Defense Conventions to No Trump Openings

The 1 No Trump bidder has described his hand, and everyone at the table knows his length and strength, because the range should be announced. If the partner of the No Trump bidder has less than 6 or 7 high card points, there is generally no reason for him/her to bid. Therefore, the partner of the No Trump bidder passes. But the opponents see in this action weakness, and therefore desire to enter the auction, either in the direct seat or in the pass-out / balancing position.

Before continuing, it must be noted that by adopting some of these conventionsCanda, treatments or methods, the partnership will have sometimes decided to surrender the use of the double to signify a Penalty Double, which other partnerships consider a natural bid. This is known as a convertible double. This decision must be made known to the opponents through means of the Convention Card. In some conventional defense methods the double is designed as a penalty double.

The opponents realize that the No Trump bidder and partner could have the majority of the high card points, and this fact casts a little shadow of doubt on the situation. As a general rule, if there is an instinctive doubt, it is usually better to pass. It is most unlikely that the opponents will have game, although this is hypothetically possible. The foundation of practically all defense methods is normally based on the power of shape and distribution and evaluated generally according to the Losing Trick Count method and location of working values. Other valuation features may play a part in competing.

However, bridge players, since the beginning of the game of bridge, have been devising ways and means of defending against No Trump openings with at least some kind of educated guess, calculated risk, number of Losing Tricks and strength through distribution. Following are some of these conventions, treatments and methods. They have proven to be quite successful when used properly and in partnership agreement. Please take a look at the value and worth of each, and then decide which one you and your partner wish to play.

Note: Many concepts have been pioneered as defense methods against an opening No Trump bid by the opponents. This has increased the level of competition in many auctions and has enhanced the game of bridge. As with all defense methods against an opening by an opponent there have been variations of the original concept developed based sometimes on the strength of the No Trump range, based on the individual partnership agreement, based on the vulnerability, based on the number of Losing Tricks, a combination thereof, and other factors, and therefore become modifications, variations, revised versions.

Some of these variations carry a distinct designation and other variations are generally not known by a definite or definitive term. Even the variations have variations and modifications. The attempt has been made to include these variations as they become known or are contributed by our visitors.

Acol Two No Trump
The origin of this conventional defense method is unknown. This defense method held a certain popularity in the early stages of the evolution of the game in the United Kingdom, and it is only presumed that this defense method was devised in the bridge club in London on Acol road, for which the bidding system was named, to show a two-suited holding of game forcing strength.

Anti Convention
The origin of this concept or conventional method is unknown. This is a designation for a defense method against a No Trump opening by an opponent. The bids are designed to show either a one-suited holding or a two-suited holding by the intervenor. The advancer is the partner of the intervenor.

Aspro Convention
Mr. Terence Reese devised this method and based it on the Astro Convention. Mr. Terence Reese also gave a name to the overcaller. The overcaller is called the Astronaut. For whatever reasons behind the choice for the designation, it seems that Mr. Terence Reese decided to name the conventional concept after a popular British brand of aspirin.

Asptro Convention
A method of defending against a 1 No Trump opening showing one of the Major suits and an unspecified second suit.

Astro Convention
This convention uses the bid of a Minor-suit overcall after a strong 1 No Trump opening 15-18 high card points to show a two-suited hand.

Astro Roth Stone
This conventional defense method was devised by Mr. Alvin Roth and Mr. Tobias Stone, two very successful bridge players, partners, and authors. This version of the Astro convention, employed after a No Trump opening by the opponents, shows a two-suited holding of two known suits.

Half Astro
This is a variation on the concept of the Astro conventional method devised by Mr. David Collier of Manchester, United Kingdom. Source is his BlogSpot. The significance of the designation is unknown.

Modified Astro
This variation, or modification, of the Astro convention is used to expedite the description of a Major suit two-suiter after a strong 1 No Trump opening (15-18 high card points) to show a two-suited hand.

