[SimonFa]

Pick-up partner who seems to be conservative when it come to opening.

All red, IMPs.

♠A
♥QJT92
♦Q95
♣KT84

(p) p (p) ?

So do we push our luck or throw the cards in and move on?

As always, thanks in advance for your thoughts,

Simon

[jillybean]

You forgot to include 1♥, wtp.

What is the rule of 15?

[JLOGIC]

The rule of 15 is in 4th seat, add your HCP and spades, and if it equals 15 you should open. This rule is supposed to be applied to marginal opening bids (like a balanced 11 count). With a clear opener you should just open it (extreme example being 14 and a spade void).

[Bbradley62]

I would have opened in any other seat, but I don't like bothering with part-score battles when red at IMPs...

[JLOGIC]

Bbradley62, on 2011-December-17, 17:14, said:

I don't like bothering with part-score battles when red at IMPs...

This seems like a rather lazy attitude. If you pass it out because you'd rather not bother with a partscore battle, I wonder what the point of even playing bridge is. If you think it's a partscore battle you rate to lose, that's a good reason to pass it out, otherwise it just seems lazy.

[aguahombre]

Side note: The poll gives two choices for PASS, but only one choice for the only opening bid which makes sense. That will cause the figures to lie, and the liars to figure. IMO opening 1H is clear, but I at least thought about it first. Does that make it close, or WTP?

[TWO4BRIDGE]

Some time ago I heard about another rule -- "Rule-of-18 " -- for 4th seat openers.

hcp + # of ♠ + # of ♥ = 18 ( or more ) , then open.

This hand is 12 + 1 + 5 = 18 ...

[mike777]

Pick-up partner who seems to be conservative when it come to opening.

easy 1h given this.....

easy pass if you had said pard opens lite.

[jillybean]

Forget about the rule of 15, if you use the rule of 20 you can open it

[dwar0123]

12 hcp, a solid 5 card major and a stiff. I dunno what WTP means, but context suggest it means the opposite of it was close.

Going with 1♥ WTP! Wouldn't have even crossed my mind to pass tbh.

[Mbodell]

I would pass this with a partnership where we open pretty much all 10 counts. But opposite a conservative opener this is a WTP 1♥ for me.

[gordontd]

dwar0123, on 2011-December-18, 02:13, said:

I dunno what WTP means,

What's the problem?

[jmcw]

As a general rule I use the rule of 15 in pass out position, seemingly others use different criteria.

Having reasonable expectation of being able to compete effectively needs to be taken into account.
Quite likely the ops have a playable ♠ fit and you may well find yourself competing to the 3 level.
Noone can know for sure how the bidding might transpire, but without ♠ I think pass is the % call.

[SimonFa]

Thanks for all the helpful responses.

JLOGIC, on 2011-December-17, 16:56, said:

The rule of 15 is in 4th seat, add your HCP and spades, and if it equals 15 you should open. This rule is supposed to be applied to marginal opening bids (like a balanced 11 count). With a clear opener you should just open it (extreme example being 14 and a spade void).

Obviously I didn't fully understand the rule and thought it was just HCP + ♠, as explained at BridgeHands. I was also thinking about a similar hand I had seen in one of Gavin Wolpert's videos when he let the opposition in and ended with a poor score.

mike777, on 2011-December-17, 18:03, said:

Pick-up partner who seems to be conservative when it come to opening.

easy 1h given this.....

easy pass if you had said pard opens lite.

Mbodell, on 2011-December-18, 02:33, said:

I would pass this with a partnership where we open pretty much all 10 counts. But opposite a conservative opener this is a WTP 1♥ for me.

This was my thinking and I bid 1♥ expecting partner or LHO to bid 1♠. When LHO passed partner bid 2♦ I thought I wouldn't push my luck and passed. Ten tricks were made for a nice score as ops could make 2♠s.

[EricK]

I have just come across Larry Cohen's rule for opening marginal hands in 4th seat: Forget the rule of 15. If you have a borderline opening in 4th seat, evaluate your opponents. If they are much better than you, pass it out; if you are much better than they, open.

[gwnn]

I like dburn's law on opening in 4th seat:

If you are in 4th seat, open.
(reason: if the hand belonged to your opponents, they would have opened in 3rd already.)

I don't apply it in that strict form, but I think it's better than the law of 15.

[mcphee]

Looks like an opening bid to me and the lack of S does not strike me as a valid reason to pass. They have had 2 chances in front of me and passed both times. I am willing to allow them another shot at a minus. I have a reasonable hand, good luck to them bidding my pards S.