[kenberg]

I would open a diamond and, when the auction develops as it did, I would be very unhappy as no doubt you were. You have to bid, I guess 2N is as good as anything. There simply is no way to describe your hand and there is no contract that is remotely attractive.

As to opening 1D: Well, I think it's worth opening something, I plan to rebid 2C letting partner decide what's next, and if the hand has to be played in a minor then partner probably has some diamonds. If partner has four small it's at least possible I will lose only two tricks in that suit. Whatever the case, when partner has diamonds, I probably will lose the same number of tricks in that suit whether or not they are trump.

Of course if my lho becomes declarer I would much prefer a club lead to a diamond lead, and that's a consideration. But I don't think it outweighs the advantages of starting in on describing my shape. Partners don't, and shouldn't, always lead a club just because the bidding started with 1C.

Rebidding 3D is really ugly but you are really stuck and I think partner needs to appreciate your situation in the post mortem. But, like others, I think 2N is probably the best.

[SoTired]

1) 2S is forcing
2) 2N is only option
3) 1D is opening bid. In 90% of bidding situations, ignore honor placement and only worry about length. This hand has 5-5, so you open in your highest ranking 5-card suit. Ignore the honor disparity.

I don't understand how anyone could recommend planning to bid one 5-card suit twice without mentioning the other 5-card suit

[goobers]

SoTired, on Aug 2 2007, 08:44 AM, said:

3) 1D is opening bid. In 90% of bidding situations, ignore honor placement and only worry about length. This hand has 5-5, so you open in your highest ranking 5-card suit. Ignore the honor disparity.

I don't understand how anyone could recommend planning to bid one 5-card suit twice without mentioning the other 5-card suit

Thanks, I thought I was going crazy or learned everything wrong when people suggested opening 1C

[pbleighton]

Quote

I assume most of us play something special or more detailed with a regular partnership and more down the middle(whatever that means) with a pick up partnership. 

Mike, are you still passing balanced 13 counts when you play with pickup partners?

Peter

[whereagles]

I would probably open 1♣ and pretend I have a 4D-5C hand. That would inhibit LHO's bid.. lol

[ralph23]

goobers, on Aug 2 2007, 11:12 AM, said:

Thanks, I thought I was going crazy or learned everything wrong when people suggested opening 1C

I may be mis-remembering, but I believe in one of Bill Root's classes, he gave a hand that was like this or worse in suit disparity in his discussion of What To Open When You're Opening a 5-5 Hand, e.g.

♦65432
♣AKQJT

His answer: Open 1♦.

If they were spades and hearts, wouldn't you open 1♠? I think Bill Root would have (rest his soul), and I will too.

[vuroth]

Trumpace, on Aug 1 2007, 10:18 AM, said:

I wanted to make a minimum possible rebid and show my suit oriented hand, so I bid 3♦!

I'm pretty sympathetic to 3♦, and am a bit surprised that 2NT is "automatic".

I have a singleton and a doubleton. Partner almost certainly is single or void in clubs, unless the 2♣ bidder is a joker. With likely 5 spades, partner has 3.5 diamonds and 3.5 hearts, on average.

3♦ has to play at least a trick better than 2NT, doesn't it?

V

[neilkaz]

2NT for me, just in case PD doesn't have decent ♦ support. I won't criticize a 3♦ bid here, however.

[CharlieS]

Why open this minimum hand without the majors, particularly without spades? I would pass, hoping to bid clubs (or double if the opps bid both majors). But what does Al Roth know about opening bids?