Pinpoint Astro
Using this modification of the Astro convention, the bidder has a better possibility of conveying a better description of his two suited hand to his partner.

Bergen Over Weak No Trump
Mr. Marty Bergen, an experienced and expert bridge player and bridge author, devised this method to interfere with and enter the bidding auction after opponents opened a Weak No Trump, consisting of a range between 10 to 13 high card points, otherwise known as a mini-Notrump.

Brozel Convention
The Brozel conventional defense method was developed by Mr. Bernard Zeller, and can be applied either in the direct or balancing position. The particular defense method can show either a one-suited holding, a two-suited holding, or a three-suited holding. The modified version by Mr. Lionel Wright is also included.

Note: The Brozel Rescue Bids is not a defense method against a No Trump opening by the opponents, but rather a defense method against any and all defense methods, using the double to communicate certain information, employed by the immediate opponent after partner opens a No Trump.

Buchanan - Clubs-Diamonds-Hearts or CDH Buchanan
This is a defense method against a No Trump opening by an opponent. This conventional method was devised by Mr. David F. Buchanan, and was published in Bridge Magazine in January, 1980. Any additional information would be greatly appreciated.

Cansino Convention
The origin of this defense convention is attributed to Mr. Jonathan Cansino and Mr. Jeremy Flint, both of England, during the 1960s, and who were also instrumental in devising the Multi 2 used in the Blue Club System. This is a defense method used after the opponents have opened a 1 No Trump, especially against a weak No Trump opening with 12 to 14 high card points or even a No Trump range of 10-12 high card points. This idea is to discover, as soon as possible, a 7-card fit at least in one of the four suits, and preferably an 8-card fit.

Modified Cansino Convention
This variation is also a defense method used after the opponents have opened a 1 No Trump, especially against a weak No Trump opening with 12 to 14 high card points or even a No Trump range of 10-12 high card points. This idea is to discover, as soon as possible, a 7-card fit at least in one of the four suits, and preferably an 8-card fit.

Cappelletti Convention
This conventional method carries the designation or the surname for Mr. Michael Cappelletti. There is the matter that other bridge authors and experts have devised the same conventional method and is also known under their surnames. The concept is also referred to as Hamilton, bearing the name of Mr. Fred Hamilton of California. Added to this confusion is also the designation Pottage for the same concept, ascribed to Mr. John F. Pottage of London, England, under which designation the conventional method is known. The origin of this concept is also claimed by Mr. Gerald W. Helms of Charlotte, North Carolina, but is not designated as such.

Modified Cappelletti
This concept is variation to the Cappelletti Convention, also known as Hamilton and Pottage, and which is a defense method to an opening of No Trump by an opponent. The origin of this variation is unknown, but the reader should refer to the published article for a modified version of the original Cappelletti conventional defense method, which appeared in the Bridge Bulletin, December 1996.

Revised Cappelletti
This designation is the designation used by Mr. John Blubaugh in his article for the Bridge Bulletin, December 1996. There is no difference between Revised and Modified Cappelletti.

Crash Over One No Trump - Crash over 1 NT
The Crash convention was devised by Mr. Kit Woolsey and Mr. Steve Robinson, and is devised as a means to enter the auction with weak two-suited holdings after an artificial 1 Club opening by the opponents. It was soon discovered that an alteration could easily be employed against a No Trump opening by the opponents. This conventional method is generally used against a No Trump range of 15-17 high card points. As with the original conventional method the designation of Crash is a formation of Color, RAnk, SHape. The overcalls are intended to communicate at least one of these features.

Crash Convention - Version Scaramuzzi - This variation of the Crash conventional method is attributed to Mr. Roberto Scaramuzzi, (Department of Mathematics, Louisiana State University) which has not been substantiated, only mentioned and uploaded to a chat board on February 1, 1995. The overcalls are as follows and all bids are employed only after an opponent has opened the auction with 1 No Trump, range 15-17 points.

