Lately, there have been a number of people opening 1NT with a lot more points than they’re supposed to have. This really isn’t legal. Basically, you’re allowed a one point discrepancy beyond your advertised range (so, if you have a bad 18 and your range is 15-17, then you can devalue the hand and open it 1NT). Anything beyond that, and you’re not legal. While it is acceptable to mistakenly miscount your points, it isn’t acceptable to repeatedly open 1NT with 20 high card points. Talk this over with your partners and make sure you understand this. Besides the fact that it’s bad bridge, if you do it at a tournament there’s a good chance you’ll be penalized.
