North♠JT♥74♦QT953 ♣A764 |
||
West♠753 ♥KJT963♦J6 ♣T2 |
East♠KQ4♥852♦K74 ♣KJ83 |
|
South♠A9862♥AQ♦A82 ♣Q95 |
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Hand 23 - 1NT vs 1 Major
This is chapter 23 in the story of my attempt to determine if it is better to open 1♠ or 1NT with 15 to 17 HCP and a five card ♠ suit.
The journey started with this post:
Later On
Here is the twenty-third hand I generated:
Dealer is South and everyone vulnerable.
Double Dummy:
3♠ can make by N/S
4♦ can make by N
2NT can make by S
3♦ can make by S
1NT can make by N
2♣ can make by N/S
1♥ can make by E/W
Monday, March 22, 2021
Hand 22 - 1NT vs 1 Major
This is chapter 22 in the story of my attempt to determine if it is better to open 1♠ or 1NT with 15 to 17 HCP and a five card ♠ suit.
The journey started with this post:
Later On
Here is the twenty-second hand I generated:
Dealer is East and E/W are vulnerable.
Double Dummy:
4♠ can make by E/W
4♣ can make by E/W
1NT can make by E/W
3♥ can make by N/S
2♦ can make by N/S
North♠75♥KJ86♦AK984 ♣KJ |
||
West♠K962 ♥3♦J6 ♣Q87632 |
East♠AQJ83♥A9♦T53 ♣A94 |
|
South♠T4♥QT7542♦Q72 ♣T5 |
Analysis
If East opens up 1NT I think South will "Pass" but what will West do? They are too weak to bid Stayman to find a four-four ♠ fit. West will either "Pass" or make a 2♠ (Relay) bid. 2♠ forces East to say 3♣ which West will "Pass". If West passes the 1NT opening bid North will probably come in. Since East has a good ♠ suit I said they would now show it. West should certainly bid game now. But that relies on North coming in. What happens if East opens 1♠? West will bid 2♠. Will North come in? Probably. When North comes in I said that East would not explore further with 15 or 16. However I think West will bid at least 3♠ to show their fourth ♠. That might be all the encouragement East needs to bid the game. Both these rely on North to bid. What happens if North does NOT bid. You find your best fit when East opens 1♠. So that is the winning call. To see the table where all the hands are listed click HERE!Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Open 2 Clubs?
Hi Heidi,
How should North open? Should North bid 2♣ instead of 1♣ so partner would not pass?
All vulnerable, East is dealer:
This is no means a perfect auction at all. But South will be thinking SLAM for sure once North opens 2♣. So when they ask for Aces and then Kings they get stuck when North bids 6♦. They are now past the 6♣ slam they wanted to be in. (Which one could argue they should have known.) So they try 6NT. Missing two Kings it is hard to bid to the 7 level.
North♠AQJ♥AT♦J ♣AKQJ832 |
||
West♠KT742 ♥K97♦95432 ♣ |
East♠965 ♥J6532♦T8 ♣T97 |
|
South♠83♥Q84♦AKQ76 ♣654 |
N | E | S | W |
Pass | Pass | Pass | |
??? |
Heidi's Answer:
I think North is strong enough to open 2♣ for sure. With such a lovely ♦ suit South might even jump to 3♦ showing a nice hand with a good suit. But South with 11 HCP should propel the partnership to at least a small slam. Their Partner opened 2♣ showing the equivalent of 22+ points. North will bid 4♣ because that is their strong suit. South will maybe just ask for Aces? They really shouldn't (no first or second round controls of the suits) but they are stuck. I think it is tough to get to the 7 level and as it turns out 13 tricks relies on the ♠ finesse (which works) because the ♦ suit is blocked. There are no entries to the South hand so North would have to overtake the ♦ and once they do that the suit does not run. It's tough to play in NT also which is a better contract. North might have no idea South's ♦ suit is so good and South really just has ♦ not the other suits.Suggested Auction:
N | E | S | W |
Pass | Pass | Pass | |
2♣ | Pass | 3♦ | Pass |
4♣ | Pass | 4NT | Pass |
5♠ | Pass | 5NT | Pass |
6♦ | Pass | 6NT | Pass |
Pass??? | Pass |
Thursday, March 11, 2021
Hand 21 - 1NT vs 1 Major
This is chapter 21 in the story of my attempt to determine if it is better to open 1♠ or 1NT with 15 to 17 HCP and a five card ♠ suit.
