There's a local sectional this week, and I've been playing a session a day. Tonight's session contained a bestiary of odd hands, bizarre contracts, fumbles, flusters, what-the-hells. I picked up a constant stream of huge hands, heard unexpected bids, and was perpetually astonished. I'm just going to write the whole thing up over the next few days. If you don't play bridge, then learn. These will be worth it.
Background — I'm playing with Betsy. Betsy is a recent Life Master, but I've been playing longer. You'll see flaws a plenty from everyone, but since Betsy's my partner (and we're both Flight C players, the weakest flight) you'll see more of hers and mine. Of course, my mistakes are all tactical judgements that may not have worked at the time, and in no way indicate a lack of skill on my part. (I apologize to Betsy for that).
I have a tendency to take a position on a hand when I could just inform partner ("masterminding"). I'm sitting East most hands (so Betsy is West and our opponents are North-South). I'll give the score after each hand. 8 is top in a board (but because there is a half table the computer does bizarre fractional stuff). We're playing 2/1 (Lawrence style) with not too many gadgets. I firmly believe in getting in and out, so I'll open light routinely. Betsy is more disciplined than that.
First Hand — I pick up 
Q7532
Q75
853
62
Betsy deals and opens 1. North passes and I do too. (I could bid 1 Spade, and arguably should, but we open light and I want to get my weakness out of the way. I'm perfectly willing to believe that it's better in general to bid one spade, but I always seem to get too high, and rarely get passed out in 1C when our opponents should defend it). South balances with 1 and Betsy bids 3. She gets to play it there. To my surprise, undoubled. I don't really watch the play carefully, but she makes 3 clubs exactly. Double Dummy play can can make 3 spades (since she has K84), but since spades break 4-1 with North having AJTx, down one (or more) is probably the real world result.
As it turns out, we get a frigid top score for this. A perfect 8. But it's not terribly interesting.
The fireworks start ... now. Next board (#29), both are vulnerable and I pick up
AQJT87
AQ82
J
A5
I'm second seat, but I don't get to open. North opens 1. I have an easy Double. South bids 1NT, North bids 2, I bid 2 and south competes to 3.
It's arguable that I've bid my hand, but I give another push with 3, which floats.
Earlier today, I've been re-reading Hand Evaluation by Mike Lawrence, and he points out how difficult (and how important) it is to know when to bid with bad hands. Dummy has a monster:
953
K43
T5432
T8
Result — 3 Spades making four (with the spade finesse losing) but hearts breaking 3-3. +170 is only slightly below average at 3.5.
Board #30 — I pick up (as dealer) Q943
K54
--
KJT842
Lots of potential here, but if partner has long diamonds I'm in trouble. Despite having only 9 HCP, this hand has an easy rebid (the only really annoying bid would be a weak jump shift), and has 6.5 losing tricks (using Losing Trick Count). It does lack defense I'd like for an opener, but when I open it's so I don't have to defend.
EAST South West North --------------------- 1C P 1D Double P[1] 1N P 3H Float[1] I now realize that my easy rebid assumes that either partner or N/S bid, but not both. For my first pass, I'm sticking with my philosophy that having opened light, I should let partner know. My hand has downgraded significantly ... North stepped into a live auction announcing the major suits. I believe him. So, do I bid two clubs to show the six card suit and risk partner going on with something, or risk letting partner play a massacre of 1 diamond? Like all right thinking players, I let partner hang and hope that they can't catch us. The rest of the auction is fairly normal, and let's look at the full hand:
|
AKT AQJ86 AJ84 6 | ||
|
J86 T2 KQ953 Q93 |
 |
Q943 K54 -- KJT842 |
|
752 973 T762 A75 |
Poor south. If only he'd known partner had four good diamonds, he could have passed. As it was, he had an unenviable choice. He decided to bid NT, which I wouldn't do. If I'd bid two clubs he'd have passed thankfully....
Declarer won the club jack with the ace and hooked the heart and ruffed the club return and pulled trumps. Unfortunately, without a way to finesse in diamonds, he had to play them the wrong way and managed to go down one. +50 was worth 5.5
Don't worry, round two doesn't have anything namby-pamby, like four point hands for me.... To be continued.
