Serious 3NT is a contract bridge bidding convention. It is used in game-forcing auctions where a

major suit In the card game contract bridge, the major suits are spades () and hearts (). The major suits are of prime importance for tactics and scoring as they outrank the minor suits while bidding and also outscore them (30 per contracted trick for majo ...

has been agreed upon. 1–2 if using 2/1 Game Forcing or 2–3 (Agreeing spades) The next bid indicates suitability for slam: * 3NT: strong (Serious 3NT) * 4/4/4:

cuebid In contract bridge, a cue bid (also, cuebid or cue-bid) is either a bid of the opponents' suit, or "slam seeking": a slam-investigating bid made during an auction's later rounds that shows control of a suit. Traditionally a cue bid is "slam seeki ...

, but not strong (non-serious). * 4: truly minimum. Since Spades are the agreed

trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

suit, Three No Trump is not usually the best contract. Using Serious Three No Trump, a bid of Three No Trump says "I am Serious about slam", i.e. "I have a good hand". Bypassing bidding Three No Trump says "I am not Serious about Slam". Examples shown in the above auction. If one player bypasses 3NT with a

Cuebid In contract bridge, a cue bid (also, cuebid or cue-bid) is either a bid of the opponents' suit, or "slam seeking": a slam-investigating bid made during an auction's later rounds that shows control of a suit. Traditionally a cue bid is "slam seeki ...

(and is 'not serious'), then a

by partner indicates that he is serious. Note that in the example auction above, if the strong hand is next (after the 3 bid), he can differentiate between a strong hand, a weak hand that has a control (in case partner is strong) or a minimum hand. Serious Three No Trump was devised by and named by

Eric Rodwell Eric Victor Rodwell (born May 1, 1957) is an American professional bridge player. He has won the Bermuda Bowl representing the United States five times and is one of ten players who have won the triple crown of bridge: the Bermuda Bowl, the Worl ...

.Various articles in the

American Contract Bridge League The American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) is a governing body for contract bridge in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda. It is the largest such organization in North America having the stated mission "to promote, grow and sustain the ...

Bulletin (magazine). Convention cards submitted to the

World Bridge Federation The World Bridge Federation (WBF) is the international governing body of contract bridge. The WBF is responsible for world championship competitions, most of which are conducted at a few multi-event meets on a four-year cycle. The most prestigio ...

Frivolous 3NT

Some partnerships reverse the meaning of 3NT in this situation. A weak hand bids 3NT to indicate no additional strength. This has the effect that a weak hand will not pinpoint a control for the defense.

References

{{WPCBIndex Bridge conventions