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Unusual NotrumpIn the card game of bridge, the unusual notrump is a conventional bid showing two unbid suits. When your left-hand opponent opens 1 heart or 1 spade, your immediate overcall of 2 notrump shows a weakish hand (6 to 11 points) and at least 5-5 in the minor suits (that is, at least five clubs plus at least five diamonds). If the next player passes, your partner is expected select the suit of yours that she prefers and bid it at the 3-level. The unusual notrump is used only after the opponents open the bidding. In addition to succinctly describing your hand for your partner, it also deprives the opponents of a lot of bidding space (that is, it has preemptive value). Many players extend the convention to have it show the "two lowest unbid" suits rather than strictly the minors. Thus, over 1 club, 2 notrump shows diamonds and hearts; and over 1 diamond, it shows clubs and hearts. If the 2 notrump bidder bids again freely, then she shows a strong two suiter. To distinguish the weak and strong holdings, many partnerships agree not to use the unusual notrump for intermediate hands (about 12 to 14 points); they would simply overcall with one of their suits and show the other later if the bidding affords a chance. Similarly, a 4NT overcall shows an extreme two suiter (usually at least 6-5, often 6-6 or 7-6) and enough trick-taking potential so that a 5-level sacrifice will likely be profitable. It shows the same two suits that 2NT would show. Note that 4NT is "unusual" only when the opponents open the bidding; when your side opens the bidding 4NT is normally played as the Blackwood convention or a quantitative invitation to 6NT. The unusual notrump is one of the earliest conventions devised for the game. It extended the principle that when the natural meaning of a bid is not generally very useful, it is profitable to agree that it means somewhat the opposite. That is, natural notrump bids show a strong hand with balanced distribution; the unusual notrump shows a weak hand with very unbalanced distribution. The Michaels cuebid is a similar convention which is used to show a two suiter with one or both major suits. To counteract the unusual notrump, the opening side may employ unusual vs. unusual.
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