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Choice of Opening Bid
Here we consider an assortment of opening bid decisions. Open or preempt? 1NT or one of a suit? Which suit to open?
2nd June, 2010 N-S Vul
What do you think of a 1NT opening bid here? Sure, it’s a tad off-shape, but the alternative is to open 1♣ and risk a serious rebid problem if Partner responds 1♠. Now you won’t be happy (or least you shouldn’t be) with any of these options: (a) reversing into 2♥ (the hand is not good enough), (b) a rebid of 2♣ (the hand is too good), (c) a rebid of 3♣ (the hand does not have enough Clubs). So, a 1NT opening it is.
Now, swap the Hearts and Spades, giving West 4=2=2=5 distribution. Is that still a 1NT opener? It could be, opening 1NT does sometimes have a tactical benefit. On the other hand, there is no potential rebid problem with this shape, and therefore no objection to opening 1♣.
4th August, 2010 Both Vul
What would be your choice of rebid? Do you raise Spades or do you rebid 1NT? That’s a rather strong hand for a 1NT rebid, don’t you think? There’s a full 14 HCP, plus a 5-card suit (albeit a ratty one), plus a couple of Tens, plus a couple of Aces. So, we’d raise to 2♠, that 3-card support is strong and there is a potential ruffing value in Diamonds. But the real solution to West’s hand, in our opinion, is to open 1NT, showing 15-17, thereby solving all rebid issues.
2nd March, 2011 N-S Vul
On Board 4 we had two 9-point hands which happened to pass the Rule of 20 and which also happened to look like opening bids (at least to us). Here we have an 11-point hand which also passes the Rule of 20 but, perversely, this one does not look like an opening bid! Here is why: - That doubleton ♥KQ is not pulling it’s full weight - There are no hidden extras, such as some useful Tens or shortness somewhere - If we open 1♣, what do we rebid when Partner bids 1♥? - We could open 1♦, planning to rebid 2♣, but that is not particularly appealing on such a featureless and yucky hand.
2nd March, 2011 Both Vul
Do you take any action in first seat? Here are the options: - Open 2♦? We are not opposed to opening a Weak Two with a two-suiter once in a while, but it hardly seems right to bid 2♦ here when the suit is so awful, and when we have an outside Ace and an outside King and a void. Definitely not a 2♦ opening! - Pass? We suppose that this will be the common choice, but a feeble one in our opinion, this hand has so much potential! - Open 1♦? Yes, that’s the ticket! This hand may have only 9 HCP but it has great playing strength (or, at least, it will if a minor suit fit is found). It also has some defense if Partner is in a doubling mood, added to which it even passes the Rule of 20! Who could ask for more? So, it’s official, the Wednesday Game occasionally opens 9-point hands!
It turns out that East has a big fit in Diamonds and, after West’s 1♦ opening, E-W will cruise to slam, despite having only 22 combined HCPs. East’s hand is ♠AT642, ♥2, ♦AKQT53, ♣5 so, in fact, even 7♦ is cold! But that’s hard to reach! And it would also be hard to reach even a small slam if West passes originally.
2nd November, 2011 N-S Vul
What is your choice of opening bid with the East hand? 17 HCP fits into the 15-17 range, but surely this hand is too good. There is a good 5-card suit, and we really love that Club Ten! The only blot on the landscape is the ♠Qxx holding, but despite that, we would open this 1♣, planning to show 18-19 with a rebid of 2NT.
That approach works rather well on the actual hand. West responds 1♥, then after the 2NT rebid, West uses New Minor Forcing to find the 5-3 Heart fit and zips into the good slam. However, if East opens 1NT, it seems likely that they will languish in 4♥.
1st July, 2009 N-S Vul
It’s not everybody’s style to open that hand 1NT, many would prefer to open 1♣ and rebid 3♣. That’s fair enough, and no doubt it is a more accurate description of the North hand, but there’s a tactical advantage to opening 1NT, because (a) it preempts the opponents, (b) it gives away less information, (c) it protects the strong hand from the opening lead. Just as, on Board 21, where opening 1NT with a 5-card turned out to be a great success, so opening 1NT with a 6-card minor works like a charm here. As it happens, the eventual 4♥ contract will be right-sided via Texas, and the opponents will be unable to find their Spade fit. Again, it pays to open 1NT, even though the hand is not quite out of the text-book.
