Points Schmoints

Playing in the San Francisco 2025 NABC in the finals of the Blue Ribbon pairs you pick up this promising hand:

You are North at favorable vulnerability. Your partner deals and passes, and so does your right hand opponent. What should you open?

With 20 HCP and 6 clubs your 'by the book' opening is 1C.

However, deeper hand evaluation suggests other treatments:

1. First, this hand is highly NT oriented with a semi balanced distribution and scattered strength. NT as a final strain is highly likely!

2. Second, this hand's values are all PRIME, meaning: all HCP are 'working' and there are definitely 8-9 top winners here. This fact upgrades the value of the hand in HCP!

Point #1 suggests to open 2NT. Opening NT with a semi balanced distribution, scattered HCP, with a 6-card or a 5-card minor is a common expert treatment. This 'not-by-the-book' NT opening bid is a practical choice simplifying partnership bidding in a hand which is geared towards NT.

Point #2 however suggests that the 2NT opening may not be enough here...

I therefore chose to open 2C.

The bidding proceeded:

Your partner responds 2D as expected, which in your system is a 'waiting bid', not showing or denying anything. What should you rebid next? Not forgetting point #1 in your hand evaluation >>>> Treating this hand as NT oriented.

I chose to rebid 2NT.

Bidding proceeded with a stayman and then a surprising quantitative 4NT:

After upgrading your hand to a 22-23 NT hand, your partner makes an invitational 4NT bid (quantitative 4NT). Clearly your side does not have the sufficient HCP to bid slam. Pass seem obvious.

Is it? Believing in my original hand evaluation process, I chose otherwise. This hand is a powerhouse with a certain 9 tricks, more than a regular NT hand.

I accepted invitation and bid 6NT!

The entire deal:

After making a nice squeeze I ended up with 13 tricks making 6NT+1 and a top. Most players did not bid slam with the N/S cards.

Following advanced hand evaluation sometimes requires ignoring HCP restrictions and 'by-the-book' guidelines. However, bridge is not a game of points but of tricks. Realizing it and implementing it in the table also requires courage: upgrading a 20 HCP hand to a 22-23 NT and then accepting a quantitative 4NT bid is a nice example.

Be good 🙋‍♂️

Gino