[microcap]

A simple poll: In a team match, NV vs V: You are in 4th hand, and 3 passes to you. You hold:

Scoring: IMP

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What do you open and why?

[gwnn]

Not a nice hand. I'd have prefered some diamond texture.. As an addicted game-level preempter, I'll try 4h. Maybe I get lucky or I find some addicted competer at my left (unlikely) who'll try 4sp on AKJTx only to be X'ed by my pd sitting on Q9xxxx. It's just impossible to find out whether or not our hands fit well. I want to find out whether or not p has at least a doubleton heart, 2 of top 4 or some length in diamonds, etc etc.. No way can I ask these, in any system.

[pbleighton]

"It's just impossible to find out whether or not our hands fit well."

Agree.

2H, shows 11-14 with 6+ hearts in the 4th seat. I want to make it a little tough for them to find their spades, which means I don't like 1H.

4H has some appeal.

Peter

[han]

1H.

[cherdano]

Why is it impossible to find out whether the hands fit well? You could try bidding your red suits, and let partner judge...

1H is normal, 2H is an underbid but has some appeal; once you unexpectedly rebid diamonds you have shown a shapely hand that is rather short in hcp.

[pbleighton]

"2H is an underbid"

Why is it an underbid in the 4th seat?

Peter

[inquiry]

1♥, because it is an opening hand and hearts is my longest (and strongest) suit.

[gwnn]

Cause pd doesn't need a fit, just a few cards.. how is going to know to go for it with xxxx xx kj xxxxx? Of course this is a forced example, but there are milder ones on which passing 1h or the subsequent diamond rebid is completely reasonable... Of course maybe this NV game is not that big a loss, who's to say

[mikeh]

I don't feel strongly about this, altho I'd rather pass than open 4♥.

I think I'd probably open 2♥, intending to bid the appropriate number of ♦s if the opps come to life... the question will be difficult only if the auction is at 4♠ by the time it gets back to me, with partner not having raised ♥s.

Question: if I open 2♥, and LHO overcalls 2♠... what does double mean?

In all the years I have played, the auction has never come up... and the essence of the 2♥ bid is, presumably, to describe some ostensibly 6331 or 6322 hand with minimum opening values: it is a very tightly constrained bid most of the time.. so maybe the double should be penalty? I'd take it as negative, absent agreement... but ......

[pbleighton]

"Question: if I open 2♥, and LHO overcalls 2♠... what does double mean?

In all the years I have played, the auction has never come up... and the essence of the 2♥ bid is, presumably, to describe some ostensibly 6331 or 6322 hand with minimum opening values: it is a very tightly constrained bid most of the time.. so maybe the double should be penalty? I'd take it as negative, absent agreement... but ...... "

I think it should be penalty.

Peter

[Al_U_Card]

I wonder what pard has.....5-5 in the blacks? Less than 10 hcp? dbltn H?

1H-1S-2D-2H ppp
or
2H-p-p-???(3 in a black suit comes to mind as pard has to have at least 3S cards.)
or
3H-p-p-DBL (maybe?)
or
4H-p-p-p

1H looks to be the winner to me.

[whereagles]

I'll open 1♥, to try and find out whether there is spade wastage. 4♥ could EASILY get the golden bike, though.

[mike777]

1H playing roth stone or lite openings.

[jtfanclub]

I can't stand opening these hands 2♥. I refuse to do it.

It tells too much to the opponents, and it's a piece of cake for them to find their spade fit. Hands that would pass passively over 1♥ leap into action when they know the points are evenly divided. The last thing I want to do in a part score battle when I don't have spades is to show my hand to my opponents.

If I were 3-6-4-0, or maybe even 2-6-5-0, I would open 2♥, because they might get overexcited about a crappy spade fit when they have an excellent club fit. But if I open 2♥, I expect to hear:

2♥ (X or 2♠) 3♥ (3♠)
P......(P).........X.....(P)

And now I wish that I'd passed.

[awm]

How about opening 3NT to show a preemptive hand with 6+♥ and a 5+ card minor? Yes I actually do play this convention in several partnerships...

Otherwise I like 1♥.

[P_Marlowe]

1H

I need two bids, to describe the
hand.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[Winstonm]

I see no reason to distort the bidding when I have a perfectly normal bid available - 1H.

[microcap]

Now flip the coin, partner has opened 2♥ in 4th hand. Now RHO comes in with 3♠ !!

You hold

Scoring: IMP

---

How do you continue, if at all?

And what the heck is going on here?

[gwnn]

This is a bit weird, of course. Perhaps he had a heart void and learned in the kindergarten that preempting in 1st seat with a void is bad.

Responder is not obliged to bid 4♥, but I think he should -- pd promised a nice heart one-suiter.

I must admit I didn't like 2♥, but it certainly worked better than 1♥! (and 4♥ would have worked even better, but I have to admit, it's not a Totally Correct Call).

[hotShot]

Opening 2♥ in 4th seat, can hardly be a preempt, because pass would have had a much better preemptive effect.
So partner made a nonsense bid and if he's not stupid, he wanted me to get a message.
So I would assume that partner wanted to show a "minimum opener" with 6♥'s that can be sold as maximum weak 2, but has more playing strength than a regular weak 2. Obviously he expected opps to enter the auction over a 1♥ bid. So I expect a more unbalanced hand as usual.
As expected by partner opps entered the auction with 3♠ and if that's what he expected, than he's short in ♠.
Why can RHO bid 3♠ now and could not preempt 2♠ earlier and why did he jump to 3♠ over partners "preempt"?
Obviously RHO had the wrong shape for 2♠ and is 2 suited.
This means that we probably have a double fit.

So i think that I would bid 4♥ (if i trust partner a lot i might bid 4♦).