[MrAce]

 sfi, on 2017-March-13, 21:07, said:

I'm not sure that saying "11-21" really captures the style that opens this hand. When I ask people about this, they typically have it because they don't want to get into trouble when opening an 11 count with a 6-card suit, or an interesting 5-4, or ...

Would all the people replying to this poll expect partner to open this hand? My real point is that I don't see this as a "standard" opening if you want to conduct a constructive auction. I, and most of my regular partners, will open this anyway. But this affects our invites as well as what we will accept game on as opener.

If you don't make the adjustment somehow, you wind up in too many silly 3NT contracts. As on the hand in the original post.

Mind you, at IMPs I am getting to 3NT on these hands. There overbidding pays off better.

To me 11 means 11. You could have a valid point if I said something like "good 11 to 21". I did not say that. All I said was it shows 5+ ♠ and 11-21 hcp.

Another important thing, why do you think they open all flat 11 hcps systematically anyway? We do not know that. In fact the way OP asking us whether West hand is worth opening or not implies that they do not have such an agreement.
You just looked at W hand and decided that this hand is in their system agreements. This is only your conclusion. If that was true I do not think OP would ask us whether W hand should open or not.

This is why I think you guys are resulting. And now you are complaining as if I skipped a known fact about the opening agreement. No we do not know it. OP himself do not know it, did not mention anything about it, how could we?

Do you want me to talk people into bidding 2 NT? I will not do it for you. Sorry I just will give it to them as the way it actually is. In fact, stating 11-21 is something for your benefit because there are a lot of people who would not open with 11 hcp. To them it is good 12 to 21.

[nullve]

 nugatory, on 2017-March-12, 19:58, said:

---

Matchpoint scoring.

OK, so this is not going to be a great success. Among the questions that came up in the subsequent discussion:
1) Is the west hand worth an opening bid?
2) Is there such a thing as a hand with 4-4 in the reds that does not make a negative double after 1S(2C)?
3) Who if anyone bids NT, and when? (On the actual deal, DeepFinesse says 2N makes but of course that's on a particular NS layout).
4) Does west's 2H call promise four hearts?
5) What is a sane auction to a sane contract?

1) Depends on agreements (duh!), but it doesn't meet the rule of 20, so I don't think it's a book opening bid in standard 2/1. But then "book" 2/1 may be a bit too conservative for most tournament players.
2) Responder has to pass on very weak hands, obviously. And it seems a bit silly to double with, say, 9 hcp, 1444 if Opener is expected to rebid 2♠ with 12-14, 5S(332). (But I've seen it on Vugraph!)
3) If 1♠ is the correct opening bid with (11)12-14 hcp, 5S(332) [not necessarily true in systems where 1♣ is "natural or balanced", for instance], then a decision has to be made (once and for all) whether Opener should rebid a) 2red or b) 2♠ with that hand type. If a), then I think Responder has to play Opener for 4 hearts anyway, so I don't really see how 4♥ can be avoided. If b), then I guess Responder will suggest 3N over 2♠.
4),5) See 3).

[Kaitlyn S]

I play that the negative double always has four hearts, so I would bid 3NT over West's (correct IMO) 2H bid.

If you don't play that the negative double guarantees four hearts, there is still no problem because you only wouldn't have four hearts when you have a problem; in this auction you show you didn't have a problem, you could have always just bid 3NT without four hearts so a 3NT bid after opener's 2H rebid promises four hearts for anybody.

And yes, 3NT is on thin values but it's because West opened a hair light, but it's better than 4H.

[nullve]

 Kaitlyn S, on 2017-March-14, 13:54, said:

If you don't play that the negative double guarantees four hearts, there is still no problem because you only wouldn't have four hearts when you have a problem; in this auction you show you didn't have a problem, you could have always just bid 3NT without four hearts so a 3NT bid after opener's 2H rebid promises four hearts for anybody.

You're right.

 nullve, on 2017-March-14, 03:07, said:

If a), then I think Responder has to play Opener for 4 hearts anyway, so I don't really see how 4♥ can be avoided.

Stupid.