[Shugart23]

In matchpoint scoring, assuming your 1NT overcall is somewhere around 15-18 (?), is there a consensus whether or not your overcall promises a stop? I'm thinking down 1 in 1NT is very often a very good board, especially white. If you must promise a stop, you are severely reducing the frequency of hands that can overcall 1NT. Would it make a difference if partner is a passed hand? I'd love to see a simulation but would welcome opinions.

[smerriman]

Sure, playing 1NT without a stopper may work well. Unfortunately, partner might not pass.. and then it won't.

[Shugart23]

Yeah. If you google it, the suggestion seems to be consistent to have a stop. But I don’t know if they are scoring matchpoint or rubber bridge scoring. When we open mini-NT (10–13), I’m happy to play it if opponents let me especially white , where I may have only 2 suits stopped. Was just a thought …..

[jillybean]

It depends..
If I’m over calling 1m opening I am not too concerned about a stopper, if the opening bid is 1M I’d like a stopper or a 4 card suit
If partner is bidding we wont be looking for a fit in openers suit. I think it’s more important to describe the strength and shape than to be too concerned with stoppers.

[akwoo]

My usual agreement is that it promises a good stop (so Qxx isn't good enough, and Ax depends on the rest of the hand) over a major, and a less good stop over a minor.

Bluffing is part of the game.

[mw64ahw]

Traditionally it required a stop, but I was under the impression that the more modern approach relaxed this requirement. With the opponents playing a 5-card Major approach I am less concerned having xx in the Major as my left hand may raise with 3. If not then there is a reasonable chance partner is sitting opposite with something in the Major.
Playing a Power X there is no such requirement as either I get overbid or a weak partner can exit with a poor hand and a 5-card suit.

[Tramticket]

Shugart23, on 2025-May-29, 14:14, said:

In matchpoint scoring, assuming your 1NT overcall is somewhere around 15-18 (?)

It would need to be a good 15.

Shugart23, on 2025-May-29, 14:14, said:

I'm thinking down 1 in 1NT is very often a very good board, especially white. If you must promise a stop, you are severely reducing the frequency of hands that can overcall 1NT. Would it make a difference if partner is a passed hand?

- The auction: (1x)-1NT definitely promises a stop for most partnerships- there is no reason to think that the bidding will stop in 1NT.
- The auction: Pass-(1x)-1NT also promises a stop for us. If we lack a stop and partner has one, it might still be poorly placed. (imagine partner with Q10x and LHO opponent leads the king from Kx)
- But in the auction (1x)-Pass-(Pass)-1NT, bidding 1NT without a stop might be the only sensible way to not sell out at the one level. Now partner's holding is more likely to be sitting favaourably (Q10x looks better sitting over opener). For us, 1NT in the protective seat is 11-16 (with a 2♣ strength enquiry) and a stopper is nice to have, but not essential.

[pescetom]

akwoo, on 2025-May-29, 17:21, said:

Bluffing is part of the game.

So long as your partner (and the Director) haven't seen the same bluff too often. Then it becomes an undisclosed agreement which is not something you want to be known for.

[P_Marlowe]

Shugart23, on 2025-May-29, 14:14, said:

In matchpoint scoring, assuming your 1NT overcall is somewhere around 15-18 (?), is there a consensus whether or not your overcall promises a stop? I'm thinking down 1 in 1NT is very often a very good board, especially white. If you must promise a stop, you are severely reducing the frequency of hands that can overcall 1NT. Would it make a difference if partner is a passed hand? I'd love to see a simulation but would welcome opinions.

If you overcall a known 5 card suit, it seems sensible to have a stop, ..., otherwise the first 5-6 tricks are gone.
Vs a minor suit opening, which will be quite often only a 4 carder it is possible to survive.

As you indicated the no stopper variant is at best only sensible if being green.

[helene_t]

It doesn't happen often that I have a strong NT hand that does't have a stopper in their suit and isn't suitable for some other action. Then again, I am quite comfortable passing with 15, doubling with 3 cards in the unbid major(s), or overcalling 2m on a modest 5-card suit. Or 1M on a very good 4-card suit.

I would say that in principle 1NT shows a stopper, if partner chooses to bid 1NT without a stopper with an awkward hand it's ok but it's not like we have a way to ask for the stopper.

It is common not to require a stopper in 4th seat. I don't think I have ever agreed a way to ask for the stopper, it is just that in that case a positional stopper usually needs to be in dummy so it doesn't make much sense to require the stopper. And if opener has a broken suit they usually don't lead it anyway.

[Huibertus]

The only exception for having a stopper for me is under the condition that;
You don't have a decent 4 card Major to overcall instead AND you have sufficient small cards in their suit to belief they might have the suit blocked are reasonable amount of times.

[akwoo]

pescetom, on 2025-May-30, 11:01, said:

So long as your partner (and the Director) haven't seen the same bluff too often. Then it becomes an undisclosed agreement which is not something you want to be known for.

This is a situation where you want your opponents to know that you occasionally bluff, especially at MPs. If you're known to always have the stopper, opponents stop leading the suit. Bluffing occasionally means you get the suit led when you have AQx, saving an entry to dummy. So my explicit agreement with partners is "It promises a good stopper, but sometimes we bluff," and that's how we answer questions. (And the truthful answer to "Can you estimate the frequency of bluffing?" is "We don't play together THAT much.")

Just like poker - you should bluff sometimes even if it never works, because it helps protect your winnings when you actually have it.

I don't explicitly recall an instance, but I'm likely to have answered a question with "Natural, but you know that is a standard psyching situation, right?" and I probably have gotten that answer at some point too.