[SimonFa]

This came up on my iBridgeBaron

Teams, W v W, Playing 2/1.

♠AT96 ♥K6 ♦K2 ♣AK876

P (P) ?

When I was dealt this hand I thought:

Seems a bit strong for 1NT with Aces and Kings but it is pre-emptive and bidding NT first protects the Kings.

Reversing is an option and this gets the strength and distribution across, but lets ops in and a NT contract could be wrong sided.

What's your choice, or do you have another bid?

Spoiler

Being on the iPad I got to play both contracts. In this case 1NT was passed out and reversing led to a Spade game, but that's no guarantee for future hands that are similar.

[mikestar13]

Just too strong in my view. Change the ♣K to ♣T and I would upgrade the 14 count to open a 15-17 1NTwithout batting an eyelash.

[wank]

what do you mean by reversing, opening 1♣ and rebidding 2♠? that's not a reverse. that's game forcing which is a massive overbid.

the hand is worth a 1♣ opener and 1♠ rebid. partner never passes that unless he's got total rubbish and then you can bid again to show your extra values.

however, with 2 doubleton kings, it would be a good plan if you wanted to get no-trumps in first, so it would be fine to jump rebid 2nt and show 18-19. partner can still find a spade fit.

[lycier]

My plan is opening 1♣ then rebid 1♠, what else?

[fromageGB]

Not a 1NT hand at all. 1♣ 1red 1♠ or of course 1♣ 1♠ 3♠, or 1♣ pass. Happy to let NT be played by partner, rather by him than by me.

[mgoetze]

I would definitely open 1♣ in 1st or 2nd seat. I could see myself bidding a tactical 1NT in 3rd if I have an understanding partner.

[kenrexford]

In playing strength, this hand is closer to a 2NT opening than a 1NT opening. 1♣ seems obvious.

A method I learned for evaluating adjustments is to multiply the number of controls (A=2, K=1) by 3 1/3. Here, that is 23 1/3. I then subtract the HCP count. That's 6 1/3. If the difference is +/- up to 1 2/3, no adjustment needed. If +/- 2 up to 5 2/3, add or subtract 1. If +/- 6-8 2/3, add/subtract 2. This one is +2, so adjusted is 19. With 5422 undervalued, and A109x only counting for 4 points, I see this as about a 19.5 HCP equivalency. Hence, closer to 2NT.

[neilkaz]

1♣ for me. Too strong for 1NT and not ideal shape and no rebid issues after 1♣.

[apollo1201]

I'll open 1C.

I thought of NT to protect my red K's but that will be for the 2nd round, if any (1C-1D/H-2NT). I am definitely too strong for 1NT opening with a prime 17 count made of A&K, good intermediates and a 5-cd suit.

If opps intervene, I'll be able to show my S's anyway. And probably rightside the contract as well.

[gszes]

At IMPS we do not want to miss game when p has that A and (club Q) or 3Q and a J type hand and opening 1c is a vastly better way to reach game then opening 1n. I would also rebid 1s if able but if p bid 1s I will go for 4s since I do not need responder to be anywhere near the top of their passed hand to make game and even if they are near bottom we might have some chances (slim). I rate this hand as roughly 19.5 in a spade contract and 18.75 for NT or hearts. So I will eventually bid 4s (if a fit exists) or 2n/3h depending on the bidding. I would be leery of raising hearts too much since p did not open a weak 2 (surely they will go to game if they did not open a weak 2 because they were to good right?).

[ggwhiz]

wank, on 2016-January-22, 01:58, said:

what do you mean by reversing, opening 1♣ and rebidding 2♠? that's not a reverse. that's game forcing which is a massive overbid.

I agree with everything in favor of a 1♣ opener but in my partnership a jump to 2♠ is not game forcing. We only play that if it's a 3 level jump and this would just be a reverse since we have Ingberman (lebensohl) available.

[rmnka447]

If ♣ were flimsy, I'd prefer 1 NT say with something like ♠ A109x ♥ AK ♦ Kx ♣ Kxxxx.

But with the actual hand given, I'm definitely in the 1 ♣ opening camp.

