was 1 Diamond then the partner should bid his better minor. If you bid 3 Club and partner had long Diamonds then they can correct to 3 Diamond , or 3 Heart if they intended to show support there as in:

1	1	DBL	2
2NT	Pass	3	Pass
3

ALERT EXPLANATIONS

2NT is artificial and shows a hand that will compete in some suit at the 3 level that is of a rank lower than or equal to RHO's 2 level bid.
If neither partner has invited or forced to game: 3 of a suit is natural and invitational (as opposed to competitive).
If either partner has invited but we are not yet forced to game: 3 of a suit is natural and game forcing (as opposed to competitive).

If the context of the auction shows which suit (s) the 2NT bidder is probably competing in, that should be in the explanation.

Good/Bad 2NT replaces 2NT as a natural bid (or as a scramble or other conventional call). Fanatics will assure you that no one wants to play a contract of 2NT, but some of the time you definitely will regret the loss of this descriptive bid. Our experience is that Good/Bad 2NT is a clear winner in frequency and size of benefits.

Good/Bad 2NT requires some discussion, practice, and memorization. Initially there tend to be many failures to alert and instances of giving misinformation. A good approach is to play several sessions without using it. Try to identify in the post mortems each situation in which it would have applied, both for our side and the opponents.

Good/Bad 2NT provides an actively ethical solution to a class of bidding problems that traditionally have been handled (unintentionally, of course) by timing and body language. The convention occurs fairly often, typically once to several times per session. Furthermore, it is fun to use. It provides a basis for fine-tuning auctions, usually without other changes in partnership agreements.

Good/Bad 2NT is a good tool for both sides, regardless of which side opened the auction and what opening bid was made. It is equally useful at any vulnerability and form of scoring. The Good/Bad 2NT convention is applicable to virtually all bidding systems in which the 2NT bid has not already been assigned some other special conventional meaning.

Miscellaneous notes

The 2NT bidder has the option to compete further after having limited the hand. This might occur with extra length, especially in a minor, or after partner has shown a preference that improves the hand.

In a close decision, it often is right to make the direct suit bid to show the suit pattern of the hand. This goes well with a style of aggressively inviting. It also anticipates a tendency of opponents to frequently bid directly over the competing 2NT call, preventing the 2NT bidder from clarifying the hand.

On the flip side, it can be right to compete with a very marginal hand and hope that LHO will be enticed to take the immediate push.

Good/Bad 2NT can also be used to distinguish between an average hand and a perfect maximum within an already limited range. For instance, responder might use it in this situation:

1	Pass	1NT	Pass
2	2	?

We play that the Good/Bad 2NT bid is non-forcing (although rarely passed) but some play it as forcing.

The basic rule regarding the number of non-passes might need to be modified when a Forcing Pass system is in use by either side.

When is it not a Good/Bad 2NT situation?

Here are some cases where Good/Bad 2NT does not apply in our methods:

1. Only one side has made a non-pass.
2. There have been fewer than 3 non-passes in a competitive auction. In these examples, we play 2NT as a natural game try: 1 - 2 - 2NT and 1 - 1 - 2NT
3. RHO's bid is not a suit. 1 - 2- dbl -?
4. They use a convention at the two level against which we employ some other predetermined defense.
5. The other side starts the auction with a strong artificial bid showing at least 16 HCP.

Good Bad 2NT Revisited

There is nothing dark and mysterious about the good-bad 2NT. It was designed to bring back the free bid at the 3 level to show invitational values rather than just competing. The 2NT bid is in effect Lebensohl asking partner to bid 3 so you can make a competitive bid. The situation occurs when the opponents bid in the sandwich position thereby preventing you from jumping to the 3 level after partners response or negative double.

What if you have a natural 2NT bid (flat 18-19) to which you would have jumped if they did not interfere at the two level? There are 3 alternatives we will discuss one by one.

You can make a card showing double which I feel should just announce one stopper and if partner has an honor in the suit, the 3NT can be right sided with partner playing the contract. This bid shows a defensive hand and can be converted by partner with a suitable hand.

