Beginner Query--Better minor vs short club

[Wsue601]

New to bridge and to SAYC. Play with beginners at local club and on

BBO.

 

I understand standard opening bids in a minor -- diamonds if 4/4 and

clubs if 3/3 when no 5 card major available and the better minor in a

hand such as KJ83 AQ72 874 K4.

 

 

Problem is, I like the idea of the short club bid -- bidding 1 club

instead of the better minor -- since it leaves only the one minor with

any possible ambiguity. My beginner husband and I are using this when

we play together. I've not gotten any other beginner partners to

consider it since they were taught to bid the better minor and

uncertain about deviating from that.

 

 

My question is, other than hoping my partner remembers to alert this

short club bid, are there other disadvantages to using it? I wonder if

there's problems with the bid I don't realize since it is not the

standard bid.

 

 

Thanks in advance for any help on this beginner topic.

 

 

Sue

[1eyedjack]

Well there does remain some ambiguity in your method: playing better minor the 1C opener guarantees 3 of them, where in your method responder is in doubt about whether you have 3+ or 2+ Clubs. Also you are more likely to have a Club guard for NT purposes having opened 1C in better minor (although there is no guarantee there). And opening 1D with 3-2 in the minors is microscopically more preemptive than opening 1C (but not a factor worth considering).

 

To be honest I prefer your method but it does not matter a lot provided that you agree. In many jurisdictions you would have to alert a 1C opener based on possibly as few as 2 card suit where you would not have to if it guaranteed 3, but that is only a very minor matter.

[P_Marlowe]

The main disadv. playing short clubs is,

that beginner hesitate to raise clubs in

certain comp. situation with only 4 card

support.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

[SoTired]

another disadvantage of short club is playing terrible 1C contracts. This encourages responder to bid with weak hands which usually makes things worse. If opener always has at least 3 clubs, it is less likely that 1C will be a disaster.

 

Short club has little advantage over better minor unless you play advanced conventions that take advantage of the 1C opening.

 

It is advantagous to know in competitive auctions which suit is opener's longest minor.

 

Although everyone opens 1C with 3♣-3♦, you may want to open 1C with 4♣-4♦ on hands that you intend to rebid 1N over any response. That allows you to find a fit for either minor.

[paulg]

I'm a big fan of the Short Club. As Marlowe says, the main disadvantage is that competing in clubs will be an issue. The upside is that you can compete more effectively in diamonds, so it's swings and roundabouts.

 

I am not concerned about playing in a poor 1♣ contract. In real life it happens so rarely that you will be in trouble more often when your 15-17 1NT is doubled for penalty (and how often does this happen?).

 

Like many, I do take the idea of the Short Club (as it's officially known in England) to the 'extreme' that all balanced 12-14 hands (and 18-19 balanced) are opened 1♣, even with 4 diamonds and 2 clubs. This may be too much for some.

 

However, as Jack says, it will probably not make a huge difference to your results and it is really a matter of whether you like the style. It is more important to discuss whether you rebid 1NT or 1♠ with 4 spades in a balanced hand after the auction 1♣-1♥!

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[MickyB]

It is swings and roundabouts - one way you are on slightly firmer ground when partner opens 1♦, the other way you are slightly better placed when (s)he opens 1♣. In a standard system, I am more comfortable opening my longer minor, I then think of the 1♦ opening as promising 4 cards and the 1♣ opening as promising 3.5 cards (so I'll happily raise to the 2 level on 4 card support) - don't worry about the odd occasion when 1♦ is only 3, it is rare and you may survive anyway.

[Gerben42]

Having played short ♣ for years I have played a 4 - 2 ♣ fit once and we should have been in 2NT on that one instead of 3♣ if we had paid attention.

OTOH the hands where we bid 1♦ - 3♦ or 1♦ - 3♣ (mixed ♦ raise) where we would have had reservations about entering the 3-level are numerous.

 

BTW this is not really a beginner query...

[kenrexford]

There is one major possible disadvantage, an unexpected one, to using a short club as a beginner. In some convention charts regulations, a "short club" is deemed a non-natural opening. Because of this, the opponents are sometimes, by some rules, allowed to use "special defenses." Thus, a "short club" opening might require you to face strange competitive calls with which you are unfamiliar.

 

This might be countered by the "is it Michaels, or is it natural???" mistakes, to your advantage.

 

All that said, I so prefer the "short club" approach that I have, for twelve years or so, required an unbalanced hand (ususally a stiff or void) to open 1♦, a growing trend among some better players.

[paulg]

All that said, I so prefer the "short club" approach ... , a growing trend among some better players.

Helped by the fact that it is played by Versace-Lauria (with natural responses) and Bocchi-Duboin (with transfer responses) :)

 

Which also shows that transfer responses, loved by many (including me), are optional!

 

Paul