[MrAce]

---

Playing 2/1 system, what would be your choice of opening and why please ?

I posted this because the comments i saw from 2 British star players made me curious if majority of players think alike or not. I will not say their comments untill later.

Thanks all for replies.

[TWO4BRIDGE]

1♥ ...
I'm willing to show my 5-6 shape with this hand.

[aguahombre]

JXXXX AKJXXX KX -- would look like a 1H opener, where I am not terribly worried about missing the 3-5 spade fit. Partner is not encumbered by the Flannery inference and will show four spades.

The given hand is fine for 1S; paying off if we can't find the 2-6 hearts. I won't reverse with it.

[wyman]

I would treat this as 5-5 and open 1S. Lying about my relative length, especially with these heart spots, seems better than either reversing or burying the spades.

[BunnyGo]

I would open 1S.

On another note, I'm amused that the title alone described the hand exactly.

[MrAce]

1♠--2♠ Are we all happy if pd has 3♠ only. Are we happy especially if we start trick one by ruffing a♣ ? Dont we still need some sort of ♥ support in a 5-3 fit ? (not neccesarilly always of course) And how shall we continue ? PAss? 3♥ ? so pd can pass with xxx ♥ ?

1♥--2♥ I am extremely happy, and will bid my game at imps or mp .Would you be as uncomfortable as 1♠-2♠ auction even if you are not happy yet ?

1♥--1♠ I am very happy, especially if pd was going to raise me to 2 level had i opened this 1♠

1♥--2m
2♠ I dont play this as reverse, but i can understand the concerns of opening 1♥ if you do.

1♥--1NT
2♥ is my bid, not as good as opening 1♠ i admit, but i dont think much worse either since...

1♠--1NT
2♥--pass Are we happy ?

1♠--1NT
2♥--2♠
3♥ Are we happy with where we are at ?

Those are the things that goes thru my mind and i need your opinions. I maybe overlooking or ignoring some other facts that supports 1♠ opening other than those 5-3 ♠ fit with xx or Kx ♥ and opponents are not able to tap us and/or trumps + hearts are friendly. I am aware that there are a lot of hands that we can construct to support both sides, so i wont start it.

When it comes to auctions with opponents involved, i guess it cuts both ways. I would personally feel more secure with having started my longest suit.

[MrAce]

BunnyGo, on 2011-November-20, 00:11, said:

On another note, I'm amused that the title alone described the hand exactly.

LoL true, i didnt know when i posted it was that obvious

[Yu18772]

I open 1♠. I dont like opening 1♥ for the following reasons:
1. If I open 1♥ I will be very happy with 2♥ response, but I am not very likely to hear it.
On the other hand 1♥/1♠-1NT is a likely auction.

1♠-1NT
2♥-Pass
I am not overfilled with joy, but 1♥-1NT-2♥ to me is an inconceivable auction on that hand.

1♠-1NT
2♥-2♠
3♥-Pass/3M/4M - yes I am happy.

I dont consider 1♥-1♠ auction because if partner has 4 spades I am absolutely fine with opening 1♠.

2. I am not just unhappy, I am extremely miserable if opponents interfere and I have no way of mentioning my ♠. Consider:
1♥-2NT-P or X-3♣ ? (or any equivalent where partner passed and its back to you at the 3m or higher level).
If I open spades bidding 3♥ is not a problem.

3. I am very happy to bid
1♠-P-2m-P
2♥-P-2NT-P
3♥-P-3NT-P
4♥
I do play 1h-2m-2s as showing extra, but 6:5 definitely qualifies as extra, so on this auction it would get us to the same spot, only partner would have to guess if I have a K more or not
If I open 1♠ and rebid 2♥, this would not be an issue.

