[Hanoi5]

W vs R, MP's:

♠QJ986
♥AQ42
♦T6
♣96

P-P-P-???

[ahydra]

pass?

I mean, are we expecting to make 2S on a combined 19? And it's what the field would do.

ahydra

[Valardent]

Rule of 15 (hcp+number of ♠held) advises one to pass.

One might say, bcs of the ♥ suit, opps won't outbid us in a fit at the 2 level. So better open cos if opps play at the 3 level, they 'll pbbly go down.

Problem is :

p rates to make a limit bid, so chances are relatively high we will go down in 2nt or in 3M (except on a drury seq.)

So what if it goes 1♠ (P) 1NT (P) ?

2♥ or pass ?

I think I would open 1♠ and pass on 1NT, but surely not riskfree.

[nigel_k]

I think 1♠ is ok. But if partner responds 1NT you have to pass because he will bid too much if you give him another chance. Pass or maybe even 2♠ could also work.

[kenrexford]

Pass.

This, by the way, is easier for me because my partners open garbage, even in second seat.

If my partner was one of those strange people I occasionally partner who might have a balanced 12-count, I'd open.

As an aside, I would rather open 1♥ and pass partner's next call than open 1♠ and pass partner's next call. I would open 1♠ and then rebid 2♥, myself, but I could be more easily persuaded into 1♥...p than 1♠...p.

[ArtK78]

Unless you are playing sound openings in 2nd seat, this is a pass.

[Poky]

Clear 1♠. Passing would be a crime.
Points are 20-20, we have major suit(s).

[ggwhiz]

This is as close to 50-50 as I can imagine but we don't open flat 11 counts or 4x3 12 counts so I'm in for 1♠.

Bergen said that the rule of 15 applies OR if you can compete to the 3 level. I equate this to the same thing in that we buy the contract at the 2 level or sell out to them at 3 and go plus. We have all the tools to make this a 75-25 proposition but will ocassionally be stuck in 3 of something.

In f2f competition I can often take the opps temperature ie. a guy like Ken Rexford won't let me play 2 of a major unless it's an emergency and if they could make something, they already bid.

[daveharty]

9 (HCP) + 5 (# of spades) + 2 (1 for each doubleton) + 1 (five card suit) + .25 (2 nines) = 17.25

WTP?

Nah, I would pass.

[gwnn]

ez 1S. always open in 4th unless your hand is really really bad.

[Fluffy]

with 5-4 majors this is not even a question at MPs

[Statto]

nigel_k, on 2012-February-22, 13:39, said:

I think 1♠ is ok. But if partner responds 1NT you have to pass because he will bid too much if you give him another chance. Pass or maybe even 2♠ could also work.

I'd rebid 2♥ after 1NT. I'd rather play 2♠ in a 5-2 fit than 1NT.

[the hog]

Pass. Opening is a clear error. If I am drunk and decide to open, I agree with nigel that you MUST pass a 1NT response.

[han]

If you open the bidding you should try to go plus. Passing 1NT is not a good recipe for going plus.

[the hog]

han, on 2012-February-23, 02:39, said:

If you open the bidding you should try to go plus. Passing 1NT is not a good recipe for going plus.

I agree. Nether is having partner bid too much because he believes that you have your opening bid. So we are back to not opening.
The openers are playing with themselves again, (literally and metaphorically). They forget that they have a partner. I can just hear the discussion afterwards - "Did you have to raise to 3H?"

[bigbenvic]

2♦ with regular partner, 4+ both Majors < opening hand, in 4th seat it is a hand that is very close to opening.

If I am not using this then add me to the passes, too often these hands go beyond your last making spot.

[AyunuS]

Pass. Points are not necessarily 20/20 as you could easily have 18 or 19, but you might as well assume you have no more than 20. The rule of 15 overrates spades and still advises us to pass, even though we have a good number of spades. Why does it overrate spades? Because it considers a 4/3/3/3 hand worse than a 7/6/0/0 hand, or any other unbalanced distribution without many spades, when clearly the second one is the better hand.

If you open, then there are 2 possibilities. Your partner has spades and raises to 3S and you go down, or your partner doesn't have spades and then the opponents will probably be able to outbid you. Either way, you usually lose.

[kenrexford]

ggwhiz, on 2012-February-22, 15:26, said:

In f2f competition I can often take the opps temperature ie. a guy like Ken Rexford won't let me play 2 of a major unless it's an emergency and if they could make something, they already bid.

You apparently are not aware of my great love of low-level penalty doubles. One partner of mine and I are somewhat known for extracting penalties at low levels.

[ggwhiz]

First hand of a speedball last night I picked up this in 4th chair, passed around to me.

♠987642
♥KQx
♦xx
♣Ax

That adds up to the rule of 15 but I folded it. Since I opened this one I'm considering therapy.

[aguahombre]

IMO, this decision is not to be based on whether partner would have opened light in 2nd chair; but it should nevertheless be based on partner.

If CHO is one of those who overbids or otherwise takes license under the "BUT I WAS A PASSED HAND" theory, then it is probably best to pass the OP hand out. If partner is not a CHO, and makes responses/competitive calls as a passed hand similar to those she would have made as an unpassed hand, then I open 1S and rebid 2H if pard responds 1NT or neg doubles.