[pescetom]

 P_Marlowe, on 2026-August-28, 09:12, said:

Assuming I got it right, we play something similar, only that X showes the strong NT.
Also we keep it that way, if the auction goes

(1C) - Pass - (1D) - X

This also works against Polish Club.

We play a different defence, but the idea is the same, and I would not mind playing
Multi Landy, ..., I think X as showing power against a weak NT and due to this limiting the
rest of the bids is sensible, instead of showing 54, but X as showing 54 will work as well.

Yes playing X as strong NT rather than clubs looks ok too, both are low frequency: the real gain is getting in with a preemptive 1NT over 1C rather than X when holding 4M5m.

We tried following the common advice of switching to X as punishment when NT is weak, but found that the opponents were usually better at handling this situation than we were: if you have weak NT experience yourself it is probably a good idea.

[mycroft]

bluenikki: I think at least in the ACBL you'd be okay with "15-17". If you wanted to be more correct, "15-aceless 18".

I'm not sure that "4 10s", just on their own, is enough for "bridge players" to agree that it "looks like 15" - really quacky 14s, or AT tight or... would start falling off the scale. "3 or 4 tens", explicitly without any other criteria (like "not counting doubleton 10s" or "in good suits" or...) means that you're upgrading a significant fraction of 14s, in particular a significant fraction "the field" would not agree is a reasonable upgrade. So, now "10-heavy 14s to aceless 18s" seems both accurate and appropriate (with ACBL announcement rules). It does mean that according to the Charts, you're playing a 5-point range (even if it's really 4), but that's okay, a 5-point range is legal on all charts (and still gives you lots of room to upgrade the kinds of 14s I upgrade as well, and argue "deviation").

Other RAs? Ask your RA.

[bluenikki]

mycroft, on 2026-August-29, 18:00, said:

I'm not sure that "4 10s", just on their own, is enough for "bridge players" to agree that it "looks like 15" - really quacky 14s, or AT tight or... would start falling off the scale.

I personally would want to pass

KJT
KJT
QJT
QJTx

And I probably would as dealer.