[dicklont]

Scoring: MP

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Do you open 1NT, 1C or something else?

[ArtK78]

1♣.

Treat the hand as a 13 count (maybe even a 12 count).

One of the reasons for opening most 15, 16 and 17 counts 1NT is that they are difficult to bid if you open them one of a suit. This hand has no such problem. After opening 1♣ you have an easy 1♠ rebid. With all of the quackiness in the red suits, no one would accuse you of underbidding the hand.

Now, if you had this hand:

QJxx AK Ax QTxxx

1NT would make a lot more sense.

[helene_t]

1NT, don't really like it if p's 1st or 2nd bid is 1NT after I opened 1♣.

[Old York]

I insist on a 1NT response to 1♣ to be serious and show 8-10, unless playing inverted minors perhaps

Tony

Edit: If you normally open 1♣ on garbage hands, then it may be unsafe to open 1♣ here?

[jdonn]

I would open 1NT, balanced 13 or 12 count = LOL, and I think the example of a hand where 1NT would make a lot more sense is a worse 1NT opening than the given hand. I guess that covers everything.

[skjaeran]

1NT for me. I'd not like 1♣-1♦/♥-1♠-1NT.

[Winstonm]

To think my partner will hold the cards to improve both my Qx and my QJ is wishful thinking - although for him to hold Kx(x) in one of the two suits is reasonable. Therefore, my hand is worth around 13-14 unless I get really lucky or really unlucky. AK, A is good but 4522 pretty much sucks as does not holding the Qs and Js in with my longer suits.

1C is automatic to me. I think 1N an overbid even if playing 14-16.

Your opinion and mileage may vary.

[Phil]

Normally I don't open 1N with 4-5 in the blacks since I have an easy rebid, but here it makes sense since our red doubletons are pretty good.

[hanp]

Ditto Josh.

[gwnn]

gee partner is not allowed to have a red suit king. I have 16, I live in balanced land, I open 1NT.

[hanp]

Romania?

[NickRW]

1N for me too - if I were to ever play 2/1!

There was a time when people were taught to have stoppers for 1N openers - I thought that got dropped about the time the ark hit dry land. It is true that we could end in 3N with an embarassing lack of control in one of the red suits - but the same might happen in a suit contract - and the same might happen to slightly more normal 1N openers too. If we waited for guarantees people would require 8 playing tricks for a preempt!

Nick

[P_Marlowe]

1C.

And I am not treating this hand as a 12-14 count.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[mtvesuvius]

1NT.

[mike777]

1nt but I open alot of offshape hands 1nt.

One exception would be a hand with a 5 card major and xx in a side suit.

[655321]

Some years ago, I played in a few events with a partner who was new to me but someone I knew had heard of him. One of the first things he told me was that I must ALWAYS count 0 HCP for a doubleton Queen. If I had a doubleton Queen, I must count it as 0 HCP. I questioned him about it, giving him some balanced hands with doubleton Queens, and he dismissed them all.

In discussing this with others, I referred to this as "NAME's Rule." I am not going to name him, but you get the idea.

This person is not yet 90 years old. I do not know for sure if he has ever won a bridge tournament, but I see his name in the list of entries quite frequently. He and I finished out of the overalls in one event we played. We also finished out of the overalls in another event.


Oh, the hand? 1NT of course. Also LOL at the idea of treating it as a balanced 12 or 13.

[Winstonm]

I am somewhat surprised that no one has pointed out that this hand is a 7-loser hand, not what one would anticipate from a 1N opening.

[hanp]

I am surprised that someone counted the losers of a 1NT opening but I am not surprised that it is Winston.

[Phil]

hanp, on May 16 2009, 08:56 PM, said:

I am surprised that someone counted the losers of a 1NT opening but I am not surprised that it is Winston.

There's a little cult of LTC fanatics that think a 1N opening is supposed to have 6 losers.

I have no idea what the source of this thinking is.

[JLOL]

Obv treat this as an 11 count, and then downgrade for the poor shape, and downgrade a bit for the lack of spot cards. I treat this as about 9.7. Opening this seems like a huge overbid.