Here’s what happens if North opens 1♣: West North East South Pass 1♣ Pass 1♥ 1♠ 3♣ 3♠ 4♥ After this start the final contract will be 4♥ (played from the wrong side and down one on the obvious ♠Q opening lead) or it will be 4♠ by West, which, no doubt to everybody’s surprise, will actually make!
1st July, 2009 N-S Vul
If you are going to play in 3NT, it usually pays to tell the opponents as little as possible along the way, and it usually also helps to make the strong hand Declarer. North, with two minor suit Kings to protect, opens 1NT rather than 1♠, and is suitably rewarded when East has a blind lead against 3NT.
On the actual deal, after this unhelpful auction, East will lead a Spade, as it happens. That will be an easy 11 tricks and +660.
Things work less well if North makes the mistake of opening 1♠. Now one of these bad things will happen: - Either, N-S will end up in 4♠, a contract which makes 10 tricks and +620 with normal play. - Or, N-S will avoid the 4♠ trap, but, against 3NT the defense will be warned off a Spade lead. 10 tricks and +630 with normal play.
4th March, 2009
Hand 4 (North) Hand 12 (West) Hand 21 (East) ♠ T73 ♠ AKQ6 ♠ 972 ♥ KJ96 ♥ K53 ♥ AT65 ♦ AKT ♦ QT9 ♦ AJT ♣ Q95 ♣ 843 ♣ A72
Here are a trio of hands (all in first or second seat) where Opener was 3-3 in the minors. Do you always open the "better minor"? That has the benefit of helping Partner out with his choice of opening lead. Or do you always open 1♣, which means that 1♦ openings can be more relied upon to be a 4-card suit (unless Opener is specifically 4=4=3=2)? Either's fine, our own suggestion is somewhere in between those extremes ... that is to have a strong tendency to open 1♣ ... but to make exceptions when the Diamonds are substantially better. As it happens, the Diamonds are better on all three hands, but only substantially so on the first hand. Having said that, there's also something to be said for opening 1♦ on the second hand, who wants to encourage a Club lead with that hand! But, with the third hand, surely 1♣ is the way to go.
2nd July, 2008 N-S Vul
What’s the plan with this turbo-charged 17-count? Here are three possibilities, only two of which are awful: - Open 1NT: Definitely not! There’s nothing inherently wrong with opening 1NT with a 6-card minor, at least not in our opinion, but this hand is way too good for such an opening. It’s at the top end of the range point-wise, and additionally has the power of a strong 6-card suit. - Open 1♣ and rebid 3♣: This is a little better, perhaps, but not by much. Again it seems like an underbid to us, and it also fails to describe the true nature of the hand, which is No Trump, No Trump, No Trump. - Open 1♣ and rebid 2NT: Yes, that’s the ticket! We are a point shy of the 18-19 HCP range, but there’s plenty of compensation for that trivial defect in the shape of the good controls and the long Clubs. We’d even say that this is a good 2NT bid.
2nd January, 2008 Board 5 N-S Vul
There are varying theories on what to open when holding 4-4 in the minors, you’ll find plenty of advocates for 1♣ or 1♦ or “better minor”. In most cases it’s not particularly important, really not worth worrying about too much, but on this particular South hand it’s essential to open 1♦. It’s easy enough to see why. If South opens this 1♣ and North inconveniently responds 1♠, South will be without a rebid.
So, generally speaking, open those 4-4 hands 1♣ or 1♦, whichever you prefer, but when you are 15-17 with specifically 1=4=4=4 distribution, it’s necessary to open 1♦ to avoid an impossible rebid problem. With 1=4=4=4 and 12-14 we have no qualms about rebidding 1NT after the 1♠ response, but if you find that distasteful, then you had better open these hands 1♦ also.
3rd January, 2007 Board 26 Both Vul
Here are our choices: - Pass? Absolutely not! We surely cannot suppress such a good suit in a hand with such offensive potential. - 2♦ or 3♦? Both would be better than Pass, at least these bids mention our prime asset. - 1♦? That would be our choice … only 19 on the Rule of 20 scale, and only 9 HCP’s, but look at all the compensating factors! … lovely shape, a void as well, great Diamond fillers, and the potential for a Heart contract (if we preempt, that will be lost)
3rd January, 2007 Board 29 Both Vul
When we hold opening values, but not reverse values, those 5-6 hands in the red suits can be a problem. Do we bid the 5-card Heart suit first? Or do we open 1♦ and stretch the hand into a reverse? We are not averse to a little stretching, but with only 11 working HCP’s this is not the hand for it. So, with no enthusiasm whatsoever we would open that feeble Heart suit and keep that wonderful Diamond suit a temporary secret.
