NickRW

Pass, and it isn't even close decision. Partner may bid again in which case it is just possible that this aceless, flat 7 count will start to look better than it does right now. And pass isn't even a lie - a half decent partner will expect more cards and/or better shape for a response here. When the opps have intervened there is no pressure for opener's partner to dredge up a response "just in case opener has a massive hand"

IANAL, but I do work for a UK based company ultimately owned in the Republic of Ireland. We handle millions of records of personal information and substantial card transactions on behalf of clients. My employer is, quite rightly, ***** scared of falling foul of the law relating to GDPR and the somewhat similar (and arguably even more draconian) PCI DSS (payment card industry data security standards) as, ultimately, the company could effectively be closed without so much as a court case. So we all get regularly trained and retrained in what it all means. IMO an "id number", in and of itself, is not PII. However as soon as you (or a third party) can tie up that "id number" with who or where you are or anything personal to you, then you are on dodgy ground assuming said "id number" is not personal. IP addresses very much come in that category. One might think that "where you are" isn't all that personal as hundreds or thousands or more may live in your town, but add in a slightly unusual surname for example and suddenly you can be identified in detail by someone determined to find out. It isn't that you can't store such data, it is that you have to be able to demonstrate a need to do so and that you delete it when it is no longer needed and that your networks and databases are secure and so on. In other words you have shifted heaven and earth to make sure things are as safe as they can be. Nick

Yeah, could not log on tonight (29 Oct at ~7:15pm GMT) or, if after repeated attempts, I eventually got in, the tournament list would not display. Response was slow to non-existent.

It isn't the squeeze that is the point for this forum. But the counting is.

1♠

The above discussion is not without merit. However the OP asked for ATB, in this case North

Are they playing 4th best leads?

I would hope that most advanced would get this right and that though quite a few intermediates might mess it up at the table, most of them would get it right as a book problem. Ergo N&B is the right place.

Not an uncommon problem. For example I think most people realise that 4333 hands opposite 4333 produce better (or less worse) chances in NT than in a suit even where there is a 44 fit. Not so commonly realised is that 5(332) opposite 3(433) will quite often play better in NT (there will be no ruff in the short hand) - and there are other shapes too. Key is suit quality and the level you want to play at. With only half the deck, you generally want to play in your suit as opps have enough cards to give you a hard time in NT. At the game level, when your suit quality is such that you're going to have a hard time setting up the 53 fit (and the side suits are by definition well stopped), you will usually be better off in NT, otherwise the suit may be the safer bet.

1st hand 1♠. 2nd hand the same, but I could take a view and pass. 1♦ doesn't enter into my thinking. Wishing we were playing weak NT does

Without in any way wishing to take sides, I think there are more important things to worry about. If anything gets shut up I'd rather see an end to the large number of threads complaining about how GIB has messed up yet again.

Does anyone else find this 'mine is bigger than yours' discussion objectionable?

Except maybe as a double bluff

A=2, K=1

♦

decline

Looks like the first 5 rounds of a skip mitchell

Maybe. Perhaps it is more a case of not wanting to type long replies that often don't get read. Anyway, your comments are fair.

Well done, but 1 result proves nothing. You may have found more constructive comment if you'd posted the hands - we might have been able to comment on whether the 3♥ was well judged or lucky, also whether the opps should have bid or doubled.

It comes down to probabilities. What is the average expectation that partner will hold 5+ spades? What is the average expectation that partner will hold 3+ cards in either minor (note that we don't know for sure in this instance that partner doesn't have 3 clubs in particular)? I agree that there will be times when a 2N opener will be the losing choice (as here - probably), but on the relatively rare times I've had the bid available in a partnership I haven't usually regretted using it.

I open this hand (2N by preference, if available). Pass now

Personally I rate this hand as a reasonable 11 count. Whether or not it is an opener or not depends almost exclusively on your partnership agreements and expectations - if you open it, will partner allow for you being this weak in the subsequent auction - if you pass it, will partner believe you can have that much? Though it is common to open hands like this for many, I haven't seen a convincing argument that doing so is +EV. Considering hands of this type in isolation may show opening them to be marginally in your favour. However, they may have a negative impact on your overall system.

It seems that North hasn't counted his cards

There is an old saying: What do you call an 8 card suit?... Trumps. A lot of the time similar feelings should be extended to 7 carders.

It depends on the system/style you have agreed with partner. In some (many) cases all of them are easy openers. Even playing a very conservative style, I'd still open 1 and 4.