[PacoAjijic]

Last week the dealing software at my club seemed to be a little off even though the hands are supposed to be random. For the day I had six hands that contained a void and three of those were when I was the dealer. Here is an example ♠KJ53 ♥AQT9 ♦T6543 ♣void. 10 HCP plus 1 for distribution. I passed all three hands in the 1st seat and each time my left hand opened my void and the opposition made partial contracts. My partner was not strong enough to over call but had terrific support (5 cards) for both my majors. Should I add value for the void, if so how much, as far as opening goes or was our dealing software just having fun with South hands that day.

[Phil]

Next to rating systems and snipes about online directors it seems dealing programs might be the most discussed (misunderstood) topics among non regular posters. Maybe we can pin a thread for this?

[PacoAjijic]

In general I don't have a problem with the dealing software. I am more concerned with how to value a hand like the one I posted when I am in the first seat.

[rhm]

You should open this hand for several reasons:

1) The high card points you have are worth more and you have nice intermediates in hearts. Before counting anything for your void I would upgrade the hand to 11 HCP.
2) Of course you should add something for your distribution. 3 points initially for a void before a fit has been established is conservative. So the total value of this hand is worth at least 14 points.
3) You have both majors, always a reason to be aggressive, because you will need less for game.

Rainer Herrmann

[EricK]

Even if you choose to not open a hand like this, you still often have a chance to come into the auction on the second round. If the bidding starts on your left with (1♣) P (1x or 2♣ or 3♣), then you can make a take out double to show the other suits. This even has the advantage of partner knowing the limit of your hand (although it has the disadvantage of you starting your auction at a higher level).

[Free]

I don't feel strongly about opening this hand or not. What I do feel strongly about is when you pass and opps bid your void, you have to come in and describe your hand with a takeout Dbl (max pass and support for the unbid suits).

About the dealing program: even if the chance of a certain event is very small, it will occur sometimes when you give it enough time. The chance of a plane crashing on your roof is extremely small. However, it has happened to some people (the Concorde crashed on a hotel for example)! When you play roulette at the casino, the chance is small that you'll get a red number 10 times in a row. However, after enough spins it will occur. Similar with dealing programs: the programs run all over the world, deal lots of hands, so once in a while you'll get some strange statistics on a small amount of deals. This doesn't mean the program is having fun, it's just doing what it's supposed to do.