[luke warm]

what an entertaining thread ... first of all (i believe i already gave my opinion), this is a matter of what one judges to be more important... i've made the decision (for myself only, and hopefully whomever i play with will concur) that it's more important to show the distribution/strength at the earliest occasion... bypassing 1S with a balanced hand, and bidding 1NT, does both those things (it shows a balanced hand)... bidding 1S doesn't show the strength, but does show the dist... quite often the nt bidder will get a spade lead into K,J,x,x or better, which is always nice

there's another thread on this where mike asked about ckback stuff... imo nothing is lost playing in the walsh style... if responder is weak with 5+ hearts, he can pass 1nt or bid 2h... opener *knows* he's weak else 2c invite or 2d game force

as rebound said, this isn't a matter of right vs. wrong (whether or not to bypass the spades, that is)... maybe *great* players bypass the spades, many great players bid the spades (always)... this is simply a matter of style and preference

[HeartA]

I choose 2♣, with or withour xyz. if pd wanted to play NT, he may bid it later. With expected ♦ lead, I don't want to be declarer of NT. BTW, pd should have more than 4 ♣s on average.

[joker_gib]

Fluffy, on Mar 31 2005, 03:04 PM, said:

joker_gib, on Mar 31 2005, 01:48 PM, said:

whereagles, on Mar 31 2005, 08:26 AM, said:

The_Hog, on Mar 31 2005, 01:20 PM, said:

I said anyone who bids 1S on a 4333 hand would be labeled as a beginner.

Then the french team who won the 1997 bermuda bowl (vs meckwell, mind you) should be labeled as "beginners"

100000 persons in France and probably 5000 in Belgium are beginners because they rebid 1♠ !

I also learn something today, Roland ! LOL, LOL

You are also forgeting spain again, in Spain we also play french 5 card mayor based systems, and will rebid 1♠ with any 4♠ hand. And we are very happy about it.

Sorry Ron, I am not with you on this one .

I apologize, Gonzalo !

Nice to see you are a beginner too !

So 100000+5000+ ? (in Spain)

Alain

[hrothgar]

Comment the first: I strongly disapprove of 1♠ rebid with balanced hands.

Comment the Second: I agree with The Hog. If I saw a 1♠rebid at the table with a 4=3=3=3 shape or even a 4=2=3=4, I'd wonder about my partner.

I will conceed the point that many good players would chose a 1♠ rebid. However, being a good bridge player doesn't necessarily mean that you're play a good bidding system. There are many players (and even countries) that have refused to modernize their methods.

Quick question: The major examples being offered regarding the "merit" of the 1♠ rebid is "French Standard" (Which has apparantly lept the Pyrenees).

When was the last time that French Standard underwent any kind of significant revision?

(I've always been somewhat skeptical regarding "static" structures that do not evolve over time)

[Free]

1NT, wtp? (2♠ as second choice, 2♣ as third)

[beatrix45]

To me, a pass is a very attractive bid. My partners are all very skilled at scrambling home with lots of tricks in 4-3 fits. The biggest issue, as I see it, is whether or not I risk missing a game. Vul at IMPs a 1NT bid might be the safest choice, but otherwise I like a pass. A secondary issue is whether we have a 5-3 heart fit and a good part score there - but how do we get to 2 or 3 H from here?

Consider what partner has to have to make a game on straight power (unless pard fits hearts I have a rather ugly 8 HCP hand). Most of pard's game going hands would have been opened with a 15-17 NT, called for a 2NT rebid, or been strong enough for a reverse or jump shift rebid. A pass puts pressure on the opponents, so they may give us a second chance even if 1S is wrong.

Trixie