MickyB

Keep the "balanced 4 cards other major " in the 2NT bid and reserves the dbl to hands with shape ! :) With 2(443) it is usually better to double 2♠, with most other balanced hand patterns I would prefer the overcall.

If you want something simple (which you probably don't!) then I would say whatever your NT opening, 1♦:1NT = to play opposite balanced range 1♦:2♣ = nat GF opposite balanced range, so usually 10+ The 1♦ opener is such that you should be less keen to open it on unbalanced minimums than when playing strong NT, which has the side effect that you can make 1♦:2♣ promise another bid if you so desire - then you could keep your old meanings for opener's rebid (2♦ = 5+♦, other 2 level bids deny 5♦).

This creates other problems. Say on the auction 1NT-(P)-2D you would like to make a lead directing double of 2D if it is a transfer, which is alertable where I play; If you ask only to find out that it is weak takeout, opps may feel aggrieved if your partner then makes a marginal takeout double. There must be a line somewhere for when you are not expected to ask about an unalerted bid, but I wouldn't like to guess where that line is.

At the table I led my 4th highest spade, giving declarer a trick from his Qx in dummy opposite xx in hand, and he took 10 more tricks before I got back in. I was worried that everyone would consider a top spade to be automatic, thankyou for reassuring me there! With most 14 counts there would be no chance of partner ever getting in, but my doubleton honours could well promote partner's intermediates and it is possible that both opps are swinging slightly and partner has a high card or two. Maybe I should have enquired about their responses to 2NT - if responder is unlikely to have a 3 card major then a top spade becomes more attractive I think. I really can't see a heart lead being best - looks to me like 4 spade tricks is the way to defeat this contract - but maybe it is just too different from what I am used to for me to appreciate it!

How about a chat to all friends option that is limited to, say, 25 friends? This would work best with having two types of friends as was suggested before. I guess this would be unwanted complexity for some...

Lol yes...although I could imagine that your "quarter" could be confused with a quarter of a metric hour...how about calling it a tenth?! Of course, the real challenge is changing the Earth's orbit and/or rotation to allow for a metric calendar.

Weak NT in 3rd seat vul is awful, in fact it isn't great 3rd NV or 4th seat either - you want to be able to make lead directing 1 level openings, in 3rd seat you want safety, and in 4th seat 14-16 is more common than 12-14. I play 12-14 1st+2nd, 4 card suits and 14-16 3rd+4th with a few partners.

I am sure Ben was only talking about red vs white. Many refer to vul against not as "red", NV against vul as "green", both vul as "amber" and neither vul as "white".

I wouldn't like to say how good a mini NT is, but I'd rather play it 1st NV than Meckwell's 1st+2nd green. In 1st seat, the opponent's know nothing about each others hands; In 2nd seat, RHO can fight for the part-score without his partner thinking they should be in game. In 1st seat, your mean HCP is 10; Once an opp has passed, both you and partner rate to have a bit more than that, which means that you have less to gain by preempting and you are proportionally more likely to have a stronger bal hand than one in your mini NT range. At a guess, 9-12 1st NV works well playing a 16+ club, 10-13 1st NV is reasonable in a natural 5cM system.

I see, with 15-17 bal, 4-4 M-m, you jump raise to 3M? OK, but I like the K-S approach better, raise only to two, then 2 = strong bal or sound min unbal, which works out to similar playing strength. This avoids going down 1 at 3 when responder only has 5-8 & isn't bidding game, when things break badly. I used to love weak NT for this reason, then realised that if opener makes a 3 card raise on say a 3145 12 count, responder will now expect a fair bit more playing strength. Does KS rebid 2♣ on this hand?

According to the bus timetable, I narrowly missed the 2500 bus home the other night, and the 2640 only runs on Saturdays. But yes, having am and pm is silly. The 24 hour clock is an improvement, but I'm waiting for metric time to take over!

Yes, I'm not sure why 4♥ is considered more crazy than 2♥.

I agree with just about everything Stephen has said in his last few posts. If 3♣ does invite 3NT here, then playing weak+5 you could bid 1♣ (2♠) 3♣ (P) 3NT with only 5 clubs between you - let the opps find the club lead now! 1♣ - either nat or strong bal 3♣ - 3+♣, happy to play in 3NT opposite strong bal This is why I can't see Adam's point as an advantage of Acol.

I use the same definitions. However... If I was to play a 13-16 NT throughout, passing 11-12 bal in 1st+2nd and opening it with a suit in 3rd+4th, am I playing a variable NT?!

Opening 1M on strong NTs is a problem, as Stephen has said. The strength of your 2/1s has to be related to the strength of your hand opposite a flat 15, which isn't ideal, even if you prefer light 2/1s. However, once you are opening 1♠ on 4333, you may as well do it on 4432s with 4♠4minor. Otherwise you start needing checkback, Walsh, etc, and it doesn't really gain you much to know that partner will probably have a 5 card major. I believe that it is standard for 15- bad 16 bal to pass a single raise or a 1NT response, and for good 16+ to bid on.

Weak and 4 don't go together at all, although they have the benefit of simplicity(assuming you consider light 2/1s simpler than GF 2/1s). Much of the English elite plays Strong NT, often with 4 card majors - they go together well, the biggest downside is that a 1M opener promises less playing strength than in other systems. Sorry Adam, but I don't think your points have much merit. The first two apply just as much to weak+5 as they do to weak+4. The third is actually a disadvantage. With a strong NT, you want to be able to describe your hand, either by opening 1NT or by rebidding 1NT; Opening 1M on a flat 16 preempts yourself more than it does the opps.

