[pclayton]

Matchpoints, small club game. All vul - you are in 2nd seat:

Scoring: MP

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Is this a 1♥ opener? Are you radical enough to try 1♦?

[inquiry]

I will not open a ♥, yes others will attack me for this, but this heart suit looks like a four card suit to me.

So that leaves a pass and a off-shape, slightly undervalued 1♦ opening bid. Since it is matchpoints, I like to BID.... before they do. So I would open 1♦ with any partner who is use to the fact that I will open lightish especially at MP. There are other partners I would never open this with.

So I guess I would open 1♦ about 60 to 70 % of the time, pass the other (this is entirely partner specific).

[jdonn]

We would never attack you Ben, just mock you ruthlessly

This hand is really really not worth an opening bid, but I still think it's ok to open at matchpoints since you expect others to open with 13 points. If you are going to open I don't like 1♦ at all though, if you have a 5-3 heart fit you still want to play in it, and then main reason for opening at all is to find a major suit fit. 1♦ would probably only work well if it got you a diamond lead on defense, but with a better than average hand including both majors there is no reason to expect to be on defense.

[hrothgar]

I consider this a pretty easy pass.

First its a bit light for an opening playing 2/1
Equally significant, I don't much like the quality of the heart suit.

I don't see the need to streach opening in order to mis-describe my hand.

[mike777]

easy 1h opener. I could have worse.

[whereagles]

Open 1♥ for 3 reasons:

1. I got the points.
2. It preempts the minors.

and, more importantly,

3. It's lead-directing!

[joshs]

Lets start with the easy question:
No opening 1D is bad. Just becauses your hearts suck doesn't mean that you don't belong in a 5-3 heart fit. I do know you don't belong in a 3-3 diamond fit.

The hand is not really good enough to open, but you do have 13 HCP and everyone else will open, so I can't imagine passing it at MPs in a normal field where I will play the final contract better than the field and where my partner with a balanced 17 count will only invite slam...

In the finals of the Blues, I think passing is a reasonable but swingy action.

[luis]

I would open 1♥
Pass is horrible
I will sympathize with the 1♦ openers because at least they are not passing.

Hands with hearts are difficult to bid so whenever 1♥ is a logical alternative I bid 1♥.

Luis

[Al_U_Card]

luis, on May 3 2006, 03:18 PM, said:

I would open 1♥
Pass is horrible
I will sympathize with the 1♦ openers because at least they are not passing.

Hands with hearts are difficult to bid so whenever 1♥ is a logical alternative I bid 1♥.

Luis

Only? C'mon Luis, you know you really want to open 2H. I, however, could open 2D Flannery with no problem whatsoever...

[Foxx]

Why isn't 1♠ an option? I voted pass but I had just woken up from a nap and had miscounted the points! I somehow counted 11... I just counted them again, and got 12... and now I see that 13 are there. I open all 13 HCP hands regards of circumstance, so I would now have to say that 1♠ would be my choice. Pass and 1♥ are still a very close second and third.