[Cascade]

How do you approach this hand?

Dealer: South Vul: None Scoring: IMP

♠ AK5 ♥ T ♦ ♣ AKQJT9543

[Walddk]

1♣, I have my bid! Anything could be right, but I think I will go slowly. I will get more chances. If opps remain silent I will jump to 2♠ next. If opps compete viciously, I will follow them all the way.

Maybe I get doubled in 5♣, and if partner can't double 5red, I will take out insurance by bidding one more.

Roland

[P_Marlowe]

2C.

A lot depends on your structure
after a 2C opening.

In fourth seat 6C.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[mr1303]

4NT. Hope partner shows up with the ace of hearts rather than the ace of diamonds. If he does I'll blast 7, and hope he has another trick somewhere.

[the hog]

Who knows Wayne? 1C could be right, 6C could be right, 4NT could be right. What definitely isn't right is 2C.

I'll try 1C.

[bearmum]

Playing Precision 1♣
Playing anything else whatever is your GAME force bid - ending up in 6 or 7♣ depending on P's response

[hotShot]

I use to have a game forcing opening in my system. It is showing a strong hand 23+HCP or a hand with max. 3 looser.
I would use that here.
With this not available, i'll go for 6♣.

[helene_t]

I open 5♦ (exclusion blackwood).

No, silly joke, I agree with Ron but I think I would open 6♣.

[ochinko]

Nothing but 2C for me for many reasons.

1. I have only 2 losers, so it seems most logical.

2. I play Crodo, so I'll know immediately how many and what aces partner has. No bidding space lost, on the contrary.

3. No threat that we'll stop below game, so bidding can proceed slowly after the opening.

4. There is nothing else as a final contract except for 5/6/7 C. Even if we have a spade fit as well, there's the danger that a club would be ruffed on the lead.

5. Opponents (especially weaker ones) tend to pass strong openings at least until the nature of the strong hand is revealed.

6. If my opening shows giant strength there's less danger that opponents will commit to a sacrifice.

Petko

[helene_t]

I don't like 2♣. I can't belive that the opponents will not interfere, even weak oponents. I play a 2♣ which can also be a weak two in diamonds, in order to discourage preemption. Even so, interference is quite frequent, so I try not to open 2♣ with freak-hands. If 2♣ is always strong and the opps are non-vulnerable, I would be surprised if they'd bid less than 5♦ before my next turn.

It's a little bit true that opps will expect more defensive strength and therefore be reluctant to sacrifice. But so will partner, and more so since opps bid there own hands while partner bids your hand as well. Can you respect partner's penalty double at the 4-level with this hand? What about the 5- or 6-level? Besides, if partner knows that you open 2♣ with hands like this one, opps are entitled to know as well.

[Gerben42]

I do not use the 4NT specific ace ask. It never comes up although this hand would qualify.

6♣ would be my first choice, partner will raise on two aces.

Alternatively open 1♣ and if opps compete in diamonds bid 5♦ exclusion.
If they refuse to bid diamonds or partner doublecrosses by bidding them I rebid 6♣.

2♣ is not a choice for me. Like medication do not use 2♣ unless you have to.

[whereagles]

Incredibly, the other day I had a hand better than that one. I held

A
AKTxxxx
--
AKQxx

a 1-loser(!!) hand. Pard opened a weak 2S and we managed to stay out of 7H (pard had xx xx in hearts/clubs).

As for that hand shown, I think I'd open 6C.

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

because nobody stands up for a 2C opening:

If they will interfere over 2C, they will do the same
over 1C, afterall 2H/3H would have the same meaning.
If they risk it over 2C, they will definitive risk it over 1C.

2C opposite 1C has one definitive adv., it creates
a forcing pass situation, which will improve your
chances of handling interference.

I dont open 2C often, but this hand qualifies, you
have a strong one suited hand, you have some
defensive.

I would like to play in club, but if partner happens
to have a 6 card spade suit, I dont mind playing
spades.