The journey started with this post:
Later On
Here is the twenty-first hand I generated:
Dealer is North and N/S are vulnerable.
Double Dummy:
3♥ can make by N/S
2♠ can make by N/S
1NT can make by N/S
2♣ can make by E/W
1♦ can make by E/W
North♠KQJ74♥J2♦K93 ♣AK5 |
||
West♠A86 ♥Q3♦QJ75 ♣QJ72 |
East♠T95♥K8♦AT42 ♣T843 |
|
South♠32♥AT97654♦86 ♣96 |
Analysis
If North opens up 1NT I think South will transfer to ♥ and "Pass". This is where they will play. What happens if North opens 1♠? The only thing saving the partnership here is a 3♥ bid by South showing a weak hand with a long suit. But even then North might raise. If South passes 1♠ they will play it there. If South bids 1NT I have stipulated North will raise to 2NT to show their balanced 18-19. Will South be able to get out in 3♥? Unclear. How do the contracts compare? Playing in ♥ is the best but N/S only take 9 tricks. They have four losers. I feel it is easy for the Defence to cash their four tricks also. When West is in with their A♠ they can easily shift to the Q♦. Playing in ♠ is the next best but N/S only take 8 tricks against best defence. If the Opponents start by cashing their A♦ Declarer will make an extra trick. Playing in 1NT really depends on the lead. Best if West leads a ♦ but here they would lead a low ♦ and would East put in the T♦? Unclear. I can see this making many overtricks because of the tricky defence. But Declarer will have to give up a ♥ trick in order to get six back. They need the entry to their hand. If I am assuming best Declarer play I will also assume best Defence. So 1NT will only make -- E/W will get the tricks they deserve. So opening 1NT wins here. N/S find their fit without getting the partnership too high. To see the table where all the hands are listed click HERE!Sunday, March 7, 2021
Hand 20 - 1NT vs 1 Major
This is chapter 20 in the story of my attempt to determine if it is better to open 1♠ or 1NT with 15 to 17 HCP and a five card ♠ suit.
The journey started with this post:
Later On
Here is the twentieth hand I generated:
Dealer is West and everyone vulnerable.
Double Dummy:
5NT can make by E/W
4♠ can make by W
4♥ can make by E/W
5♣ can make by E/W
3♠ can make by E
3♦ can make by E/W
North♠KQ986♥Q3♦K72 ♣T73 |
||
West♠AJT75 ♥85♦AQ9 ♣A86 |
East♠42♥AKT92♦JT ♣KQJ5 |
|
South♠3♥J764♦86543 ♣942 |
Analysis
If West opens up 1NT I think East will transfer to ♥ and bid 3NT. This is where they will play. What happens if West opens 1♠? East will bid 2♥ and the partnership will still get to 3NT. If West opens 1NT they are likely to get a ♠ lead from North. But either way Declarer has 11 tricks no matter what North leads. So I think this one is a draw. Really doesn't matter what West opens. To see the table where all the hands are listed click HERE!Thursday, March 4, 2021
Hand 19 - 1NT vs 1 Major
This is chapter 19 in the story of my attempt to determine if it is better to open 1♠ or 1NT with 15 to 17 HCP and a five card ♠ suit.
The journey started with this post:
Later On
Here is the ninteenth hand I generated:
Dealer is South and E/W are vulnerable.
Double Dummy:
2♠ can make by N/S
2♥ can make by E/W
2♦ can make by N/S
2♣ can make by E/W
North♠JT8♥6♦Q87652 ♣Q84 |
||
West♠74 ♥A954♦K4 ♣AJ732 |
East♠A93♥J8732♦T9 ♣K65 |
|
South♠KQ652♥KQT♦AJ3 ♣T9 |
Analysis
If South opens up 1NT I think West will "Pass" and North will find a way to show their ♦ suit. Probably a relay bid if they play those. So N/S will end up in 3♦. What happens if South opens 1♠? North will raise to 2♠ and that will end the auction. South is too weak to make a game try with only 15 HCP. How does ♠ do realistically? Declarer should find 8 tricks pretty easily. They have five losers. Playing in 3♦ you have the same five losers. So I'm going to give 1♠ the win. It allows you to find your fit and play at a lower level. To see the table where all the hands are listed click HERE!
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