Hand of the Week 1 - August 3, 2020 - Glenna and Vic

Problem: The first hand has 1NT opening.  The overcaller also had close to 1NT opening.  I had balanced distribution.  I was at a loss as to what to do with something like this. I doubled which confused my partner.

Glenna:

Do not overcall any NT bids just because you have points. Keep still and let the NT bidder have great difficulty in making his bid!!! If you do want to bid, you should have a 6-card suit or at least a 5-5 hand. And, most, if not all your points should be in your suit!!! When you pass a NT opener, you are what we call “trap passing”: points with nothing to bid.

Vic:

There are many scenarios in bridge which you need to have discussed ahead of time with your partner & reached an advance agreement about how you will go forward. This is one of those scenarios. With no advance agreement there is no particular reason either you or partner should know what the other is doing. Sounds like that is what was going on here. 

A very common advance agreement is that DBL over an Opening 1NT promises a matching hand. That is, Overcaller is saying that they have a 1NT opening hand also. In this example, South is one point short of the commonly agreed upon 15-17 points required to open 1NT. South should Pass. I would expect West & North to subsequently Pass as well, leaving East to play 1NT. East deserves to go down, giving a plus score to NS.