QUESTION I GET A LOT: WHAT METHOD/CONVENTION SHOULD I USE OVER OPPONENT'S OPENING 1N?
Concept:
If the opponents play a partscore after opening 1N, it is to our advantage that they play both higher levels than one and have to play minors rather than nt. It is to our disadvantage to move them out of nt, where we can get at 'em with the minors if they have major fits. With this in mind, consider that any overcalling system over 1N that has any focus at all on the minors is wrong. All the focus should be to get our major(s) into play. That's in immediate seat.
In balancing seat, there should be some ephasis on the majors for the same reason, but the real problem in letting them play 1N when you have a long good suit is that pard will never find the lead. Nt is ridiculously easy to make when defenders get off to the wrong lead, so keeping your mouth shut in balancing seat is not to your advantage in this situation.
So, how to accomplish these goals?
Start with immediate seat:
If you are going to put extreme highlight on the majors in immediate seat, try this: Obviously, 2 of either major is natural. 2 of either minor is a major takeout. Why use either? Because you are bidding your longest minor. Why? One big danger is having mirror image hands...and if pard has both minors and a ghastly hand, he can pass...danger is drastically minimized. If you have a minor you just can't stand not bidding, do so at the 3 level....make 'em guess. Last thing: X. No matter what you play, a x of an opening 1N should be the kind of hand where you intend to beat 1N virtually by yourself and have a good enough hand that you have a good shot at collecting big numbers if they pull. This is not a flat 17...it is something about that strength, but a suit you want to lead, and keep on leading to crush 1N.
So, we understand the 2c/2d bid, and the majors are easy. One point..if pard, opposite a x, has such a horrible hand as to not be able to leave it in, he pulls to 2c unless he has a 6 card suit. He should leave the double in with any two suits sorta stopped...that's how good the immediate double has to be. Remember, the immediate double shows 6+ tricks, with prospects for more.
This is easy to remember...key is: minors(your longest one) are both for majors, majors are natural, x is penalty
Hand strength? Depends a lot on vulnerability and suit quality, but in general, for the 2-of-a-minor bid? Something approximating a minimium opening hand. For the 2-of-a-major bid, the one suiters? Something approximating a very good weak two bid or better. The X(penalty)? Something like this: KQJtxxx, Ax xx Axx. Essentially, a suit you can run with one or no losers and entries/stops to keep them from running their suits. Over "weak nt" bids? X is the same, all other bids at the 2 level are full openers.
BALANCING SEAT BIDS:
Because pard is never going to find our suit, when we have one, we bid one suiter minors as freely as majors. What we don't want to happen is for pard to give them a soft trick on opening lead playing 1N....so all balances are natural, regardless of the level. Note that the double changes meanings, however. It can't be the same since pard doesnt know what your bid suit is. The double reverts back to theory: Major takeout. Experience with this says should be 9 high cards up. The length can be only 54 with consolidated points, and that is good enough.
Let me tell you why this part is my favorite part of the whole thing. If you balance with a double...the first thing you know is that the opponents only have a little more highs than your side does, at most. The tiptop most they can have is 17 opposite 8. More often, they'll have a lot less. The payoff comes when pard has about 14, you reopen with a double, for the majors with a minimium of 9, and they're in a world of hurt. The point count is 23/17, our favor, they probably don't have a place to run to, and most important, pard knows to lead a major. We will once in a while go -2...happens...(remember pard can pull to a minor, with a lot of length, at the 2 level). My experience with this is that usually, we send them scrambling, and usually, this gets a positive result...always the intent at IMPs...but once in while, you catch them in such a mess that you collect a huge swing.
That's why I play this gadget.
Recap for bidding in balancing: any suit, at any level is natural. X=majors with at least 9 highs, hopefully, 5+5, but if vulnerability is right, the suits are good...sneak one in with 5+4
So simple. But the theory is dead right.
PS. The reason I hate Capp is two things. A one suiter overcall ought to make the opponents strain to bid their hands. Capp's 2C does not accomplish this. Second reason: 2H/S show major/minor two suiter. To play the minor, you have to play at the 3 level. Not productive. Anything that has anything to do with bidding a minor over a 1n opener is just not good theory.
This is called Ripstra (with some tweaks from me, over the years). It is an "improved Landy". I have been playing this with every single regular partner I have had since about 1972 and it's like the Energizer Bunny, it keeps on killing 'em.