Extended Crash
The origin of this variation is unknown. This variation of the Crash conventional method is also designated as Original CRO, for Color, Rank, and Odd. It is similar to the original Crash conventional defense method, but it includes the bid of 2 No Trump to show a specific Minor and a specific Major suit.

Donaldson Over No Trump
This conventional defense method was devised and developed by Mr. R. James Donaldson of Vancouver, Canada. The employment of the double is penalty-oriented, and this conventional defense method can show either a one-suited holding, or a two-suited holding, or a three-suited holding.

D.O.N.T. or DONT or Disturb Opponents No Trump
This is a convention method used in bridge bidding and which was devised by Mr. Marty Bergen and published by Mr. Larry Cohen. This convention is sometimes referred to as Bergen Over No Trump, but has been accepted into the language of the bridge community as simply D.O.N.T., an acronym for Disturbing Opponent's No Trump.

Revised DONT
The origin of this variation is unknown. The original concept was devised by Mr. Marty Bergen and published by Mr. Larry Cohen. The original convention is sometimes referred to as Bergen Over No Trump, but has been accepted into the language of the bridge community as simply D.O.N.T. As with all defense methods, this concept has also been altered, varied, modified, and revised to meet the needs of individual partnerships.

Modified DONT
The origin of this variation is unknown. The original concept was devised by Mr. Marty Bergen and published by Mr. Larry Cohen. The original convention is sometimes referred to as Bergen Over No Trump, but has been accepted into the language of the bridge community as simply D.O.N.T. As with all defense methods, this concept has also been altered, varied, modified, and revised to meet the needs of individual partnerships.

Featherston Convention - This conventional method was devised and developed by Mr. Norm Featherston of Redmond, Washington, born 1934, and who teaches the game of bridge and who has been the Bridge Administrator Recorder for District 19 beginning in the year 1992. It is a defense method against a No Trump opening of any range.

Hamilton Convention
This conventional defense method was devised by Mr. Fred Hamilton of California. After the opponents open No Trump, the Hamilton convention is a defensive bid either in the direct seat or in the balancing seat. It resembles Cappelletti and Bergen in some ways, but has different meanings to the individual bids. Also known as Pottage.

Hello Convention
This conventional defense method was devised and developed by Mr. Jerry Helms of North Carolina. The defense method is derived from the surnames of Mr. Jerry Helms and his bridge partner and co-contributor Mr. Bill Lohman. This defense method was developed as an improvement of the Cappelletti conventional defense method, of which Mr. Jerry Helms was a co-developer.

Jump Ball Defense Method
The origin of this conventional method is unknown. The concept behind this conventional method is to employ it after an opponent has opened the auction with 1 No Trump. The range of the No Trump bid should be determined and/or announced before implementing Jump Ball since the values have to be adjusted accordingly by the intervening bidder. The holding of the intervenor should be of a distributional pattern in order to justify an overcall.

Landy Convention or Landy Against No Trump
A conventional overcall of 2 Clubs after an opponent has opened a No Trump of different ranges in either the immediate seat or after two consecutive passes. The overcaller promises, per the original version as developed by Mr. Alvin Landy, a distributional pattern of at least 5-5 in both Major suits.

Landy Variant of the Bridge Club de Paris or Landy Variant BCP
This variant was devised by the expert bridge players of this particular bridge club in the 1970s as a variation of the original concept. Two additional bids were added as overcalls.

Landy Variant by Edwin Kantar
This variant, devised by Mr. Edwin Kantar, employs an additional bid of 2 Diamonds and includes the double for penalty.

Landy Variant by Michel Lebel
This variant, devised by Mr. Michel Lebel, employs an additional overcall of a double to show a two-suited holding, neither of which are specified.

