All the intangibles

[miguelm]

Are we so far of getting a plus by passing...?

 

I am surprised with this voting results....

[ArtK78]

1♣. I have an opening bid and clubs are my best suit.

 

I learned a long time ago just to bid my cards and let partner bid his cards, and usually everything will work out just fine.

 

I have no clue why anyone would want to open a preemptive call on a full opening bid with 2 suits and 2 aces.

[cherdanno]

1♣. I have an opening bid and clubs are my best suit.

 

I learned a long time ago just to bid my cards and let partner bid his cards, and usually everything will work out just fine.

 

I have no clue why anyone would want to open a preemptive call on a full opening bid with 2 suits and 2 aces.

Because we are short in the majors. I think most players underestimate how much more likely the opponents have a game one when we are short in the majors.

[whereagles]

To me unilateral means taking partner out of the picture. A preempt is supposed to do just the opposite - put partner in a position to make an intelligent decision.

Well, it's a 3rd seat opener. I'm allowed to be a little bit more liberal in that situation. Especially if responder uses save-suggesting stuff (like the 'useless' 3NT bid) to sort out whether opener has a classic pree or something a little bit off shape.

 

Agree, though, that hiding the diamonds is quite unilateral. That's the price one pays for the extra levels of bidding taken away.

[MFA]

You've told us how good the opponents are, but not how good you are (apart from that you're playing in the B flight).

 

This is the sort of hand where I'd expect the experts to take the normal action - 1♣. There's no need for them to do anything outlandish. They expect to win by force.

 

I, OTOH, am looking for opportunities to go off-road.  Accordingly, I'll try 3♣.

One reason non-experts are non-experts is that they have a propensity to make bad bids. You cannot improve your game that way.

 

Bid like an expert... if you are not one, then you will make enough bad bids as it is....don't intentionally add to your burden.

 

There is a reason the consensus of the expert opinion on this thread is heavily in favour of 1♣... their combined experience suggests that this is the most effective opening tactic. If it works for them, it should work for you.

Well put.

[aguahombre]

My vote is apparently not as weird as I thought. Using Pearson Point Count here is sort of a joke, but pass is just as likely to create a swing as club bids are. Especially in a flight "B", even GNT who says the opponents won't blow it on their own.

 

Not sure I want to make a call which allows partner to apply the LAW.

[gnasher]

To me unilateral means taking partner out of the picture. A preempt is supposed to do just the opposite - put partner in a position to make an intelligent decision.

My preempts are supposed to put the opponents in a position to make an unintelligent decision.

[cherdanno]

I am going to run some simulations - anybody want to guess how likely it is our hand, how likely they have game, we have game, how often the parscore is a save against their game, etc.?

(It will be purely double dummy.)

[fred]

To me unilateral means taking partner out of the picture. A preempt is supposed to do just the opposite - put partner in a position to make an intelligent decision.

My preempts are supposed to put the opponents in a position to make an unintelligent decision.

My opponents tend to make intelligent decisions.

 

My partners tend to as well and, like most strong players I know, do not appreciate it when their partners take random actions that greatly decrease the chances that their intelligent decisions will succeed.

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

[dburn]

No real reason I can think of to do other than open 1♣; if I pass or open three or four, I will probably think that I ought to do something on the next round of the auction, but I will not know what. May get more of a feel for this if I start the auction at the one level - why should I be the one to decide how high our side should go, when we might make anything from one club to seven diamonds? 4♣ is the bid of a man who hates his partner; 1♦ is the bid of a man who hates everybody.

[CSGibson]

I was curious. At one table, this hand was opened 1 club, and opponents found their vulnerable heart game. There is a profitable sacrifice in 5 clubs, but there was a break in tempo that caused a director call, and got the score rolled back to 4 hearts making.

 

At the other table, with the fumble on the right, I decided to bid 4 clubs, figuring 1) it would put pressure on opps, and 2) partner would be able to decide whether to sac or bid on based on the defense in his hand, and based on his club fit (since my clubs are so much better than my diamonds). My LHO decided, with 5-3-2-3 shape, to bid 4 spades, going down 4 (partner wisely not sacrificing or doubling) in their 5-2 fit instead of being in their 6-3 heart fit.

