[Cave_Draco]

I like the Weak NT, but not on this hand,

Wide open in one suit is fine, wide open in two needs something extra!

To open 1NT is to value the ♥J way too much, it's worth no more than a 10.
Valuing it as a 10, I have 11hcp and 2 10s...
With compensation e.g. a 5-card suit; good body... I might still consider 1NT, South's hand has nothing extra.

[Antoine Fourrière]

Yes, North had a clear-cut pass over 1N, which would have worked badly on that deal because of the position of the ♠A, but I nevertheless wish to point out (again) that it makes a lot more sense either to open 1N with 16-17 and to rebid 1N with 12-15, or to open 1N with 12-13 and to rebid 1N with 14-17. There is much more room to explore alternative denominations after a 1♣ or 1♦ opening and a 1N rebid (or no 1N rebid at all) than there is after a 1N opening. You can use both 2♣ and 2♦ as checkbacks, even if you won't always avoid 2N, keep 2N when you don't want opener to say anything more about his pattern, play three of the opened minor as a bar bid and still have three of the other minor as a raise of opener's minor.

[the hog]

"I like the Weak NT, but not on this hand"

If you play weak nt Dragon, what else are you going to open on this hand?
1D and rebid 2C? That shows 5-4.
1m and rebid 1N? That shows the strong NT range. (Please don't say you play that ghastly huge wide range NT rebid suggested by Crowhurst of about 12-17).
Pass? Maybe, but a bit conservative wouldn't you say?

[Flame]

Even if i had an alternative, i like this 1nt at this vul especially at mp, i can go down 2 and get an excelent score.

[Cascade]

Cave_Draco, on Jul 26 2004, 01:19 AM, said:

Wide open in one suit is fine, wide open in two needs something extra!

One of the joys of the weak NT is being wide open in three suits.

The flaw in the reasoning of seeing this as a problem is to assume that NTs will be the final contract and that it will be bad if you fail in 1NT. One of the most enjoyable 1NT contracts I have played recent was when I claimed four tricks at trick two or three for -300 knowing that they were cold for 3NT.

[1eyedjack]

Cave_Draco, on Jul 25 2004, 08:19 AM, said:

I like the Weak NT, but not on this hand,

Wide open in one suit is fine, wide open in two needs something extra!

To open 1NT is to value the ♥J way too much, it's worth no more than a 10.
Valuing it as a 10, I have 11hcp and 2 10s...
With compensation e.g. a 5-card suit; good body... I might still consider 1NT, South's hand has nothing extra.

Holding more than one unguarded suit does not put me off opening a weak 1NT. There are 12 counts that I would pass rather than open, but the number of unguarded suits does not tend to feature in my thoughts. I am more likely to think about passing when 3rd in hand vulnerable, regardless of guards. Certainly I will always open 1N if at all, and will only consider pass as an alternative, for fear of rebid problems otherwise. Even if partner is a passed hand and I can pass any response I think it is dangerous to open 1-suit. If the auction gets contested you (or partner) will be more poorly placed to judge.

Perhaps ironically, I think a more clear-cut pass is a 12 count with 3 aces and no intermediates (and then there is just the expected one unguarded suit). People go on about how aces are undervalued using simple point count, and on that basis I should definitely open. Just doesn't seem right to me, but cannot really articulate why.

On this hand I would be reticent about discounting the value of the Heart Jack. The best place for an honour is to complement other honours (or adjacent cards) in the same hand. The next best place is to complement other honours (or adjacent cards) in partner's hand. OK, you fail on the first count. As the cards lie you happen to fail on the second also, but you cannot know that. When assigning "one point" to the power of a Jack there is taken into account the uncertainty about whether the card complement's partner's hand. Give partner ATx of hearts and your Jack is gold dust. It could equally be argumed that partner's ten is gold dust, but that again is only because of the the opposite Jack.
As the cards lie opener's Club 10 is working a lot less hard than he has a right to expect, as are responder's Diamond JT and (as it happens) opener's HJ. You don't expect all your cards to be working, but this seems to be a bit of an extreme distortion of expectation.

[Trpltrbl]

Inviting with a balanced 11 count, is playing pd for the perfect hand.
If you feel insane or need the imps/MP's, bid 3 NT directly.

Mike