The 2nd alternative is a 2NT bid which you know partner will take the relay to 3 but you bid 3NT over that bid. This is the hand where you are really Serious about playing and right siding the NT. You have two stoppers in their suit and you would have jumped to 2NT if they had not interfered.

The last alternative is to leap to 3NT directly with your 18-19 flat hand. This bid I do not like as you are pre-empting partner. This bid should be your normal gambling type 3NT bid with a long suit and a stopper.

You can get fancy and bid 2NT and have partner bid 3 and you now cue bid. What should this mean? I would interpret this as a forcing to game club bid. Either you have opened 1 or clubs are your second suit but you are too strong just to bid clubs at the 3 level. You relay to clubs and in effect cue bid in support of clubs. A direct cue bid would be strong support for partner or a Western cue bid.

Do not forget the importance of the sandwich position in interpreting this bid.

1 - 1 - 2NT is natural because there has been no bid in the sandwich position preventing you from going to the 3 level.

1	Pass	1	2
?

The opponents have prevented you from jumping to the 2 level in NT or jumping to the 3 level invitational. A free bid at the 3 level is now invitational and 2NT demands a relay to 3 so you can compete. 2NT is also handled as discussed above.

Another possible use would be after a strong overcall in the sequence 1 minor - P - 1 Spade - 2 Heart , I think Good/Bad 2NT could be on. Standard is to treat it as 18-19 balanced hand with at least 1 Heart stopper. 3NT is a long solid minor, 8 tricks in hand with at least 1 Heart stopper. I think these two meanings could be combined into the 3NT bid. That leaves 2NT as Good/Bad and 3 level bids as invitational, including 3 Spade . Definitely run this by partner.

The good bad 2NT was designed to prevent the opponents bidding in the sandwich position from taking away your invitational sequences. It was not designed for overcall situations although you could attempt something. I would not recommend it though. Do not go overboard with this bid. In balancing situations 2NT is quite often natural or scrambling after a double. The good-bad 2NT just allows you to compete better and brings free bids back into vogue.

When the bidding proceeds 1 minor - 1 Spade overcall - double - 2 Spade , opener needs a method of distinguishing between bids that are competitive, invitational or really strong. There are two different approaches to solve this problem

Good-Bad 2NT

Using the Good-Bad 2NT method, all opener's rebids at the three level are invitational, showing approximately 15-17 HCP. With a hand that merely wants to compete because of distribution, you bid 2NT artificially. Responder usually bids 3 Club (if he can stand to play there), opener may then pass or rebid 3 Diamond or 3 Heart non invitational. Since 2NT is forcing, it can also be used on very strong hands, in which case openers third bid will be 3 Spade or higher. Double of 2 Spade by opener can be used to show a strong balanced hand (good 17 to 19), responder can convert the double to penalty if flat.

Weak must speak

In this method, opener's direct 3 level rebids are competitive only, they show sound values but insufficient to invite. With invitational or better strength opener bids 2NT and then continues over the semi-forced 3 Club rebid. As with Good-Bad 2NT, a bid of 3 spades or higher by opener on his third turn shows a very strong hand (9+ tricks or 18+ HCP). A double of 2 Spade would show a balanced hand in the strength above your 1NT opening. It is probably best to specify that the bid either denies or promises a spade stopper.

A variation on weak must speak uses 2NT as a natural bid, and double for takeout with some invitational or better hand.

Note that weak must speak is not a license to bid on garbage, opener should not compete with 3 Heart on a 12-14 HCP that has potentially wasted values in spades, he needs 13 HCP outside of spades to bid 3 Heart .

Comparison of the two methods

The Good-Bad 2NT is very similar to Lebensohl, hence intuitive to those familiar with that convention. My own preference is for the weak must speak method since it allows opener to make a descriptive, lead directing bid immediately. The Good-Bad 2NT method may get shut out completely if the over-caller rebids 3 Spade or 4 Spade However the most important thing is to have some kind of agreement. It is possible to extend the agreement to the auction 1 Heart - 1 Spade - Dbl - 2 Spade , and even to 1x - 1 Spade - 2 bid - 2 Spade as well. Thus whatever method you use can apply to any auction where the opponents have a fit and the bidding is below 2NT.