Fourth Seat Openings

 

When we are in the 4th seat, after three Passes, it's pretty obvious that we only want to open the bidding if we have a reasonable expectation of going plus.  With a marginal opening, we can tell that the points are fairly equally divided around the table, and in the competitive auction that is likely to follow, there is an advantage to the side that has Spades, the "boss suit".  So, central to many opening decisions in 4th seat is the Spade holding ... if we have the Spade suit, we are more likely to jump into the fray on minimal values.

 

14th June, 2006                Board 22      Dealer East      E-W Vul

 

 

Do you open this one in 4th seat?  The points are obviously divided more or less equally around the table, and who goes plus on this deal will depend upon various random factors, such as finesses and who happens to have the best fit.  But, in these low-level part-score battles, the side which has the boss suit has an edge.  Of course, holding Jxxx in Spades is not exactly an overwhelming advantage, but it is worth something, and should be enough to tilt the scales in favor of opening.  As we have discussed before, this logic is embodied into "Cansino count" ... add your HCPs and Spade length, and if the total is 15 or more, then open in 4th seat.  Needless to say, the advice provided by this rule is far from infallible.

 

And now for something completely different.  Instead of opening 1♣, there is something to be said for an opening bid of 1♠ ... yes, really, the bid has some merits, though being a lead-director is not one of them.  If you open 1♠, Drury will protect you from an exuberant South, and if she responds with 1NT then you have an easy Pass.  Something to think about.

 

 

11th April, 2007                Board 30      Dealer East       None Vul

 

 

The “Cansino Count” says that, in fourth hand, we should pass whenever the sum of our HCP’s and our Spades is less that 15.  It’s a useful rule of thumb which gives the Spade suit the respect that it deserves in low-level competitive auctions.  The North hand does not pass the Cansino test, in fact it’s not even close, but this hand has way too much distribution and playing strength to tamely pass.

 

OK, let’s say that we feel constrained to take a call here.  What’s our choice?  More to the point, what does 2♦ mean here?  There’s no point in playing this as preemptive, who are we trying to preempt, if that was how we felt about our hand we would just pass it out.

 

A common treatment here is to play 2♦ as a top-end Weak Two bid, or perhaps something even a little stronger.  It’s a preempt in the sense that we would like to make it difficult for our opponents to get into the auction, but it’s also constructive because we actually promise a pretty decent hand.

 

 

24th May, 2006                 Board 18      Dealer South       E-W Vul

 

 

Would you open in 4^th chair with the East hand?  It doesn’t quite measure up in terms of Cansino points (HCPs plus Spades), having only 14 instead of the recommended 15 … and the hand is Aceless … and 2 of the points are a singleton Queen … but, despite all these negatives, it’s hard to pass up on the chance to bid a 6-card major, so we would open anyway.

 

 

26th July, 2006                  Board 7      Dealer South     Both Vul

 

 

After 3 Passes, some players place great store in counting up their Cansino points (Spades plus HCPs), and then passing if the number is less than 15.  This procedure would be most unfortunate on the actual hand, as E-W can make no fewer than 11 or 12 tricks in Hearts!  Regardless of the Cansino point deficiency, East clearly should open his hand, it has too much playing strength to pass.

 

That Cansino-count is a useful tool, because it factors in the importance of the Spade suit in the part-score battle, advising you to pull back a little with a deficient Spade holding.  But, don’t let's overdo it!

 

 

8th August, 2007               Board 14      Dealer East       None Vul

 

 

Regular Wednesday Gamers are familiar by now with the Cansino-count, whereby in 4^th seat, after three Passes, we add the number of Spades to our HCP’s.  If the number is 15 or more, we open the hand in 4^th seat, otherwise we pass.  But it’s only a guideline, chaps, as illustrated by this hand.  Here we have 13 HCP’s and thus only 14 Cansino points.  Therefore, it’s not a 4^th seat opening bid?  Well, of course we would not pass this hand out, that may keep the rule-followers happy, but it would defy common-sense, surely a 7-card suit must count for something.

 

 

15th August, 2007             Board 11      Dealer South       None Vul

 

 

Let’s assume that your partnership is playing Weak Twos, perhaps in the 5-10 range or thereabouts.  It’s a useful, descriptive bid and there is the reasonable chance that it will inconvenience the opponents because of its preemptive value.  But how about in 4^th seat?  There’s no preemptive value when passing out the hand was an option, so a good way to play East’s 2♠ bid is a really good Weak Two, maybe even a tad better.  That’s clearly what our featured East had in mind, and 2♠ is where he played it.

 

 

5th September, 2007         Board 20      Dealer West       Both Vul

 

 

We offer you three choices, none of them unreasonable:

-         Pass?  Remember the Cansino-count?  Add your HCP’s to your Spades, and if the total is 15 or more then we open in 4^th seat.  It may sound like witchcraft but there is some logic to the method as it factors in the importance of the Spade suit in part-score battles.  We would not pass with the actual hand, a 6-card suit must count for something, even if it is a humble minor, but we will concede that passing might well be the winner.

-         1♦?   Perhaps the obvious bid, but our least favorite.

-         2♦?   Yes, a “Weak Two” in 4^th seat is not really a Weak Two at all, it is a top-end Weak Two or a hand a tad too good for a regular Weak Two.  The idea is to announce our 6-card suit and at the same time make it harder for the opponents to get into the auction, a “strong preempt” if you will.  This would be our own personal preference.

 

 

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