Actually, this hand is so extreme, we might even consider a third possible strategy: open 1♦ and never introduce Hearts at all! No doubt we would deign to raise Partner’s Hearts, but if she cannot bid them we’d just rebid Diamonds. Sure, we’ll miss a few 5-3 Heart fits that way, but still not an unreasonable strategy, at least we’ll always play in Diamonds when it’s right.
17th January, 2007 Board 11 None Vul
It would be difficult to find extreme fault with a 1NT opening bid here. After all, it is a balanced hand with 15-17 HCP’s and that is probably what your Convention Card describes as your requirements for a 1NT opening bid. Also, there’s a lot to be said for making the same opening bid as the rest of the field, it allows you assert yourself through superior card play.
Having said all that, consider downgrading your hand to a 1♦ opening followed by a 1NT rebid, showing 12-14 instead of the actual 15 that you possess. It always such fun to upgrade our hands, isn’t it? We fall in love with our shape, our Tens and Aces, our working honors, and our blessed absence of unsupported Queens, and we bid one more for the road. The flip side of this, which we often omit, is to downgrade our hands when appropriate. We would say that the featured hand is just bursting with downgradeable appropriateness: - Square hand - Not a Ten in sight - More Queens than Aces, one of them unsupported.
So, bid 1NT if you really must, and get your top when you play the hand even more brilliantly than the rest of the field. But consider also getting your top by superior hand evaluation, which in this case, and in our opinion, would be to open this hand 1♦. Food for thought.
7th September, 2006 Board 3 E-W Vul
We confess that we would open the North hand 1NT! True, it’s a point shy, but it has the compensation of a 5-card suit and some useful fillers. This one looks better than many 15-counts to us, and there’s a lot to be said for getting that 1NT card out on the table against vulnerable opponents, they may find it hard to get into the auction. Also, opening 1NT makes it very likely that North will be Declarer, a good thing as this is a hand which needs to be protected from the opening lead.
If you are going to start opening these hands 1NT, it would be wise to announce your opening 1NT bids as “a good 14 to 17”.
8th Novemebr, 2006 Board 26 Both Vul
Square hand, 15 HCP’s. 1NT, right? Well, that’s certainly the mainstream bid, nobody would fault you for making it. But please consider also the following: - This hand is square and though the hand adds up to 15 it doesn’t look like 15. - Not a filler in sight. - There is no positional benefit to be gained by having this hand declare No Trump, it would surely be better if Partner declared. So, we would open 1♣! Yes, we really would!
31st May, 2006 Board 12 N-S Vul
Would you open 1♥ with the West hand? We really don’t care to preempt at the 3-level with 2 Aces … we are not crazy about Weak Twos with a 7-card suit (but see next hand also) … and we hate to pass such a good-looking hand with a 7-card major. This one is something of a style choice, and our own preference would be a light 1♥ opening. Many will disagree with 1♥, that’s their style.
1st August, 2007 Board 14 None Vul
Three choices here … Pass or 1♠ or 2♠. Let’s eliminate the Pass, that suit really needs to be introduced into the auction. So, is this a preemptive 2♠ or an opening 1♠? Neither bid is quite perfect … it’s not quite an opening bid … but with two outside Kings it’s not exactly your text-book Weak Two either. Take your choice on this one, just don’t pass. Our own choice is a flawed Weak Two.
17th January, 2007 Board 14 None Vul
We very much belong to the school of thought which says that we really have to bid some number of Diamonds with this hand. In other words, just because it would be an imperfect preempt or a shaded 1♦ opening, does not provide us with an excuse for inaction. Having said that, the choices are: - 3♦: Perhaps a little bit “out there”, what with our outside Ace and Queen and void and rather suspect suit. - 2♦: Unlike some, we are not utterly averse to occasional 2♦-with-a-seven-card-suit adventures, but they are few and far between, usually when we are vulnerable and lacking the courage to preempt 3♦, typically with a rotten suit where the 7th card provides some much-needed bolstering for a 6-card preempt. - 1♦: Yes, that’s the ticket! Maybe not the perfect ticket, but we’d consider it the best ticket available. Just a point shy on the Rule of Twenty, with all sorts of compensating plus factors.