Playing a 32 board match, you go into the last 8 boards 22 IMPs up. RHO, the top rated player in the UK, opens 2NT; His partner raises to 3. What do you lead from AKTxx K6xx Jx QJ If you need to know the spade spots to decide, please elaborate (you don't have the 9). Leads are 4th highest (2nd from rubbish), A for attitude, K for unblock or count. Our teammates good set allowed me to get this wrong and still scrape it by 5 IMPs!

I'd be amazed if this didn't create more problems than it solves. 1354 after 1♣:1♠?

That's how I would normally handle a such a hand (unless my clubs were exceptionally strong), but for sure there many many players who would usually rebid 2C with that pattern instead. As far as I can tell, rebidding 1NT with a singleton is becoming increasingly acceptable among experts in America, but most Europeans still prefer to rebid their 5-card minors with such hands. Thanks Fred. I guess how often you rebid 1NT with a singleton in partner's suit should tie in quite strongly with how often you raise with a balanced hand with 3 card support, then partner knows whether to rebid their 5 bagger on a weakish hand. I quite liked a hand in the Master Solvers' Club - after 1♦:1♠, the majority decision with a 1453 minimum was to rebid 2♣.

In response to Fred's points above - 1) You need to be a lot better than the field before your chances of winning an event are decreased by playing an anti-field system. If you are slightly above average then by playing with the field you will receive slightly above average results. If you play anti-field, your MP total will be very slightly lower, but the increase in variance is more than worth it. 2) Yup, fair enough. 3) They reduce one of the benefits of the weak NT, yes. Personally I think opening a minor because you have a bit of shape is wrong - your main aim is 3NT, if the shape isn't going to help that then it shouldn't have much effect on your decision to open. 4) Playing strong NT, would you rebid 1NT over 1♠ with your 1435 13 count? Would you expect your peers to do so also?

Keylime...how did your partner find that double?!

Just a quick point against Acol in particular - After 1X:1NT, flat 15s and some flat 16s pass. There is no other reasonable option. That means a 2/1 has to be made on 9 counts. Say after 1♠:2♣, 2♥ you have a 1345. You are likely to have a complete misfit, and depending on opening style you could have a combined 19-20 count. This leads to going off in some dodgy partscores and some very inaccurate game bidding.

Yup, Alan is right, short minors do get preempted a lot...It is much better to preempt your own auctions instead by opening 1♠ on a strong NT, that way you aren't giving the opps the satisfaction of having made a good preempt! I agree that opening the minor from two 4 carders is awful, it is a system with the advantages of neither 4cM nor 5cM. Interested to hear that weak NT does that well at the table - I believe it loses out slightly in the bidding, but gains in the play from not having told the opps how to defend the hand. Don't think that your evidence supports playing weak+4 in preference to weak+5. Any info on Crouch/Rosen responses would be appreciated!

Fred, why do you suggest making 1NT overcalls against weak NT players and Swedish Club? Swedish Club in particular would seem to cope with this kind of interference quite well - opener can get away with a double if he has the 17+ hand. I agree with your other points - the problem with 12-14 is responder having to act on flat 9s in order to reach good 3NTs. I got around this problem by playing Nightmare/Millennium Club - 2♣ is natural, Precision style and 1♣ is 15+ clubs, bal or any GF. Another way would be to put more pressure on your NT structure - playing a 'weak' 13-16 NT could work ok, then your bids are natural unbal or 17+bal, which has the side effect of freeing up a 2NT rebid. Never tried it mind! When playing weak NT, I much prefer to play Short Club. Compared to when playing a strong NT: When you open a 12 point hand with 1NT, you are keen to indicate a lead to partner and a possible strain for a part-score. Playing strong NT, the most likely scenario is this info telling opps how to defend your 3NT contract. Opposite a 1m opening bid, you are happy to bid strongly (eg inverted raise) with 9 points and 3 card support - either you can play 3m on a 5-3 or 3NT with a combined 24. You are more likely to have that 3 card 'support' when partner has less cards in his opened suit. Nicktoll's structure looks very nice to me - what should bidding 1♣ then diamonds show in competition? To answer your questions: 1) Transfers create many more bidding sequences. Many feel that they suffer in competitive auctions, but I disagree - after 1NT:2♦, 2♥ the next hand to bid doesn't know how strong responder is, so any prebalancing is dangerous. After 1NT:2♥ natural, either hand can balance fairly safely. 2) I wouldn't like to guess, it is certainly a sizeable minority playing weak NT. Of course, this doesn't prove much. 3) 4441s are icky, whatever you do. There are several options - opening 1♦ (rebidding 2♦ over 2♣), 1♥ (even playing 5cM), 1NT, or even 1♣ if playing short club. It is quite a rare handtype, I wouldn't worry about agreeing how to bid them, partner will never play you for the hand you have. 4) If you sometimes raise responder's major on 3 card support and 12 points, then that is a much weaker hand in support of the major than any hand with 4 card support. If you would raise on 3 card support, then flat 15s would tend to raise to 2♥, flat 16s to 3♥; If not, then I would still make a single raise on a flat 16. (Add a point or so on for 4333s)

I like Justin's sequence. Not playing Acol, you don't - 3♠ is invitational.