As for the rebid after a 1 ♣ opener, I'd bid 2 NT. You have a 17 count hand with additional positives -- a good 5 card suit and working intermediates. That should pose no problem for finding a ♠ game if you have the tools to discover it over the 2 NT rebid.

[kenberg]

My first thought was to open 1C and rebid 1S ovr a red response from partner. But after some thought and reading the comments I change that to 1C and rebid 2NT. After a little more thought I return to the 1S rebid. It's close.

Opening 1NT was never in the running..

[PhilG007]

SimonFa, on 2016-January-22, 01:09, said:

This came up on my iBridgeBaron

Teams, W v W, Playing 2/1.

♠AT96 ♥K6 ♦K2 ♣AK876

P (P) ?

When I was dealt this hand I thought:

Seems a bit strong for 1NT with Aces and Kings but it is pre-emptive and bidding NT first protects the Kings.

Reversing is an option and this gets the strength and distribution across, but lets ops in and a NT contract could be wrong sided.

What's your choice, or do you have another bid?

Spoiler

Being on the iPad I got to play both contracts. In this case 1NT was passed out and reversing led to a Spade game, but that's no guarantee for future hands that are similar.

An absolute no-brainer. Open 1♣ and rebid 1♠ over any 1 level red suit response. This asks for preference and firmly
puts the spotlight on the remaining red suit. Partner should not go into NTs unless he has this suit well covered What if partner
responds 1NT over 1 ♣? Re bid 2 spades showing a minimum of 9 black cards and asking for cover in the
unbid suit for NTs

[zillahandp]

36 zar points, too strong for 1nt with any fit, one club TINA

[jodepp]

I think whatever you want to do is fine; nothing's wrong. I would open 1♣ but would hardly call 1NT an error.

[dave_beer]

The hand is too strong for 1NT so I open 1♣.

My problem occurs on the next round if partner bids either 1♦ or 1♥. I play that my rebid of 1♠ denies the values for either 2NT or 2♠. I play that 2♠ has the same tempo as a reverse, i.e., not game-forcing but forcing for one round and guaranteeing a rebid.

This hand isn't good enough to force to game and the ♣ suit isn't good enough to be safe in 3♣ so I would rebid 2NT.

[JmBrPotter]

I do not consider this hand balanced. I'm opening 1♣ in 2/1. If partner bids a red suit, especially hearts, my rebid will be 2NT for the reasons mentioned in the original post. My partnerships bypass minors to show a four-card major, so partner's 1♥ response may well include 4-5 diamonds, too. If partner responds in 1♠, I may mastermind the hand with a 2NT rebid. If partner raises clubs, I may take a shot with 5♣, but I'll probably make a game try with 2♠.

As my partnership does not bid 2/1, our opening bid will be 1♠ (4+ spades, 11-20 HCP, 1-suited {in spades} or two-suited with 4+ spades and 5+ in another suit NOT shorter than spades {same length as spades or one card longer}). My likely rebid over partner'd likely 1NT (5-6 or more HCP, no spade raise {0-3 spade cards}, and too weak to force game) is 3♣ (=4+-x-y=5+ shape with 16-20HCP).

[Timkin]

What do you do after you open 1♣ and opponents bid and raise ♥ ? or even ♦?
With two short red suits, it is highly likely the opponents will easily find and bid one.
Opening 1N forces the opp to bid at the 2 level - so not so likely.
1N also defines your strength for your partner immediately.
If you play a NT contract it is right sided with the 2 kings.

[kenberg]

Timkin, on 2016-January-23, 14:26, said:

What do you do after you open 1♣ and opponents bid and raise ♥ ? or even ♦?
With two short red suits, it is highly likely the opponents will easily find and bid one.
Opening 1N forces the opp to bid at the 2 level - so not so likely.
1N also defines your strength for your partner immediately.
If you play a NT contract it is right sided with the 2 kings.

Well, after 1C-(1H) I will immediately find out of partner has spades. In fact, I will immediately find out of partner has five spades (he bids 1S) or four spades (he doubles).
After 1C-(1D) he will double with both majors. If, as it might, it goes 1C-(1D)-1H-(2D) I think I would still bid my spades to announce the suit oriented hand.

There are, of course, many things that could happen, not all of them good, but if this auction becomes competitive I do not think I will regret my 1C opening.