Practice on Cuebids
Practice competitive auctions where pressure, vulnerability, and constructive versus competitive hand strength matter.
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Systems
Last updated
2026-07-31
What is Good-Bad 2NT?
Good-Bad 2NT is a competitive bidding agreement, popularized by Larry Cohen in his writing on the Law of Total Tricks. In selected auctions where both sides are bidding and the partnership wants to compete at the three level, 2NT is not natural. It asks partner to bid 3, after which the 2NT bidder passes with clubs or corrects to the real suit, showing a hand that only wants to compete.
The direct three-level bid is then freed up to show a better hand. This is the point of the convention: do not let the opponents steal all the space between a simple competitive bid and a constructive invitation.
2NT starts the weaker route
- 2NT is artificial by agreement, not an invitation to play notrump.
- Partner usually bids 3, but is not forced to: with real game interest even opposite a competitive hand, partner bids something more descriptive instead.
- The 2NT bidder can now pass clubs or correct to another suit with a competitive hand.
The good route and the bad route
The name is memorable but slightly dangerous. The 2NT route is not always terrible; it is simply the lower-strength competitive path. Direct action at the three level says the hand is too good to hide behind 2NT.
For example, when the bidder can either bid 3 directly or go through 2NT and then bid 3, the partnership can use those two sequences to separate constructive hands from hands that merely want to compete.
Exact ranges vary by seat and agreement, but for opener the weak route is often a minimum of roughly 12 to 14, while direct action suggests roughly a king more. A useful yardstick: the direct bid shows what the bidder would have chosen if RHO had passed.
Weak competitive diamonds
- The delayed 3 says the hand wanted to compete but did not have invitational strength.
- Partner should not treat this as a new force unless the partnership has a special agreement.
Direct constructive diamonds
- The direct 3 is the stronger route in many Good-Bad structures.
- Partner may now cooperate toward game with fitting values.
Partner's continuations after 2NT
Unlike lebensohl after a 1NT opening, the partner of the 2NT bidder is usually unlimited, so partner is not forced into a robotic 3. With a hand that would have passed a simple competitive bid, partner completes the relay and lets the 2NT bidder pass or correct. Many pairs refine this: partner instead makes the cheapest call they are willing to pass, so 3 already gives preference in advance.
With serious extras, partner refuses the relay altogether. A cuebid of the opponents' suit, 3NT, or a jump all suggest a hand that wants to be in game even opposite a weak competitive 2NT. Exactly which breaks mean what needs firm partnership agreement.
Partner breaks the relay
- By agreement, the 3 cuebid shows game values opposite even a weak 2NT, typically asking for a spade stopper.
- Opener bids 3NT with spades stopped; otherwise opener names the long suit.
When it applies
The hard part of Good-Bad 2NT is not the memory of the 2NT bid. The hard part is knowing exactly which auctions trigger it. Partnerships usually define it for live competitive auctions where a natural 2NT contract is unlikely and where both direct and delayed three-level calls are useful. A common default: both sides have bid, and RHO's last call was a natural suit bid at the two level.
A practical agreement should specify whether Good-Bad applies after partner opens, after partner overcalls, after negative doubles, after the opponents raise, and when the partnership has already shown a fit.
The strong balanced hand that would have bid a natural, invitational 2NT also needs a home. Many pairs start those hands with a double and bid notrump later.
- Use it only when 2NT is clearly artificial by partnership agreement.
- Keep natural 2NT available in auctions where notrump is a realistic contract.
- Most pairs turn it off when the partnership has opened or overcalled 1NT; those auctions belong to lebensohl-style agreements instead.
- It is also off when 2NT would be a jump; most pairs keep two-suited unusual meanings there.
- Write down exceptions, especially when partner has opened a major and 2NT could be a raise.
- Discuss whether pass followed by action has any special meaning.
Hand examples
Good-Bad 2NT helps with close competitive decisions. Without it, opener often has to guess whether partner should treat a three-level bid as pressure or as a real game try.
Use the weak route
- After opening 1, hearing a 1 overcall, and seeing partner double before RHO raises to 2, this minimum hand may still want to compete in diamonds.
- Going through 2NT first warns partner that 3 is not a strong invitation.
Bid directly with extra values
- The same 2-3-6-2 shape with extra high cards is too good for the weak route.
- A direct 3 tells partner that game is still possible opposite fitting cards.
Partnership style
Bad-Good 2NT reverses the strength meanings: direct three-level actions are the weak competitive route, while 2NT carries the constructive hands. That is a different treatment, not another name for Good-Bad.
Some pairs play Good-Bad only when the opponents have found a fit, while others use it in broader competitive auctions. The exact trigger matters as much as the label.
The safest system-card note is not simply "Good-Bad 2NT". It should say which auctions apply and what direct three-level bids promise.
Common mistakes
- Assuming 2NT is artificial in every competitive auction.
- Forgetting whether direct three-level bids are strong in Good-Bad or weak in Bad-Good.
- Using Good-Bad when 2NT could reasonably be natural and playable.
- Failing to define whether the agreement applies after overcalls, doubles, and raises.
- Completing the relay with a robotic 3 when the hand belongs in game opposite a competitive 2NT.
FAQ
Is Good-Bad 2NT natural?
No. In its agreed auctions, 2NT is artificial and usually asks partner to bid 3 so the bidder can show a weaker competitive action.
What does a direct three-level bid show?
When Good-Bad 2NT applies, the direct three-level bid is usually constructive or invitational compared with the delayed route through 2NT.
Should every partnership play Good-Bad 2NT?
It is useful but memory-sensitive. Partnerships should add it only when they are ready to define exactly where it applies.