[aguahombre]

AWM and RMB1 seem to have it right about the balanced hands, but not quite about the unbalanced ones, IMO.

5-6 with the shorter major, 4-5 in the minors, etc are just Bridge at the time of the opening bid...maybe an agreement about what a rebid shows needs alerting.

Responding 1M bypassing a longer minor is common as well, but later rebids by responder which show (for instance) 4-6 Mm would be alerted.

However, those are not the same as opening 1D with 3-5 or 2-5 in the minors. Those are the ones common sense requires an alert, if not the exact present wording of the regs in ACBL.

[mycroft]

I disagree strongly about Precision 1D (even Precision 1D promising 3) being a canape system. There are *times* when they are opening their shorter minor, but they will open 1D with 1=4=4=4, and rebid clubs... They will open 1D with (13)=5=4 and rebid clubs...

2C doesn't *promise* longer clubs than diamonds, it (as I put it in my Alert) "doesn't encourage a preference". We don't bid our shorter suit first systemically, we bid diamonds first because we can't bid clubs - independent of the minors length.

Having said that, I *do* Alert the hands where partner "frequently has longer clubs than diamonds", and strongly think I should. However, I do play a "modern" 2+ 1D opener, so Announce that as well.

[bluejak]

What mycroft says is true. In England we have a definition of "possible canapé". A good example of this is in Blue Club per the original book, where the bidding sequence 1♠ 1NT 2♥ shows an unbalanced hand, but either suit may be longer. However, the ACBL has "canapé" and otherwise: we have to fit things into that.

Now, if you are playing a natural system, whereby 1♠ 2♣ 2♥ shows spades as long or longer than hearts, and sometime you open 1♠ with

---

that is not a canapé system: that is just bridge. Partner will treat the spades as equal length or longer.

But a Precision 1♦ which may be a 1=4=3=5 is different: partner knows it is quite possibly canapé into clubs, perhaps "possible canapé" as mycroft plays it. But the important thing is not to have secrets from your opponents, so when 1♦ is opened, you should alert it if it shows 3+ and may have longer clubs in an unbalanced hand. As for a doubleton 1♦ opening there is no need to worry about canapé: opponents are warned about your methods by the announcement "may be short".

So please remember it is not a question of trying to describe things carefully for some sort of arbitrary classification, it is a question of keeping opponents informed.