[cargobeep]

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SAYC/IMPS. Do you agree with the bidding by N/S? Was 4S a good call?

[rhm]

On this forum you will get plenty of support for 1♠. ("A clear opening" WTP etc.)
I would never consider anything but 2♠ at these colors.
I do not like 4♠. It is the type of poor bid , which at times is successful. You will rarely have a play for it. The 3♦ bid makes it likely that partner has length in hearts.
More likely, though still unlikely, opponents could have game in a red suit (or even 3NT) and poor ones might neglect to double you like here.
As the bidding started I would rebid 3♠ and then give up.

Rainer Herrmann

[mcphee]

I do not really understand the 1S opening, several tricks but not really opening values. Having opened 1S and catchng a raise I would bid game.

[mcphee]

I do not really understand the 1S opening, several tricks but not really opening values. Having opened 1S and catchng a raise I would bid game. I fast sac may not hear dble.

[the hog]

I don't like 1S and I certainly disagree with 4S. Sth appears to be a mad overbidder.

[mgoetze]

rhm, on 2013-August-17, 03:21, said:

On this forum you will get plenty of support for 1♠. ("A clear opening" WTP etc.)

If by "this forum" you mean BBF in general, possible, but I doubt that. I certainly wouldn't open it 1♠ and I consider my opening style quite aggressive.

If by "this forum" you mean the novice/beginner forum, then definitely not. There are some rare posters who take no note of the fact that this forum is for beginners, and I personally think they should be banned from posting here, but of the others I'm absolutely certain none would advocate a 1♠ opening on this hand for beginners.

South has a textbook 3♠ opening, but there are several good reasons to open 2♠ instead in this particular case, notably the vulnerability and the less than stellar suit quality. If South does open 2♠, then North will probably raise to 3♠, but there is no reason for North to be aggressive considering his holding in the heart suit. Also it must be pointed out that if South does open 2♠ then South should not under any circumstances raise further in later bidding rounds.

Having ill-advisedly opened 1♠, South now faces a guess. 4♠ in this case was the wrong guess.

[Phil]

No strong feelings about 1♠.

4♠ looks obvious.

[johnu]

When evaluating hands for suit contracts, I like to take a look at the losing trick count. Without going into a whole lesson about adjustments and exceptions and using a gross simplification, just look at your hand and imagine how each suit would play opposite 3 small cards in partners hand.

In spades, you have 10 or 11 cards in the suit, so only assign 2 losers on normal breaks, 1 loser in hearts to the ♥A, 2 top diamonds, and 2 clubs. This total 7 losers. A typical single raise will cover 2 to 3 losers (typically 2 or 3 (AKQ) honor cards and maybe a short suit where you can ruff losers, which still leaves you with 4 or 5 losers for the entire hand. That's not to say 4♠ will never have a play, but it will be a long shot.

Partner is a passed hand and you are in third seat, 7 card suit, 9 HCP, both Vul, I'm opening 2♠.

[akwoo]

I'm opening 2♠ or 3♠ with that hand. Third seat, red vs red, probably 3.

After a 1♠ opening, with the bidding going the way it did, the 4♠ bid seems reasonable (even if it looks like the bid of someone who regretted not opening 3♠). It's not a bid to make; it's a bid to make it harder for opponents to figure out if 5♦ is good for them or not. Down 2 doubled is profitable if opps make 5♦ or 3N, down 1 doubled isn't too bad if opps only make 4♦, and opps might get confused as to who is sacrificing and not double at all. Or they may misjudge to 5♦ and go down.

Some beginners seem to have trouble understanding the following: Half the hands belong to the opponents. This means, half the time, the point of bidding is to mess up the opponents without sticking your neck out too far rather than to make it to a good contract of your own.

[Endymion77]

I would never open the South hand 2♠ or 3♠, so that leaves 1♠ or pass. In 3rd seat, 1♠ is clear-cut. The 4♠ rebid is way out of line though.

[PhilKing]

Playing SAYC, I would double 4♠ with the West hand.

[helene_t]

I don't have much game interest opposite a passed hand so I would just open 2♠.