Related Posts (on one page):
* if partner bids 3NT, you're confident she'll make it
* she won't double them in a making 4H
* the opponents lose 2 whole levels.
It's self-defeating to go "in quick" if by doing so you make future rounds coinflips for your side!
Passing does have the advantage that I'll be much better placed if partner opens. I can still bail on a misfit, support either major, respond 1S over 1D. I'm somewhat stuck over 1NT. If the opponents open, I may be able to bid 2C, but that strikes me as risking a much bigger penalty than opening. Another option is to just give up if partner can't bid (or overcalls diamonds).
They all have their issues. I have no idea which issues should bother me more. (And I don't want to give the impression that I thought about all of this at the table.
Another reason to stay silent is if I think that's the fields decision. I could easily be swinging everything by opening (as you pointed out).
Here's an interesting question -- How much stronger would you have to be to open? Is Kxxx/Kxx/--/KJT8xx ok? Or how about Q9xx/Kxx/--/AJTxxx? That club ace starts to look like a defensive trick .... is that enough? What if you switch the Heart King to the Ace? I think the last two hands (with an Ace) are a big improvement (despite only being 1 HCP higher), what if replaced the highest spade/heart pip with the respective Jack, or the club jack with the club queen?
On my side, how much weaker would I go? Not too much. Since I'm planning on rebidding the clubs, I did consider the fact that they had a decent play with merely the stiff Queen (or even 9) opposite. If I drop the CK to the CQ would I open? I probably shouldn't. (With two kings I can pretend I almost have a defensive trick, even though it's more like .7 of a trick. With 1 King ..) If I add the point back somewhere? What about Q9xx/KJx/--/QJT8xxx? Sorely tempted.
With the caveat that opening style doesn't have absolute answers, I'll give you my opinions and suggest a tool later.
Yes. That's good enough.
Yes. The ace in your long suit is a very valuable card.
Also good enough. Aces are important.
Probably good enough. Close in each case, but just above my personal line.
That's 14 cards. I don't think you should go any lighter. A rule of thumb is if the auction gets competitive and partner doubles thinking he has them nailed, do you think that will be a disaster? Also, while I'd open Kxxx Kxx --- KJ10xxx, I would not open --- Kxx Kxxx KJ10xxx. Having four spades is a significant plus value for opening; if the auction does not go your way, you may be able to stop at the two-level if you have spades, whereas partner may push to the three-level if they have spades.
In 1982, Edgar Kaplan published an article quantifying his opening bid judgment. I very strongly agree with him in this case. I built a CGI which implements it. You might find it helpful. You might also find the algorithm useful. Years ago, I found it to be a great learning tool for hand evaluation. Now, I'm pretty much in sync with it without having to do the actual calcuations.
The 14 card hand should be Q9xx/KJx/--/QJT8xx. I typed an extra x. (None of my examples should change shape).
One other point that occurred to me at lunch, is that I may not have opened at IMPs. At Matchpoints I will often gain a small bit by opening, but I'll sometimes give up a phone number (probably by partner doubling a cold contract and I have to sit or run, or by getting two high when partner has a solid hand).
Incidentally for those who wonder, the original hand evaluates (using the algorithm Jeff linked to) to 11.95 HCP. Switching either king to an ace makes it makes it 13.75 for the club Ace and 13.25 for Heart. Opening a minor suit is mandatory at 13.5 (optional at 13.0).
And how come north finessed H into the opening bidder instead of D through the D bidder? E still roughs and later gets his HK, but...
Actually, re-reading the auction I'd have been the one bidding 3S with the West hand, competing after South had bid 3C. Partner is showing a rock to double and bid, vul, and my HK looks lovely, as do my three trumps.
Note that Kaplan played K/S, which uses sound minor suit openings. Strong NTers these days open a little lighter.
Aceless hands are overvalued by the point count. Also, as JeffG points out, spade length is often the critical factor for deciding whether or not to open.