[Fluffy]

1♠ obviously, the one I would regret the most is

1♥-(3♣)-3♦-(4/5♣)

[JLOGIC]

MrAce, on 2011-November-20, 00:35, said:

1♠--2♠ Are we all happy if pd has 3♠ only. Are we happy especially if we start trick one by ruffing a♣ ? Dont we still need some sort of ♥ support in a 5-3 fit ? (not neccesarilly always of course) And how shall we continue ? PAss? 3♥ ? so pd can pass with xxx ♥ ?

1♥--2♥ I am extremely happy, and will bid my game at imps or mp .Would you be as uncomfortable as 1♠-2♠ auction even if you are not happy yet ?

1♥--1♠ I am very happy, especially if pd was going to raise me to 2 level had i opened this 1♠

1♥--2m
2♠ I dont play this as reverse, but i can understand the concerns of opening 1♥ if you do.

1♥--1NT
2♥ is my bid, not as good as opening 1♠ i admit, but i dont think much worse either since...

1♠--1NT
2♥--pass Are we happy ?

1♠--1NT
2♥--2♠
3♥ Are we happy with where we are at ?

Those are the things that goes thru my mind and i need your opinions. I maybe overlooking or ignoring some other facts that supports 1♠ opening other than those 5-3 ♠ fit with xx or Kx ♥ and opponents are not able to tap us and/or trumps + hearts are friendly. I am aware that there are a lot of hands that we can construct to support both sides, so i wont start it.

When it comes to auctions with opponents involved, i guess it cuts both ways. I would personally feel more secure with having started my longest suit.

This analysis is unfair to a 1S opener since the reason people open 1S is for fear of losing spades if the auction becomes competitive.

[Vampyr]

aguahombre, on 2011-November-19, 18:44, said:

Partner is not encumbered by the Flannery inference and will show four spades.

True, the British players will not be encumbered by the "Flannery inference". LOL

[Lurpoa]

Correction


1♥

any 6-5 with opening values is worth a reverse, which we play only one-round forcing.

[guido]

Vampyr, on 2011-November-20, 04:41, said:

True, the British players will not be encumbered by the "Flannery inference". LOL

Being seriously old, I believe in preparedness. I open 1♠ so that I can rebid ♥ at almost any any level. If the opponents were barred from the bidding, I'd open 1♥ if playing a forcing ♣ or ♦ system.

I must admit that if I were playing Flannery (a fine convention which I encourage all my opponents to use), I would be tempted to use it on this hand. Except for the midnight Swiss, though, I'd probably be strong enough to resist the temptation.

[aguahombre]

guido, on 2011-November-20, 13:00, said:

I must admit that if I were playing Flannery (a fine convention which I encourage all my opponents to use), I would be tempted to use it on this hand. Except for the midnight Swiss, though, I'd probably be strong enough to resist the temptation.

Misunderstanding, here. The "Flannery inference" is the 1S response to 1H, not the choice of opening bid itself. Some who use Flannery only respond 1S/1H with 5 of them. They either forget that the 1H opener might be 4-6 in the majors, open Flannery with 4-6 in the majors, or haven't thought about it at all.

[ggwhiz]

1♠ for me. Every reason to expect competition and partner will play me for much more strength if I open 1♥ until (or even after) I bid ♠ TWICE.

That's as poor use of bidding room on a potential mis-fit as well.

[gwnn]

Happy 1♥ bidder here (intending to rebid and rerebid 2♠ and 3♠ if allowed). No deep philosophical arguments (or cliches) this time. The upsides and downsides of each bid are obvious, as are those of playing a potentially light reverse style. They have also been more or less stated in prior posts.

[whereagles]

I know this hand lol. I held LHOs cards.

I believe 1S is superior. As a rule, with a 6x-5y y>x you should only open 1x if you're strong enough to rebid suit y twice. Usually this means something close to a 4 or less loser hand.

[MarkDean]

Call me old-fashioned, but I would open my six card suit.

[whereagles]

old-fashioned

[Phil]

MarkDean, on 2011-November-20, 15:21, said:

Call me old-fashioned, but I would open my six card suit.

Call me really old-fashioned but i would rather open my higher ranking suit.