[rogerevens]

Can anyone tell me how many points are needed in the following sequence. ! open 1s partner bids 2d and I rebid 2nt. How many points do i promise?

[rbforster]

I think 12-14 or 18-19 would be typical (planning to bid again with the big hand).

[helene_t]

In SAYC it is probably "exactly" 14 since it's forcing but still shows a "minimum". This is somewhat unclear.

In 2/1, agree with Rob. Alternatively you can play it as 15-17 as in French standard, then a 12-14 would have to rebid 2♠.

[mikeh]

I don't know 'standard', since I haven't played it in 30 years

In 'standard' 2/1, it is more a description of overall hand type than anything else.

It definitely promises stoppers in the unbid suits, and should be 5332, any doubleton, or the occasional 5=2=2=4 with hearts stopped.

As for range, I'd agree that it shows 11-4 or 18+, but this question may depend in part on whether you routinely open 1N with 5332 hands, with a 5 card major. If you do, then you will rarely hold such a hand after opening 1♠... but if you tend to open spades, then you need to have an agreement as to how you show the 15-17. One method is to jump to 3N over 2♦. Absent that agreement, you may find that you have to lump this hand in with the other 2n ranges.... clearly unsatisfactory, since with, say, 16, you will be uncomfortable passing 3N, which partner might bid on 16 of his own, and yet you would be unsafe at a higher level if partner has a misfitting 12-13.

[Stephen Tu]

For 2/1GF, 12-14/18-19 is default.

In SAYC, the range stated by the text is "13-16" for opener, with responder promising another bid. Since responder can have an 11 count, opener should rebid 2M with a min 12/bad 13 if it is your style to open these (most players open nearly all bal 12 counts these days) to give responder an opportunity to get out with a NF 2nt. But this latter part isn't specified in the text, it's just a strategy that falls out logically, so a random pickup partner won't necessarily come to the same conclusion. And a disturbing number of pickup partners will pass a 2nt rebid even after agreeing to "SAYC", since many do not know that "SAYC" is a very specific variant of "SA", they think instead the terms are equivalent when they are not.

Whether 15-16 is possible depends on your style in opening 1nt holding a 5cM, the SAYC doc doesn't specify criteria on this.

[mtvesuvius]

I haven't played Standard since I was 7 years old (Only been 6 years, LOL)

In 2/1 I play that it's either 11-14 or 17-19. I'll open most 15-16 hands 1NT, and the 17s I'll upgrade or downgrade accordingly. This seems to be the best option, with the 12-14s with no stoppers rebidding 2M.