[svengolly]

Is it just me or does Bob Jones seem to be more and more "erratic" in his selection of bids for his weekly bridge quizzes?

This hand particularly has me bugged.

♠ 10 7
♥ A 5
♦ A K 9 8 3 2
♣ A 8 5

N-S Vul, you are S dealer.

In his latest column from 12/24/16, he says open this 1NT. I'm trying to see the long run logic here but it escapes me. It would seem to be impossible to redescribe this hand in terms of diamonds and suit play once NT has been called. Plus, it's not like you're trying to protect the lead coming into your hand with tenaces.

Enlighten me oh wise players! I am getting back into the game after a long absence.

[awm]

While this hand is a somewhat extreme example, it's become popular among experts to open 1NT on "semi-balanced" hand patterns with a six-card minor and no singleton. There are several ways to win:

1. If partner passes with something like 5-7 points, you wind up playing 1NT instead of 2♦ or 3♦. This will often score better.
2. If partner has a weaker hand, the 1NT opening can make it harder for opponents to reach their major suit partial (whereas a 1♦ opening lets them in pretty easily).
3. 2M is often a good partial if partner has five, especially at MP, and you probably can't reach that after a 1♦ open.
4. Concealing the diamond suit can make things tougher on the opponents when defending 3NT or 4M.
5. You play 3NT or 4M from the stronger side.
6. If you open 1♦ and rebid 2♦ you will often miss game opposite 8-9 high... whereas 1♦...3♦ may pressure partner into a game bid on hands where it doesn't make.

Against all these, you'll sometimes play in 3NT when 5♦ or even 6♦ is better, you may play some 5-2 2M partials that don't turn out great, and sometimes 1NT is a worse partial than you would otherwise reach. The tradeoff is usually good, although I'd consider suit quality, tenaces, and holding in the majors when deciding to do this.

[svengolly]

If it was a 5-card suit or a weaker 6 bagger, I'd have no issue but 6 cards to AK and A's heading up the other suits? It seems to me 1NT gives up possibilities. The other thing that annoys me is that Jones never specifies a scoring format. Is it MP? IMP? Rubber bridge? I guess it's a percentage play but it seems pretty unilateral.

With my luck, bidding 1N, pard would have:

♠ x
♥ x x x x
♦ Q x x
♣ K Q x x x

[1eyedjack]

Ok with that hand how do you expect the auction to proceed following 1D opener, out of curiosity, without seeming a results merchant? Let's be generous and assume that the auction is not at 4S by the time it gets back to you.

For the record, count me among the 1N openers. Would have done 10 years before it became mainstream.

[ggwhiz]

1nt should come with a disclaimer of White vs Red and/or looking for a swing.

With my regular partner 1♦ followed by 3♦ is just about a transfer to 3nt played from the right side.

♠Qxx with partner can (maybe) make our side the "right" one as long as the diamonds run versus getting transferred to a poor quality 5-card major etc. Feels very close in the win/loss partscore battle since my 1nt openers never seem to shut the opponents up. I'll take a small loss there to win on the correct game/slam hands

[svengolly]

1eyedjack, on 2016-December-27, 03:37, said:

Ok with that hand how do you expect the auction to proceed following 1D opener, out of curiosity, without seeming a results merchant? Let's be generous and assume that the auction is not at 4S by the time it gets back to you.

This seems reasonable to me but like I said, I'm getting back into bridge after a long hiatus:

1♦ - 1♠ - DBL - 3♠
4♦ - P - 4♠ - P
5/6♦

If they only compete to 2♠ it's easier. In thinking about it, the hand may be easier to bid with some interference.

How would you proceed after opening it 1NT? Since we're talking a Bob Jones column, you can't get too fancy with gadgets. If you open 1 NT does pard use Stayman? Pass? 2N? If you end up playing in NT, you probably lose 5 tricks to start. If the opps compete with some sort of spade showing bid (reasonable), what does pard do? What do you do?

[1eyedjack]

I am not suggesting that we get to the right spot by opening 1N on this hand. I very much doubt that we would. I don't expect to gain opposite this responder by opening 1N. But neither do I find an individual bad hand for the system to be a persuasive argument against. I could construct a bad hand for every bid in my system without blinking an eye.

I would expect to gain on other hands, and on this hand I would rate us unlucky to lose (a lot) against the 1D openers. Sure it could happen, but it is by no means a given, and if it does happen it is not a conclusive argument that the strategy is poor.

Ironically, provided it does not get too high, intervention over 1N could help us just as it could over 1D. Classically it is considered something of a no-no for the 1N opener to back in opposite a passing partner, but I might well try some Diamonds here - certainly at the 3 level, maybe 4 would be a bit rich. Then responder with Qxx, a singleton in oppo, and a good side suit, *should* get excited. But that could be falling into the resulting trap.

[Trinidad]

Just my $0.02:

Expert players don't have any problem opening 5422 or 6322 hands with 1NT when it suits them. They might even have a 4441 or 5431.

BUT... when they do so, they have a reason.

Nowadays it seems to be somewhat fashionable for everyone who thinks that he is an expert to demonstrate that by opening virtually every 6322 or 5422 hand with 1NT when the point count is right (or even when it isn't). And when it works out wrong, they claim that all experts open 6332s with 1NT. While that last thing may or may not be true, usually the expert wouldn't have opned the actual 6332 with 1NT.

IMO this hand is a typical example: If your partner has anything valuable, you want to be in 3NT... from his side. Then it is pretty silly to have prevented the best contract with your opening 1NT bid when you have a perfectly natural alternative available.

