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jillybean, on 2025-November-10, 08:28, said:
So the lines for a NT opening have been blurred, allowing 4135 but not for the rebid?
Why do you think this? Yes, there are some good players who routinely open 1N with a stiff (in ACBLand, I think it has to be a stiff Ace or King) but I think they are in a minority, plus I think most look at their hand and consider rebid issues. IOW, its not, afaik, that they think that opening 1N is good but, rather, that they think its slightly better than how they expect/fear the auction will go if they open 1 suit. But 4315/4135 shapes are trivial to bid, especially if 1C 1 R 1S promises at least 4 spades and longer clubs. Now, 1435, etc, is more difficult. K AQxx Kxx A109xx is an awkward hand after 1C 1S, such that even I would consider 1N if in a strong notrump context.
Personally, I rarely open 1N with a stiff but am more likely to open 2N (or 2C then notrump) with a stiff since 4441 20-21 counts with a stiff ace or king are extremely difficult to describe if one opens 1C or 1D ..iow, I dont like opening notrump but I judge that its likely to be the lesser of two evils.
I know there are expert partnerships who open 1N off shape more often than I do, but I wonder whether the trend is driven in part by the fact that many pro players play at least some of the time with clients .n such cases its usually best to grab dummy rather than let partner play, plus having the nuanced auctions needed to bid offshape 15-17 counts becomes challenging with a non expert partner. Most clients (I never play pro but have friends who do) are not very good players.
As for rebids, bearing in mind what Ive said above, there should rarely (but not never) be problems with rebids other than notrump with 5431 hands.
As for rebidding 2S or 2N, 2N has two very large flaws. One is that its a very big underbid. The other is that it distorts shape. One is often confronted with rebid issues where there is no perfect solution. Its a big part of the game, since such hands often lead to good/bad mp results or larger imp swings. Imo it is useful to apply, in such cases, the smallest lie problem principle, sometimes modified when two lies appear to be equivalent by adding the cheapest lie principle. The smallest lie is the main criterion.
A bid that contains two important distortions will never satisfy these tests. And, in any event, 2S is not remotely a lie. Your hand could be in the dictionary definition of 1C then 2S .its at the high end of the expected strength range but it is otherwise stereotypical. For one thing, 4=5 blacks is much more common than 4=6. Waiting for 4=6 means you are going to be engaging in gross distortions far too often. Bidding properly requires discipline and, imo, anything other than 2 S over a 1H response is extremely undisciplined and effectively destroys partners ability to bid effectively. Bridge is a partnership game. Anything other than 2S is a partnership destroying choice.
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