What You Must Know about Jacoby 2NT

In this lesson:

Deciding whether or not you have a slam is not easy. Even experts do NOT shine in this area.  However, if you can set the trump suit early in the auction, that is a very good way to begin. And if you can do so at an economical level, youre off to a good start.

A Jacoby 2NT response to opener's major accomplishes all of the above. This is a convention that should be part of every pair's repertoire. This convention is one of the keys to good slam bidding.

In this lesson, Marty will discuss:

• - How to decide whether to respond 2NT.
• - The correct way for opener to re-evaluate after 2NT.
• - How opener can easily show a void
• - How to know when to forget about slam.
• - The lowdown on opener's jump to the 4-level
• - Bergen-Cohen philosophy for Jacoby 2NT auctions
• - What every partnership must discuss

Here is an example of what Marty will discuss in the lesson:

You hold ♠A5 ♥AJ54 ♦6 ♣A98754

Partner opens 1♥ and your RHO passes. What is your call?

Some players would make a splinter bid of 4♦. I would not. By the time I add points for the three aces and awesome distribution, this hand exceeds the 13-16 dummy points I recommend for responder here. If I responded 4♦ and opener bid 4♥, I would be afraid that a pass could miss a cold slam.

Some would respond 2♣. I would not. When I have 4-card support for opener's major, I always support him at my first turn. Therefore, I would respond 2NT.