Bridge lessons · Lesson 13 of 26
Opening 1NT
Updated 16 October 2026
Open 1NT with a balanced hand of 15 to 17 high card points. Because the range is narrow and the shape fixed, partner can count the side's combined strength straight away and choose the contract. Balanced hands of 20 or 21 open 2NT, which works the same way one level higher.
Which hands open 1NT?
A balanced hand, the shape the opening needs, has no void, no singleton and at most one doubleton, which leaves three shapes.
Nearly half of all hands are balanced, so this opening comes up often. The five-card suit of a 5-3-3-2 hand can be a minor or a major, and in this course a hand in the range opens 1NT either way. The range and the shape tell partner more than the name of one suit would.
Balanced hands outside the range open one of a suit, as in lesson 12. That covers 12 to 14 points and also 18 or 19, and opener shows which one on the second bid.
Partner takes charge
One of a suit covers 12 to 21 points and almost any shape. 1NT covers a range of three points and three shapes, so partner knows your hand within a narrow band before saying a word. Partner, the responder, adds their own points to your 15 to 17 and knows at once whether the side can have the 25 points a game in notrump needs.
So responder makes the decisions. Opener has described the hand, and responder, who can see one hand and has a clear picture of the other, chooses where to play. Opener mostly follows.
When responder also holds a balanced hand with no four-card major, there are three choices.
| Your points | Side total | Reply | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 7 | 15 to 24 | Pass | Game is out of reach, and 1NT is the contract |
| 8 or 9 | 23 to 26 | 2NT | An invitation. Opener bids 3NT with 16 or 17 and passes with 15 |
| 10 to 15 | 25 to 32 | 3NT | The side has enough for game |
Hands with a five-card major, or a four-card major and 8 points or more, have better replies than these. They are the subject of lesson 14, which is why the table is for balanced hands without a major.
Opening 2NT
Over a 2NT opening, responder raises to 3NT holding 5 points or more, because 20 plus 5 reaches 25, and passes with less. Hands stronger still start with 2♣, the strong opening of lesson 19.
Watch it in a deal
You are South. Step through the auction, then the first four tricks.
South holds 17 points in a 3-3-4-3 shape and opens 1NT. North has 10 points, a balanced hand and no four-card major. Ten plus at least 15 makes 25, so North bids 3NT at once, and West leads the ♣6 from a long club suit.
The habit to keep
Whenever you pick up a hand, check its shape before its suits. A balanced 15 to 17 opens 1NT, a balanced 20 or 21 opens 2NT, and everything else goes back to lesson 12. When partner opens 1NT, add your points to partner's range and let the total choose the reply.
For more on how to value a hand beyond its points, see hand evaluation. For all the openings together, see the bridge bidding cheat sheet.
Practice: opening 1NT
Eight quick questions on what you just read.