17th January, 2007 Board 23 Both Vul
1♥ or 4♥? We’d go for 1♥ ourselves, we think that we have a bit too much outside for a 4♥ preempt. The main knock against 4♥ is not that it has too much playing strength (it has 5 losers, not unreasonable for a 4♥ preempt), but that it has too much defense. When we preempt, Partner should feel entitled (at least if she is an unpassed hand) to sacrifice at a high level, safe in the knowledge that the preemptor is not loaded with defense. Having said that, we are the first to admit that this scholarly approach is not always the winner, and the rock ‘em, sock ‘em 4♥ preempt will sometimes work better.
19th July, 2006 Board 7 Both Vul
Anyone for that 1♥ opener with the West hand? We rather like it, if you ever have to lie about your “5-card major” in second seat, this is the hand for it … pathetic 3-card minor suits and a spectacular 4-card Heart suit. Yes, lead-direction is a big part of the bidding process, and opening a minor suit here will not be very helpful in that regard. In fact, quite the reverse!
6th September, 2006 Board 20 Both Vul
Here we go again, upsetting the “Law” proponents by suggesting a 1♠ bid here. To us, it looks like a 5-card suit, and we know what suit we want led if we end up defending. But, if you are a Law-abiding citizen, and if you prefer to open a 643 suit when you have an AKQJ suit available, then we won’t press the point.
23rd August, 2006 Board 21 N-S Vul
Most partnerships nowadays play a range of 5-10 or 6-10 HCPs for their Weak Twos. In terms of HCPs, this hand fits right in, but it has other intangibles which make it too good for a mere Weak Two … two Aces, great trump fillers, lovely 6-4 distribution. For us, this is a clear-cut 1♥ opening bid.
13th September, 2006 Board 4 Both Vul
When we are 5-5 in the black suits, our preferred style is to open 1♠. One problem with opening 1♣ occurs when Partner responds 1NT … now Opener is stuck for a rebid if her hand is not up to the Reverse strength needed for 2♠. Does this mean that it’s OK to open 1♣ here with the actual South hand? It’s certainly strong enough to overcome the rebid problem, and some players would open 1♣ accordingly. Nothing terrible about that, although we still prefer the 1♠ opening ourselves … Spades (being a major) is a more likely place to play, so there’s a lot to be said for mentioning that suit first. Compare these two auctions:
North South North South Pass 1♠ Pass 1♣ 2♠ 4♠ 1♥ 2♠ Pass 3♣ 3♠ 4♠ Pass
The left-hand auction is completely uninformative, but the right-hand auction gives the opponents all sorts of information as they seek to find the best opening lead and defense.
4th October, 2007 Board 15 N-S Vul
Only 10 HCP’s (and two of those are quite wasted), but, yes, we’d open this 1♣. This may not be to everybody’s taste, but experience shows that it’s a bidder’s game. For what it’s worth, the hand passes the Rule of Twenty with something to spare, but the real point is that it’s essential to get those good suits into the auction whenever we can. Of course, if Partner now responds 1♠ we will not be bidding 2♥, that would be a strength-showing reverse … no, our rebid is 2♣.
4th October, 2006 Board 20 Both Vul
We might bid 1♣ here, we might bid 3♣. But we certainly would not pass. It would be rather feeble to say “Not strong enough to open 1♣, don’t want to preempt 3♣ with a 4-card major and a void, so I’ll pass”. We have a strong desire to get that magnificent suit into the auction, one way or another, notwithstanding the flaws.
12th September, 2007 Board 14 None Vul
East can approach her hand in one of two ways: - Either, bid the hand as if it is 5-5, opening 1♥ and rebidding Diamonds; - Or, open 1♦ planning to reverse into Hearts.
We like the second route, the hand may have only 12 HCP’s but it also has only 4 losers, which is quite enough playing strength for a reverse. It’s true that Partner will expect more high-card strength and more defense from us but he’ll no doubt get the message when we bid Hearts twice.
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