[Antrax]

Matchpoints, none. vul, you're in first seat
♣Kxx ♦Kx ♥x ♠AQJTxxx
What is your opening bid and what are the considerations?

[mike777]

Antrax, on 2012-April-20, 13:16, said:

Matchpoints, none. vul, you're in first seat
♣Kxx ♦Kx ♥x ♠AQJTxxx
What is your opening bid and what are the considerations?

1s then 3s over 1nt

[HighLow21]

I'd tend to open 1♠ rather than 1♣, preferring to show my 7CM rather my 3cm.

As far as rebids over responses of 1NT or 2 of any other suit, I jump to 3♠ in deference to my playing strength and trick taking ability in spades (or possibly NT), and my point count is at best a tertiary consideration.

Since I have a play for 4♠ opposite as little as Qx♣ xxxxxx♦ xxx♥ Kx♠, and since changing the Q♣ to the A♣ makes it almost guaranteed, I think this jump to 3♠ is quite good.

[ahydra]

Agree with 1S-3S. Yes it's only a 13 count but you have a nice shape, a 7-card suit and 5 losers - well worth it.

I wouldn't open 4S because the hand is too strong for that - take away one of the Kings and then I would. In first it's important that partner gets the right impression so he can bid slam if it's there.

ahydra

[ArtK78]

You have a full opening bid and a very good suit. You need partner to have a few key cards to produces a slam, and only one or two good cards to produce a game. Opening anything other than 1♠ makes no sense to me.

You do not want to open 4♠ because the hand is too good. Furthermore, you will mislead partner as to the strength and defensive trick taking potential of your hand. Change the spade suit to QJTxxxx and you might consider a 3♠ or 4♠ opening bid.

On the other end of the spectrum, the hand is not even close to a 2♣ opening. You need some substantial strength or a lot of luck or both to make a game. If partner had as little as the ♣QJ and the ♦Q you might make 4♠ if the spade finesse is onside and you can reach dummy to take the required finesse(s). You also need partner to have at least one, preferably at least 2, spades. In all likelihood, you need partner to have a bit more than 2 queens and a jack to make game a good bet.

[daveharty]

What's the deal with people listing hands C-D-H-S? This is the third or fourth example I've seen in the last few days. Did some governing body issue a new standard?

As for the hand, anything other than 1♠ seems bizarre. There's no need to explode the auction when your partner is an unpassed hand and you hold the spades.

[Antrax]

Which suit order makes more sense to you?

Also, follow-up question, if my majors were reversed, is it a 4♥ opening? I'm just not sure what a 4M opening looks like in first seat.

[daveharty]

A prototypical 4S opener looks like KQJxxxxx x xx xx. I would also do it with KJTxxxxx xx Axx --, or QJT98xxx x KQx x, or KQJTxxx xx -- QJTx (at least at these colors), etc. Basically a hand with lots of spades, less than opening bid values, and a lot of playing strength (more than a 3S opener). The old "Rule of 2-3-4" has largely gone by the wayside as too restrictive, but it is at least a starting point for deciding what your standards for preemptive openings are; it advised you to be within 4 tricks (in your own hand) of your bid at favorable vulnerability, within 3 tricks at equal, and 2 tricks at unfavorable.

It is a tougher question with hearts. I still wouldn't do it with your posted hand, since partner could be the one I'm preempting. I don't like preempting with full opening bid values under any circumstances, but especially not opposite an unpassed partner. But I do think there is a somewhat wider range of hands that I would consider opening 4H, mostly due to the addition of a lot of hands that would probably only be worth 3S if the majors were reversed. 3S is a really effective preempt, 3H a bit less so.

[han]

Antrax, on 2012-April-21, 00:21, said:

Which suit order makes more sense to you?

It is not about sense, it is a matter of convention, and the convention is to give hands in the order spades-hearts-diamonds-clubs.

Most people play that a 4M opening is weaker than an opening bid, so not a 13-count.

[han]

That may or may not be the best way to play it though, that's a different matter. Opening 4H with x AQJ10xxx Kx Kxx may be a good strategy but it is not what most partners (especially most non-beginnner partners) would expect.