contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

, the Gardener one notrump overcall (also known as comic notrump) is an

overcall In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A ''direct'' overcall is such a bid made by the player seated immediately to the left of the opener, i.e ...

of 1NT denoting either a 16-18 balanced hand (as natural), or a weak hand with a long suit (6 card). It is named after British player

Nico Gardener Nico Gardener (né Goldinger, 27 January 1906 – 10 December 1989) was a British international bridge player and a leading bridge teacher in London and on cruise ships.

. The partner, if interested in game, checks the "seriousness" of the overcall by bidding 2, and the overcaller responds 2NT with real notrump overcall, and corrects to a suit (or passes with clubs) if weak. It dates back to the times when jump overcalls denoted intermediate or strong hands with a single suit. The convention presents a

psychic bid Psychic bid (also psych, pronounced to rhyme with ''like'') is a bid in contract bridge that grossly misstates the power and/or suit lengths of one's hand. It is used deliberately to deceive the opponents. Normally, the psychic bid is made with a we ...

with control, thus it can be subject to restrictions for use on certain levels of competition.

References

Bridge conventions {{bridge-game-stub