Sometimes you wrongside a contract. That can happen and often is hard to foresee. But in this case one can see the problem as soon as one takes the cards out of the board.

Rik

[Kaitlyn S]

I'm with Rik and the OP. I'm no stranger to 1NT on 5-4's and 6 card suits when the conditions are right. They aren't right here. If I open 1D and rebid 3D and partner passes, we're plenty high enough and I'm happy to have a trump suit. 3NT is quite likely to play better from partner's side even after we give the opponents information in the auction. Besides if partner has a good hand with a small doubleton spade, I'd rather be in 5D on a spade lead than 3NT on a probable spade lead.

I have no clue who Bob Jones is but I disagree with him this time.

[akwoo]

I'm opening 1N in MPs against a good pair and 1D at IMPs or against a mediocre pair.

Good players are very wary these days of leading away from, say AQ9xx, against 3N at MPs. Sure it might be the only way to set the contract, but it's just as likely to give up -630 instead of -600. So even opposite that hand, I might prefer being in 3N. If I'm in 5D, I'm basically guaranteed average; at 3N, I'm top or bottom depending on what opps lead. (As a 55% Flight C player, I basically want to be top-or-bottom every reasonable chance I get.)

In most MP fields, I never (with the bridge meaning of 'never') want to be in 5m unless it's a potential sacrifice.

Also, at MPs, opposite a lot of hands, I might end up +140 in 2M in a 5-2 fit rather than +130 in 3D in a 6-3 fit.

[Phil]

awm, on 2016-December-27, 01:34, said:

6. If you open 1♦ and rebid 2♦ you will often miss game opposite 8-9 high... whereas 1♦...3♦ may pressure partner into a game bid on hands where it doesn't make.

This is the crux of the matter, but its why I like the 1D-->3D path since partner will upgrade diamond length/Q and fast tricks.

[mikestar13]

Another point: the more you widen the shape requirements, the tighter you need to be on the strength and vice-versa. When I have played 12-15 (including some upgraded 11's) I would not even consider 5422 or 6322 shape. Playing a fairly tight 3 point range, I'm much more open to it, though I'd open the example hand 1♦ -- if siding matters on this hand, partner needs to play this one. I may be wrong at MP, the advantage of concealment is greater because of the greater reluctance to lead a broken five card suit and may outweigh siding. At IMP, 1♦ is clear.

[PhantomSac]

I generally will open 1N with 6m(322) unless I am comfortable with both suit and hand quality to open 1m and rebid 3m. Other people have different theories (right siding, whether you have a 3 card major etc), but I think generally the advantages of opening 1N and of rightsiding are offset and I just want to get my hand strength across. I don't like 1m followed by 2m with hands worth 1N in general because it puts a lot of pressure on partner (this is especially true if you might open on the lighter side with a 6 card suit).

[SteveMoe]

This hand is too strong for a 15-17 1NT opening bid. 7 Controls and 15 HCP, no Q's - all point to 1♦ then 3♦. 1NT will make finding a ♦ slam difficult. Opening 1NT on 6223 shapes with a 6-card minor is old hat.

[fourdad]

Experts with highly refined partnership agreements do a lot of things that the rest of the bridge world should not.

Generally, I do not open NT with a 6 card suit or 2 dbltns.

[Left2Right]

Stretching the boundaries of 1NT openers has been a popular pastime for decades. Back in the 1970's I recall and few hardy souls testing their luck by opening 1NT on ♠K9 ♥Q2 ♦KQJ9873 ♣KQ.

The problem: They temporarily forgot that bids that limit your hand to a 3-point range make partner the captain. After taking this mistaken route, there aren't enough bids in the Captain Responder's bag of tricks to diagnose such a wonderful suit. They found themselves missing minor suit slams. Yes, there are hands that will make six clubs easily where NT makes only four or five.

I agree that your original example points to a less disciplined approach.

[Phil]

fourdad, on 2016-December-28, 06:05, said:

Experts with highly refined partnership agreements do a lot of things that the rest of the bridge world should not.

Generally, I do not open NT with a 6 card suit or 2 dbltns.

Oddly, not having great agreements is a reason to open 1N, because most pairs have little trouble with Stayman and transfers, etc..

Where you need good agreements is after a bulky sequence like 1♦-1♥-3♦. For instance,

1. is 3♥ forcing? Does it promise length or can it can it be a NT probe?
2. Same with 3♠. Does it show a stopper or does it ask for a stopper?

[Phil]

double

[msjennifer]

Kaitlyn and Trinidad have said all against opening this hand 1NT,I,too, will open this hand 1 Diamond as I am not an expert in fooling opponents and partner.

[miamijd]

Phil, on 2016-December-28, 10:58, said:

Oddly, not having great agreements is a reason to open 1N, because most pairs have little trouble with Stayman and transfers, etc..

Where you need good agreements is after a bulky sequence like 1♦-1♥-3♦. For instance,

1. is 3♥ forcing? Does it promise length or can it can it be a NT probe?
2. Same with 3♠. Does it show a stopper or does it ask for a stopper?

1. Of course 3H is forcing. Since you bid 1h on the first round, 3H should show at least 5 good hearts (often 6). If you have a hand that isn't worth game, you have a perfectly fine call at your disposal: pass (and let partner play 3D with his promised good 6-bagger or better).

2. 3sp on this auction ought to show a spade fragment. You don't ask for stoppers when there are two unbid suits (you show them).

Cheers,
Mike