[Hanoi5]

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Is 1♠ artificial? Is it natural? Does it depend on whether you play XYZ or not?

[gordontd]

I usually play it as natural F1 and 2S as FSF, but if you play Walsh there's a case for playing them the other way around.

[mike777]

if you play walsh it is natural and game force 5d and 4s

with less than gf or 4-4 you start with 1s not 1d

[jallerton]

This is a matter of agreement, but I don't at all like the idea of having to jump to 2♠ to initiate 4th suit forcing. If you play most or all of 2NT/3♣/3♦/3♥ as NF, then most game forcing hands have to start with 4th suit, so why pre-empt the auction by a whole level? It's still possible to find a 4-4 spade fit when Opener is 4414 or 4405.

[wank]

the biggest factor is surely if 1h promises clubs or not. if you're playing a style whereby opener can still have short clubs, 1 spades should be natural.

[helene_t]

Question of agreement, but in my not so humble opinion:

If 1♥ can be balanced you need a cheap relay since opener can have umpteen hand types so 2♠ would take away too much bidding space.

If 1♥ is unbalanced then you have plenty of bidding space either way so it doesn't matter.

So either way, responder has to bid 1♠ immediately if he has four spades and longer diamonds since otherwise the spade suit can disappear (unless you play four card major in which case the chance that opener has both majors is not so big).

[Zelandakh]

There is a further alternative in which 1♠ can be either. This is not as problematic in practice as it might sound, especially if playing Walsh.