[AL78]

I have moved to a new bridge club which I know nothing about other than they have much better evening F2F attendance. I turned up yesterday evening after being allocated a partner (no idea of her standard) and we hastily agreed to play Benji Acol, weak NT, standard Blackwood, no Gerber.

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What now?

[pescetom]

I would probably have opened 1♦ in the circumstances.
Now I try 4♦ and wish I was behind screens or with a real partner, preferably both.

[Tramticket]

Even after a Benji 2C opening (the weaker of the two strong bids), I would regard 3C as a one-round force, meaning that partner really does have a pile of waste paper to choose to pass.

My worry is that, if I take another bid, 4H might be making!

[DavidKok]

I prefer opening 1♣ on hands like this. We have a lot to tell and should focus on showing our shape. We also don't have enough defensive tricks to be comfortable in a competitive auction.
Partner's pass last round is very troubling. I think we have not limited our hand, so partner should not pass it. If we trust that exceptional inference we should probably pass again.

[Cyberyeti]

DavidKok, on 2024-October-12, 16:09, said:

I prefer opening 1♣ on hands like this. We have a lot to tell and should focus on showing our shape. We also don't have enough defensive tricks to be comfortable in a competitive auction.
Partner's pass last round is very troubling. I think we have not limited our hand, so partner should not pass it. If we trust that exceptional inference we should probably pass again.

You limited your hand by opening 2♣ not the strongest bid of 2♦. This is how benji acol works

[mw64ahw]

It's more of a 1♣ opening for me. A touch stronger and I go via 2N which is weak with minors6+♣ pre-emptive or strong minors - at least xx(54) - but not xx64. This may then go 2N-(3♥)-P-P-3N i.e. xx46

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

I cant bring myself to Pass, hence I repeat my suit.
I would also have opened 1C, but you would have likely faced similar problems.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[DavidKok]

Cyberyeti, on 2024-October-13, 01:17, said:

You limited your hand by opening 2♣ not the strongest bid of 2♦. This is how benji acol works

Thank you, my mistake. I've never played Benji Acol 2's and the only time I've seen them is when people post their problems after opening them.
In that case I don't know what we've already shown and what partner has denied. What are our agreements about partner's pass?

[AL78]

DavidKok, on 2024-October-13, 06:01, said:

Thank you, my mistake. I've never played Benji Acol 2's and the only time I've seen them is when people post their problems after opening them.
In that case I don't know what we've already shown and what partner has denied. What are our agreements about partner's pass?

Scratch partnership, we didn't have time to go into detail beyond the fundamentals of the system so no agreement.

[AL78]

P_Marlowe, on 2024-October-13, 05:39, said:

Hi,

I cant bring myself to Pass, hence I repeat my suit.
I would also have opened 1C, but you would have likely faced similar problems.

With kind regards
Marlowe

That is what I did, the auction proceeds:

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Over to you.

[mw64ahw]

AL78, on 2024-October-13, 06:09, said:

That is what I did, the auction proceeds:

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Over to you.

I think you have said everything you can without going to 5♦. South is aiming to push you up as they didn't bid their strength first time round. Perhaps its time for partner to step in?

[Cyberyeti]

DavidKok, on 2024-October-13, 06:01, said:

Thank you, my mistake. I've never played Benji Acol 2's and the only time I've seen them is when people post their problems after opening them.
In that case I don't know what we've already shown and what partner has denied. What are our agreements about partner's pass?

Essentially 2♣ showed an acol 2 in any suit, this is commonly 9 playing tricks in a minor but some people play 8, partner's pass suggests that there is not much chance of them having anything of use for you

[P_Marlowe]

AL78, on 2024-October-13, 06:09, said:

That is what I did, the auction proceeds:

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Over to you.

You pass, what else?

[AL78]

I felt I had bid my hand and could see no justification to do anything other than pass and leave it to partner. It got passed out and this is the full deal:

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Partner found the unfortunate lead of the ♦T which giftwrapped three diamond tricks for declarer, although declarer can play the suit for three tricks themself. -420 was a bottom and had it been IMPS we would have possibly conceeded a double game swing out. The full traveller:

5♣ W -600
3NT W +300
4♣ W -150
3♣ W -150
4♥ N +420
5♣ W -600
5♣X W -950

[mycroft]

I don't speak Acol, definitely not Benji Acol, but if 2♣, then 3♣ shows "9 playing tricks in a minor" (with, I assume, some defence), isn't that what I have?

In which case, nice hand and all that, but partner can see the front of his cards. Why not pass 3♥ and see what partner does? Yes, he's shown garbage, but he can count "9 + 1" or "9 + 0, but 3♥ makes" at least as well as I can.

Or he can't. In which case, Simon tells me what to do for the next hands (in particular, "if I'm playing it, go ahead and 'bid partner's points'. If my hand is going down as dummy, 'have what I showed'." For exactly the reason Simon said it 80 years ago: it may score worse on this hand, but eroding partner's confidence will be paid for the rest of the session).

Now, if "random pickup at non-London club Benji Acol" shows something different with 2♣, 3♣, then my argument goes out the window.

[Edit: while writing this, the dénouement was posted. I don't know what to do with a partner who, when you said "I can take 10 tricks with effectively no support", wouldn't sacrifice with three clubs and a ruffing value and no defence. And then make an aggressive opening lead rather than leading my suit and seeing what happens. I would put it down to "He knows what his partners usually have when they bid like this" and remember that other maxim of Simon's: "bad players overbid their good hands and underbid their bad ones." (I am, too often, still one of Simon's "bad players"). And then remember that those who play pickup tend to get a lot of bad partners who can't get anyone else.]

[P_Marlowe]

Playing MP, +170 was nearly as great as +420.

[mw64ahw]

AL78, on 2024-October-13, 10:04, said:

I felt I had bid my hand and could see no justification to do anything other than pass and leave it to partner. It got passed out and this is the full deal:

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Partner found the unfortunate lead of the ♦T which giftwrapped three diamond tricks for declarer, although declarer can play the suit for three tricks themself. -420 was a bottom and had it been IMPS we would have possibly conceeded a double game swing out. The full traveller:

5♣ W -600
3NT W +300
4♣ W -150
3♣ W -150
4♥ N +420
5♣ W -600
5♣X W -950

4♥ makes as does 5♣. It could have been worse if partner led a ♠