Multi Landy Variation Against No Trump Opening
Multi-Landy is, in essence, a combination of conventional methods such as the Landy conventional method following an opening of No Trump by an opponent, the Muiderberg convention, and the Multi 2 which can basically be made on multiple hand patterns

Revised Landy Variant
This is a variant of the original concept as devised by Mr. Alvin Landy. With the addition of a second, unemployed bid in the original version, the overcaller is able to show either both Major suits or both Minor suits. Included is also a variation of this variant, which reverses the meanings of both Minor suit bids.

Lionel Convention
In May, 1993, Mr. Lionel Wright wrote Lionel In Action in the International Popular Bridge Monthly magazine. The idea behind the concept of Lionel Wright is that one should basically be competing primarily for the partscore against 1 No Trump, i.e. a shift of emphasis from active aggressiveness to frequent competition.

Maestro Double Against No Trump Openings
The origin of this double, employed as a conventional method, is unknown. This conventional method is used after an opponent opens the auction with 1 No Trump. The range of the No Trump does not affect the effectiveness of this conventional method. However, it should be kept in mind that this particular conventional method is mostly employed by those partnerships employing No Trump defenses along the line of and similar to Hamilton, Cappelletti, and/or especially Astro in any form.

McDow Over No Trump
Conceived by Mr. Thomas McDow of Rock Hill, South Carolina, in the 1990s when a student at Yale University. As reported in Bulletin 4, Monday, March 23, 1998, Volume 41, Number 4, for the 41st Spring North American Bridge Championships the fundamentals of the idea are, if the player is in the Pass-Out Seat and the last bid was 1 No Trump, then:

Double:	Promises at least a 5-card suit. Partner relays cheapest bid to discover the suit.
Any Suit:	A bid suit promises only a 4-card suit in the bid suit.

The partnership bids up-the-line until at least a 4-3 or a 5-2 fit (Moysian Fits) is discovered. The values should be sufficient to seriously considering a competitive action on the two level. Source: Bulletin 4

Mr. Thomas McDow also penned an article for the Bridge Bulletin, January 1999, page 64, titled Kid Bridge, relating the experiences of bridge through the eyes of younger players.

Meyerson Defense Against No Trump Openings
The origin of this conventional method is credited to Mr. Adam Meyerson of Los Angeles, California, United States. The concept was devised as a solution for the requirements of the ACBL in regards to the General Convention Chart, which disallowed the Woolsey conventional method, developed by Mr. Kit Woolsey, and the Robinson conventional method, developed by Mr. Steve Robinson.

Mohan Defense Against Weak No Trump Opening
Devised by and named after Mr. John Mohan, who is the only player to win two World Championship titles in the year 2000. He was also selected as the ACBL Player of the Year 1999. The original concept behind this defense method is the fact that it is employed by partnership agreement against Weak No Trump openings by the opponents. In defining a Weak No Trump, a strong No Trump opening is considered to contain 16 high card points and, in this instance, also 13-15 high card point No Trump openings by partnerships, which use Big Club systems as part of their partnership agreements. All other No Trump openings are considered weak. The fundamental thought behind the Mohan defense method is to use transfers so that the overcaller has a second opportunity to bid, especially with a moderate to good holding.

Mosher Defense Method Against No Trump Openings
This convention defense method was devised by Mr. Robert Mosher of San Francisco, and also named for him. This defense method is employed after an opponent has opened the auction with No Trump.

Ripstra Convention
The Ripstra convention was devised by Mr. Joseph G. Ripstra of Canada, but presently of Kansas, USA, who was President of ACBL in 1957. This conventional defense method shows actually a three-suited hand. It is an overcall after a 1 No Trump opening by an opponent, and can be used either in the immediate position or in the pass-out seat after two consecutive passes. The range of the No Trump opening can either be a range for a strong No Trump opening or a weak No Trump opening.

Roche Defense Against No Trump Openings - The origin of this modification of the convention is unknown although it is designated presumably by a surname. The features behind the concept of this variation are employed after a No Trump opening by an opponent. Whether or not the concept can / should be employed only in the immediate seat or also as a balancing action is dependent on the partnership agreement.