For those, who believe 2C wastes space:
After a 1C opening, you will need a jump to 4C, unless
a jump rebid to 3C is forcing, to convince partner, that you
are only interested in clubs. Surprinsingly this will be same
level after a 2C opening.

Summarizing: I doubt that there will be a situation after a 2C
situation, finding you badder placed compared to a situation
which would have arisen after a 1C opening.

Finally a minor point:

If one sits in 1st seat, and the opponent with the hand ready
for preemptive auction sits in 4th seat, it may happen,
that one did throw out any adv., which would resulte from
ones own constructive methods, I dont play Crodo, I dont play
Albaran, I dont play ..., but these methods, showing specific aces
would help here.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[Chamaco]

With this hand I do not want to bash 6C because probably the par of the hand is 6M BY them doubled: I do not want they find the sac.
At the same time, I do not want to bash into 7C to find an aceless pard.



I bid 1C. If the hand belogs to us, all is well, I'll try for the grand.

If, after opening 1C, I find out the hand belongs to opps, I will bid my clubs one step at a time (2C then 3C then 4C then 5C), hoping they double.

If after my 1C opener, it is not clear whether opps will compete or not, I will bid 5 clubs at next round (I gamble that I might miss the slam but opps may have a good sacrifice in 6M).
When they likely bid 5M, I bid 6C.
If they then bid 6M I probably double.

[whereagles]

You can also test the opps patience like this

1C 1S pass 2S
3C 3S pass pass
4C pass pass 4S
5C dbl

+550... lol

[flytoox]

I vote for 2C. This is a one suit hand and I have ideal rebid. I donot mind much of opp's interference.

[ochinko]

helene_t, on Apr 26 2005, 04:55 AM, said:

Besides, if partner knows that you open 2♣ with hands like this one, opps are entitled to know as well.

Of course they are. But 1C opening is limited to 19 HCP whereas 2C has no upper range. I could theoretically have 34 missing only an Ace and two Jacks.

The explanation that we give to opps is all that we know about partner's hand:
23+ HCP, or
9 sure tricks as in AKQJxxxxx xx x x, or
10 expected tricks as in A AQJxxxxx Ax KQ

So with 2C I'd often have 24 HCP, whereas when I open 1C I can be expected to have only half of those points. I think opps are much less likely to sacrifice after 2C unless one of them has a pretty long suit too.

Petko

[P_Marlowe]

whereagles, on Apr 26 2005, 06:06 AM, said:

You can also test the opps patience like this

1C 1S pass 2S
3C 3S pass pass
4C pass pass 4S
5C dbl

+550... lol

Fine, if you want to play games with your oppoenents, this will
work, ... sometimes.
But if you happen to play against competent oppoenents,
you will play 4C+1, because the guy who passed 3S will not
raise to 4S, because he did say it all, already.

And now explain 4C+1 to your partner, hopefully they are as
nice as my regular partner ... altough he did write down the
number of the psychiatric clinic in his black book, which happens
to be only 100m away from the place where I live, in a moment,
he believed me stoned.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[shoeless]

2C here - pretty systematic for me - fill pard in now instead of masterminding the hand - let's see what comes

[hrothgar]

Cascade, on Apr 26 2005, 09:25 AM, said:

How do you approach this hand?

Dealer: South Vul: None Scoring: IMP

♠ AK5 ♥ T ♦ ♣ AKQJT9543

Playing my preferred methods, I open 4NT showing a constructive 5 level preempt in either Clubs or Diamonds. The convention is documented in Preempts from A to Z by Anderson and Auken (title really lost something when Sabine Zenkel married)

The 4NT opening promises

1. An excellent 8 or 9 card suit
2. Sound playing values for the 5 level
3. No more than one loser in each suit

The responses are

Pass = rarely
5♣ = pass or correct
5♦ = unassuming
5♥ = 1st round control in Hearts and the other minor. Denies a Spade control
5♠ = 1st round control in Spades and the other minor, denies a Heart control
5NT = First round control in both Majors, denies a minor suit control

For what its worth, I really dislike 2♣ with this hand...