[Joe de Balliol]

♠xx
♥KTxxx
♦AKT8xx
♣-

You play 5cm, better minor, light 2/1 [9-10+]. In a Gold Cup match, you're dealer and I vulnerable against not. You have several ways to treat this:
1) Lie about your sixth diamond by opening 1H and rebidding diamonds ad infinitum [possibly supporting spades later on]
2) Lie about your fifth and potentially fourth heart by opening 1D and rebidding 2D over 2C
3) Lie about your strength by opening 1D and rebidding 2H over 2C.
4) Pass to begin with and let the problem sort itself out later on

What do you think of each of these ways? At the table, I chose an option which was soundly criticised by all present, including me. When I got to thinking about the hand, I decided my option wasn't so bad, and is in fact reasonable.

Advice welcome.

J

[pbleighton]

I bid 1H with these hands. I would rather lie about minor length than major length, and you are not close to reversing strength, even with a 6-5.

Peter

[Miron]

1♥ and rebid diamonds until my partners understands (We open weak 5M-6+m with the major). If there is no such agreement, again 1♥ and rebid diamonds .

[FrancesHinden]

The only one I really wouldn't do is (3). While it's OK to reverse light on a 5-6, this is too light for me.

I don't think any of the rest are totally unreasonable.

It's not quite the right vulnerability for (4) which is an option that can work very well at times. If it goes P 1S P 4S you are committed to acting now which is slightly uncomfortable at red.

I would probably go for (2). Many uncontested game auctions will give me a chance to get hearts bid, and if the opponents are going to bid spades I'd rather have opened my best suit.

I don't mind (1) either.

[hrothgar]

I'd like to vote in favor of E

I prefer opening 1♦
Rebidding 2♦

With luck, I might be able to show hearts later on. I don't mind taking some liberties and bidding a 5 card major ahead of a six card minor. With this said and done, the disparity in suit quality argues against this.

Personally, I think that the hand is too strong to pass initially unless I'm playing a very sound opening system. Equally significant, this is no where near enough to consider a reverse.

One question about option (3). There is a big difference between the auction

1♦ - 1N - 2♥ and
1♦ - 2♣ - 2♥

For some pairs, the bottom sequence doesn't even promise a "classic" reverse, but simply shows a stopper... I'm not in that camp, but it does exist

[FrancesHinden]

What's the difference between (E) and (2)?
(Other than you could argue that you aren't 'lying' as you haven't denied 5 hearts by bidding this way).

[cherdano]

I would open 1♦ planning to rebid 2♦, but I would rebid 2♥ over 2♣, since I don't think this bid needs much extras. Yes I know I may get too high.

Arend

[hrothgar]

FrancesHinden, on Feb 16 2006, 05:33 PM, said:

What's the difference between (E) and (2)?
(Other than you could argue that you aren't 'lying' as you haven't denied 5 hearts by bidding this way).

E is a letter and 2 is a number?

On a more serious note, I should have simply voted for choice 2.
Moreover, I think I should have gone to bed earlier than 2:00 AM.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

I would open 1H, intending to
show 5-5.

Marlowe

[coyot]

1♥ camp. I do not consider treating 6 diamonds as 5 diamonds if my hand is not good enough to bid as reverse. I don't think that with 14- HCP, I would miss some good contract just because partner thought that I only had 5-5 in the red suits.

Keep 1♦ with 2 hearts bids in store to show GOOD hands (14HCP in the two suits minimum).

So far I had no major distaster with this approach.

[joker_gib]

P_Marlowe, on Feb 16 2006, 03:45 PM, said:

Hi,

I would open 1H, intending to
show 5-5.

Marlowe

Same for me !

A ♥ support can be enough for game and the best way to know it is opening in ♥.

IMHO, you go nowhere by opening in ♦ cause you don't have enough to show you ♥ suit.

Alain

[mikeh]

I open 1♦. I understand 1♥, but I hate distorting shape, and this hand is closer to 4=6 than to 5-5

[Walddk]

mikeh, on Feb 16 2006, 05:47 PM, said:

I open 1♦. I understand 1♥, but I hate distorting shape, and this hand is closer to 4=6 than to 5-5

Sighhhh. I have to agree with my enemy from Canada. But I'll get my revenge soon when the Danish curling women thrash the Canadians

Roland

[mikeh]

Walddk, on Feb 16 2006, 11:53 AM, said:

mikeh, on Feb 16 2006, 05:47 PM, said:

I open 1♦. I understand 1♥, but I hate distorting shape, and this hand is closer to 4=6 than to 5-5

Sighhhh. I have to agree with my enemy from Canada. But I'll get my revenge soon when the Danish curling women thrash the Canadians

Roland

I have already made arrangements (by winning a bet) to trade 1kg of Nanaimo bars for 1kg of danish pastries in Verona in June (provided that I can smuggle the nanaimo bars into Italy). Want to make it double or nothing, Roland? Of course, what any one (or any country, for that matter) would do with 2kg of nanaimo bars boggles the imagination (to say nothing of what it would do to the stomach)

Maybe we could also wager on the Danish women's hockey team against the Canadians? (who won their first two matches by a combined score of 28-0)

[Walddk]

mikeh, on Feb 16 2006, 06:01 PM, said:

Maybe we could also wager on the Danish women's hockey team against the Canadians? (who won their first two matches by a combined score of 28-0)

Sure, and you are bound to lose! Why? Because we don't have a women's hockey team at the Olympics

Roland

[mike777]

3) Easy

I hope I understood your notes correctly that 2/1 is 100% game force not Acol style.

1d and then 2h over 2clubs. Opening lite, 2H rebid does not promise more than this strength.

Yes, that means 2H may be 9 -20 hcp. Partner assumes the lower range for now.

[Joe de Balliol]

We play light 2/1s, so 2H shows a stronger hand than you have.

J

[HeartA]

1♥ here.

[han]

1D without a doubt. However, I would open 1H with xx AK10xx Kxxxxx -.

[Codo]

1 H without a doubt:-)
I had been closer to open 2 Heart (as a two suiter with a minor) then to a reverse. After all, I am vul. against not in first seat, so my weak openings can have up to eleven HCPS. I just upgraded, because the suits are very pure....