 

RHO, who thought and fumbled to a small BIT, had:

 

[hv=s=sxxhajtxxxdqxxxxc]133|100|[/hv]

 

I knew I took a view bidding 4 clubs, which is why I brought the hand to the forum. I like that it worked, but I don't think I'll do it again based on the comments of so many better players.

[jdonn]

4♣ is the bid of a man who hates his partner; 1♦ is the bid of a man who hates everybody.

I think 4♣ is the bid of a man who hates the other 3 players, and 1♦ is the bid of a man who hates himself.

[Phil]

I really don't have a problem with 3♣. Even Fred's opponents would rather exchange information at the 1 level than the 3 level.

 

I have a passed partner and an unpassed opponent. I have excellent playing strength and some good intermediates. If partner takes the push to 5♣ of a major I don't expect to go down a lot and you can construct hands where its cold. I doubt partner is ever bidding 5♣ with a lot of soft cards in the majors, no matter what kind of hand he expects.

 

4♣ is a little out there for me. It might work, but it tends to randomize the results.

[the hog]

4♣ is the bid of a man who hates his partner; 1♦ is the bid of a man who hates everybody.

I think 4♣ is the bid of a man who hates the other 3 players, and 1♦ is the bid of a man who hates himself.

1D for me, so that i can show both minors; and "no" I don't hate myself.

[whereagles]

:) Seems like fred and I have 'slightly' different views on the 3rd seat preempt style. We'll sort it out at the table. You just wait till we meet at the BB :P

 

Actually, 1♦ would have been my 2nd choice, planning to bid clubs next. I would feel uneasy if it came back in 4M, though. I'd have to take a guess there.

[OleBerg]

Seems I have been left hanging high and dry with my 5♣ bid. Not that unexpected. :P

 

Still, what I feel is the worst bid at all is 3♣. The hand has way to much potential for a meager 3-level preempt. Either you go scientifically (Pass, 1♣), or you go all the way with a preempt; 5♣ for me, spurred by the vulnerabilety, 4♣ for the more sane. Still, I'd hate the position I would be in, if I open 4♣, and has 4M passed around. The restrictions that RHO's, silly (make these decisions in advance), huddle has placed upon LHO, might convince me to bid only 4♣, if I choose to preempt.

 

I would not consider 4♣ to be a "daring" bid.

 

I do not know what "B-flight" means, strenght-wise, but the less competent I expect my opponents to be, the more inclined I would be to open 1♣. I will not pass; when the auction becomes competitive, my dear partner has the right to know that my clubs are significantly better than my diamonds.

 

To open any diamond bid, my opponents would have to look like walking heart-attacks, and I would have had to have one.

[ArtK78]

For your information:

 

The Grand National Teams is divided into 4 flights:

 

Open - Anyone can play in the open flight. This flight is sometimes referred as the Championship Flight. This is the main event. All of the well-known stars in the ACBL play in the Open flight.

 

Flight A - Limited to players with less than 5000 ACBL masterpoints. This excludes almost all of the "name" players, but the talent level can still be quite high.

 

Flight B - Limited to players with less than 2000 ACBL masterpoints. This excludes almost all very experienced players, but the participants are not novices.

 

Flight C - Limited to non-life masters with less than 500 ACBL masterpoints. While there may be some players in this flight who have played for some time, this is essentially a novice competition.

[OleBerg]

For your information:

 

The Grand National Teams is divided into 4 flights:

 

Open - Anyone can play in the open flight.  This flight is sometimes referred as the Championship Flight.  This is the main event.  All of the well-known stars in the ACBL play in the Open flight.

 

Flight A - Limited to players with less than 5000 ACBL masterpoints.  This excludes almost all of the "name" players, but the talent level can still be quite high.

 

Flight B - Limited to players with less than 2000 ACBL masterpoints.  This excludes almost all very experienced players, but the participants are not novices.

 

Flight C - Limited to non-life masters with less than 500 ACBL masterpoints.  While there may be some players in this flight who have played for some time, this is essentially a novice competition.

Tyvm.