[mike777]

Your opening bid?


AKJxxx....AKQJ...Ax...x

[billw55]

2♣ seems so obvious that I am struggling to see the point of the question.

[the hog]

1C if playing a strong C system or Polish Club, 1D if playing a strong D system, Pass if playing a strong Pass system. Have I forgotten anything? Oh yes, 2C otherwise.

[mgoetze]

the hog, on 2013-September-16, 18:12, said:

1C if playing a strong C system or Polish Club, 1D if playing a strong D system, Pass if playing a strong Pass system. Have I forgotten anything? Oh yes, 2C otherwise.

So you would evaluate this hand as merely a semiforcing if playing Benjamin?

[the hog]

mgoetze, on 2013-September-16, 23:16, said:

So you would evaluate this hand as merely a semiforcing if playing Benjamin?

Damn! Forgot about Benji 2s.

[Cyberyeti]

the hog, on 2013-September-16, 18:12, said:

1C if playing a strong C system or Polish Club, 1D if playing a strong D system, Pass if playing a strong Pass system. Have I forgotten anything? Oh yes, 2C otherwise.

1N playing any of the big NT systems

[gwnn]

Weren't there also Strong Heart systems? I personally don't remember any Strong Spade but maybe those exist as well... But of course this is 1S in Fantunes.

[Cyberyeti]

gwnn, on 2013-September-17, 02:09, said:

Weren't there also Strong Heart systems? I personally don't remember any Strong Spade but maybe those exist as well... But of course this is 1S in Fantunes.

In with the 6♥ suggestion before anybody else makes it

[fromageGB]

Not a pointless question. If you open 1♠ you may be able to hear of 4+ card heart support, whereas if you show both suits after a 2♣ open you may find yourself in a heart slam on a 4-3 fit. If you don't bid hearts after starting 2♣, sod's law says you miss a good heart slam.

I'd open 2♣ though!
♦K rather than ♦A may be a better question.

[mycroft]

Given BBO history, I'm going to be the first one in with a natural 1♥ call - after all, it's just one card away from what's expected (and it's 100 honours!), so it can't be a psychic.

[PhilG007]

mycroft, on 2013-September-18, 09:11, said:

Given BBO history, I'm going to be the first one in with a natural 1♥ call - after all, it's just one card away from what's expected (and it's 100 honours!), so it can't be a psychic.

Since ♠ are longer than♥ and thus would make a better trump suit they should be
bid first. They teach you in beginners class to always open your longest and strongest suit first.
So bid 1♠ not 1♥ because of all the pretty pictures(!)
A 1 level bid may seem over cautious on this hand but I've found through experience it
pays to test the water first holding a strong hand to see if there is any life opposite.
If partner can reply then it's time to get excited (!)

[mikeh]

PhilG007, on 2013-September-18, 15:25, said:

Since ♠ are longer than♥ and thus would make a better trump suit they should be
bid first. They teach you in beginners class to always open your longest and strongest suit first.
So bid 1♠ not 1♥ because of all the pretty pictures(!)
A 1 level bid may seem over cautious on this hand but I've found through experience it
pays to test the water first holding a strong hand to see if there is any life opposite.
If partner can reply then it's time to get excited (!)

The reference to bbo history was a subtle clue, that you understandably didn't 'get', that what followed was intended to be a joke, as was the earlier reference to opening 6♥.

While I know, from your many other posts, that you hold a very low opinion of the ability of most who post here, the reality is that most of the regular posters appear, as best as I can infer, to be significantly more knowledgeable than you about this wonderful game.

You may want to read a little more carefully before rushing to share your wisdom with us.

You might also want to check out other posts or the rep of the poster you intend to lecture about basic bridge. Had you done so, you would have learned that Mycroft is viewed as 'excellent' and has a rep. of 120, which means that on 120 occasions, out of a relatively modest set of posts, other viewers were sufficiently impressed as to upvote the post. That ought to make you at least suspect humour played a role in the post.

[ahydra]

In my system we open it 2D (strong with ♠ or ♦). But regular systems it would be 2C.

2C-2D
2S-3x
3H

(possibly followed by another spade bid) is how we're hoping to follow up, and should get us to the right place. If FromageGB's prediction of playing 6H on a 4-3 fit comes true after that start, I find a new partner.

ahydra

[mikeh]

I forgot to add my own vote.

I am a very cautious, conservative 2♣ opener, especially on two or three suited hands.

Opening anything but 2♣ here is silly. We have a LTC of 3, and even that is conservative, given that we are counting AKJxxx as having a losing trick.

1. We may well miss game....we have a good play for game opposite many zero counts!

2. We may well miss slam: we have a good play for slam opposite some 3 counts!

3. If we get by the first round, we are always going to feel that we have undisclosed values: if we settle for game, we'll worry we missed slam, and if we try to compensate by bidding beyond game, because we have not yet shown our values, we may get too high on a poorly fitting hand.


By contrast, having opened 2♣, we will rarely, if ever, feel that we have been unable to describe our strength to partner.

[suleiman22]

I would bid 2 clubs because 1 spade is not necessarily forcing. If partner is holding something like
Jxx
xxxx
xxxx
xx
THey would just pass at 1 spade but they would be forced to bid the weak 2NT to a bid of 2 clubs.

[Zelandakh]

suleiman22, on 2013-September-22, 19:12, said:

I would bid 2 clubs because 1 spade is not necessarily folding. If partner is holding something like

2♣ is good but not for this reason. It takes very specific hands for the opps not to be bidding on this construction - they have 17hcp and 10 clubs including all the honours. Instead, read Mike's post for real reasons for the strong opening.

[suleiman22]

Zelandakh, on 2013-September-23, 03:10, said:

2♣ is good but not for this reason. It takes very specific hands for the opps not to be bidding on this construction - they have 17hcp and 10 clubs including all the honours. Instead, read Mike's post for real reasons for the strong opening.

I meant forcing in my post. Sorry.
Also, I feel that 2♣ shows points that 1♠ cannot and is forcing to game, which helps partner evaluate your hand and bid accordingly.

[Zelandakh]

suleiman22, on 2013-September-23, 05:10, said:

I meant forcing in my post. Sorry.

I realised this, it is just that if partner did hold the hand you gave the opps would be unlikely to pass it out. But showing the values now rather than feeling forced to overbid later is a good reason for opening 2♣. And there are some other hands partner can hold where we make game and the opps are less likely to come in.

[ArtK78]

I can't see the point of this question, unless it was to give PhilG another chance to show how clever he is. Aside from the posts, the vote in the poll is 23-1 in favor of 2♣ over 1♠. The one? PhilG.

So maybe we are all wrong again.

P.S. It cannot be right to open 6♥ on these cards. That kind of bid only works in diamonds.

[Cyberyeti]

mikeh, on 2013-September-19, 09:31, said:

2. We may well miss slam: we have a good play for slam opposite some 3 counts!

You don't need a 3 count, I fancy a slam opposite xx, xxxxx, xxx, xxx