TylerE

Ok, 2nd worst....but it's still a long way behind anything with a 5 card suit. The big problem is that you are going to have a minimum of pitches to get rid of losers.

If you could frequently open 1♥ on a 4 card suit while playing a nominally 5 card major system, your opponents deserve to have that disclosed imo.

Finally a unanimous poll? 21-0 after almost 29 hours

See for instance: District 20 http://web2.acbl.org/tournaments/Ads/2013/02/1302026.pdf D20 covers Oregon, Northern California including SF, and most of Nevada except the Las Vegas area.

I don't like that scheme at all. 4432 is the WORST shape for slam opposite a 1N opening, so I don't see why you'd want to play a system that caters to it.

Would be helpful if you stated what the bids are. Naming varies wildly, and often inconsistently.

Is this really in I/A? One of the first steps to improvement for a novice is to stop doubling on balanced merde.

Of course, depending on where OP is... if it's Ontario, California and not Ontario, Canada, it is legal, at least in regional and below levels since the Calif. district has a special rider to the GCC explicitly allowing GCC+Any constructive defense to 1NT

Over what? 1NT? Strong club?

Better question might be why is it opening 1N on (essentially) xx xx in the majors.

Red @ IMPs Your deal and your hand is ♠xx ♥xx ♦xxx ♣AQxxxx. All x's are small...3rd highest club was the 7 or 8 You pass initially (3♣ style is that suit must be very good if only 6 in 1st and 2nd) Parter opens 1♠, you bid 1NT (2♣ would be Drury), and parter raises to 2NT, showing 17-a bad 19. (We're playing 14-16NT) So, what's your call? No special gadgets available.

Not at all. It doesn't change your 2N _opening_ at all, just changes opener's NT rebids after a 2♣ opening. In vanilla-ish Kokish: 2♣-2♦-2NT = 22-24 2♣-2♦-2♥ = KOKISH (25+ Balanced or 22+ 5+ ♥) --2♠ - FORCED ----2NT = 25-27 ----3x = ♥ + x ----3N = 28-30 ----4N = 31-33 or something Basically the idea is that opener should never be JUMPING over 2♦ to show and a balanced hand, because, as this hand so clearly demonstrates, 3N is a real auction killer if you're possibly stopping there.

Somewhat ironically, at this point in time it's looking more and more like Flash is the dead man walking, while the Win32 API will wobble on for decades...

Would help to know what 4N means. Minors I'm assuming?

Pass for me. If partner has much besides the ace they probably should have bid something besides 3N...so i'll assume that they don't.

Not for me. Would do it with the same hands if the suit was ♠ though.

Should 4♦ be ♥+♣ here? W is a passed hand so it can't really be a general forcing cue, because W can't have that hand, and it probably shouldn't be a both majors hand since THAT hand can just make a responsive style X over 3♦ and let parter show a preference at the 3 level.

I don't buy this. Make the NS hands that square and I think they stay ought of game. That's the point of listening to the auction. When opponents seemingly bid the same values two or three times, either A: they're bad or B: their shape is improving. Assuming A: is somewhat dangerous if you don't know for sure, and if you do...

East doesn't have 4 quick tricks on this auction. He should consider himself ahead of the game if one diamond cashes. Saying West could bid 2♦ on 3 is just asinine.

I've always played that we can't exclusion in a suit one of us has bid naturally.

I don't really think it has a name, but at least in my area it's not uncommon, at least in my area. Also not unusual to see it played as 15-17 with exactly two trumps. It's a big jump, and it's not exactly a bid I plan to win IMPs on, but I do really like the hands it removes from other sequences, since you're faking a 2m response less often.

This hand is why I like 1M-3N as 15-17 with exactly 3 card support. Admittedly it doesn't actually help on this hand, but it firms up your 1M-2m-3m sequences a lot as responder will no longer be going back to the major with a garden variety good hand - if he starts with 2m and then goes back it will be a near slam force.

On this sort of walk the dog auction I would expect at least a ♦singleton, but alost more likely a void in one of the opponents hands. In which case we might well not only not be beating it but might even be eating an overtrick if partners points are say finessing K♠ and random quacks. I'd prefer a preemptive ♦ raise, but I have some sympathy for 2♦. After the X of 2♠ E has more or less told his story, and should leave any X of 4♠ to west.

North's 4♣ bid is from another planet, masking f4 card support. 100% blame to north.

Looks utterly normal to me.