In contract bridge

Contract bridge

Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...

, Gardener or comic notrump is an overcall

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 a bid made directly over the opening bid by right-hand opponent; an overcall in the 'last seat' is referred to as a balancing...

 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

Nico Gardener was a British international bridge player, born in Riga, Latvia .After the Russian Revolution his family moved to the Ukraine, and then to Moscow, where he trained as a ballet dancer. He later moved to Berlin, where he read languages and history at Berlin University, and played...

. 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

Psychic bid 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 weak hand, overstating its overall strength, the length and strength in a particular suit, or both...

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