Roth Over No Trump
This conventional defense method was devised and developed by Mr. Alvin Roth. This particular conventional defense method, employed after an opening of No Trump by an opponent, allows the intervenor to show weak, but distribution holdings with a 5-5 distributional pattern. The defense method also includes the possibility of showing a one-suited holding in either Major suit, but not a Minor two-suited holding.

SCUM Convention
The origin of this conventional method is unknown. The previous variation of the present concept appeared gradually some time in the 1970s, but the origin is also unknown as is the original version. This defense method considers the Shape, Color, and the Major suit.

Modified Sharples Against a No Trump Opening
This version of the defense method can be employed either in the immediate seat or in the balancing seat. The range of the No Trump opening is generally on the stronger side, but the concept can / may be adapted to confront all ranges of No Trump. This variation is dissimilar to the original concept by including a multi-purpose 2 Diamonds bid.

Randy Against No Trump Opening
The origin of this conventional method is unknown. Source is: Trinity College. There is a Trinity College Bridge Club and this particular conventional defense method against an opening No Trump by the opponents is part of the curriculum. The designation is presumed to be named for one of the college students and/or alumnus of the Trinity College, and developed by him. This conventional defense method is based on the Landy conventional defense method developed by Mr. Alvin Landy.

Short Version: Another, shorter version of Randy Against No Trump is presented by Mr. David Stevenson. This shorter version is very similar to the Randy conventional defense method employed by Trinity College, but it is not known whether or not the origin is identical. The absence of the 2 No Trump response by the intervenor to show both Minor suits is remarkable. Source is: David Stevenson.

Sharples Against No Trump: Version One
This version of the Sharples conventional defense method can be employed either in the immediate seat or in the balancing seat. The range of the No Trump opening is generally on the stronger side, but the concept can / may be adapted to confront all ranges of No Trump. The main difference is that this version assigns significance to idle bids above 2 Diamonds.

Suction Convention Against No Trump Openings
This conventional defense method is ascribed and credited to Mr. Harold Feldheim of Hamden, Connecticut. The Suction conventional defense method is employed after the opponents open the auction with No Trump.

Psycho Suction Convention
The Psycho Suction conventional defense method was devised and developed by Mr. Thomas Andrews. Psycho Suction by the author can be found by clicking on the link and the bridge student should refer to this website. This link is only to a copy of this web page and is only archived and preserved on this site as a reference in the future.

Inverted Psycho Suction Convention
The Inverted Psycho Suction conventional defense method was devised and developed by Mr. Thomas Andrews. Inverted Psycho Suction by the author can be found by clicking on the link and the bridge student should refer to this website. This link is only to a copy of this web page and is only archived and preserved on this site as a reference in the future.

TWERB Suction
The origin of this conventional defense method is unknown. This defense method is employed after an opponent has opened the auction with No Trump. This defense method is a variation of the Suction convention as is mainly used in TWERB or Two-Way Exclusion Relay Bidding. It has therefore been give the designation Twerb Suction.

Wallis Convention
This defense method against a No Trump opening by the opponents was devised by Mr. Peter James Wallis of Brisbane, Australia. The guidelines are outlined below. The overcalls generally promise either a two-suited holding or the overcall is natural.

Wallis Modified or Modified Wallis Against No Trump
The features behind the concept of this variation are employed after a No Trump opening by an opponent. Whether or not the concept can / should be employed in the immediate seat or as a balancing action is dependent on the partnership agreement.

Woolsey Defense To 1 No Trump Openings
The magazine Bridge Today, founded by Matthew and Pamela Granovetter, is a bi-monthly publication, and its regular columnists include a variety of expert players, teachers, and writers from around the world. One of the contributors to the magazine is Mr. Christopher R. Woolsey, also known as Kit. The following is part of his articles describing the Woolsey Defense to 1 No Trump openings.

If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.

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