How many Hearts

[dickiegera]

Dealer holding[hv=d=s&v=b&s=sxhakqxxxxdjxxcxx]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

Should opening bid be 1♥, 3♥ , 4♥ or

something else???

Thank you

[jjbrr]

1♥

[gwnn]

4H, second choice: 3NT gambling.

[Siegmund]

4H with most partners. (Kantar 3NT, with my regular p, promising a solid suit, no side ace, at most one side K+Q.)

 

At favorable this'd be too good and I'd have to open 1H.

[kfay]

4H with most partners. (Kantar 3NT, with my regular p, promising a solid suit, no side ace, at most one side K+Q.)

 

At favorable this'd be too good and I'd have to open 1H.

I think you have this the wrong way around...

 

Would love love love to open 4♥ at favorable.

 

Dislike opening 4♥ now because we may get clubbed against air, although I respect players that do because, hey, it sucks when my opps open 4♥.

[Siegmund]

That's one reason I have Kantar on my card with my reg p, kfay: the solid-major hands, that have more than enough tricks for preempting, I can still describe that way at any vul, and not have our side's constructive bidding harmed much.

 

The preempts I am a firm believer should never have ranges "more than one trick wide"... and favorable 4H openings look like x KQTxxxx Qxx xx or xx AJ9xxxx xxx x. At equal, as here, I want to actually have 7 tricks, which'll more often be KQJ7+A or AQ7+K.

[Siegmund]

On a side note...

 

As long as we're on the subject of what to do with 7-trick hands at favorable (or 8-trick hands with neither side vul)... has anybody ever tried playing a preemptive 5H opening, same as 5C and 5D? There's no need for a 5S preempt -- but if you're trying to deny the opponents a spade fit, and you have so many hearts you'd have an obvious 5H bid over their 4S, maybe it'd be better to do it right away.

[mikegill]

I would tend to open 1♥ red but 4♥ white. I think the preemptive value of 4♥ when we're white outweighs the fact that this hand isn't really a prototypical 4♥ opening. 2nd seat I might open 1♥ even if white, and I might open 4♥ if I were 3rd seat red/red

[P_Marlowe]

4H.

 

With kind regards

Marlowe

[Codo]

I would open 4 ♥.

 

I would open 1 ♥ fav. because this hand is way too strong for 4 ♥ then.

[mich-b]

4♥ at any vulnerability for me.

[whereagles]

obvious 3NT gambling :)

[nigel_k]

Open 4♥.

 

But I like the agreement that gambling 3NT can be any suit.

[effervesce]

4♥ for me. 2nd choice 3♥, third 1♥.

[y66]

Same as MikeGill for me.

[Fluffy]

the only way to shut out spades is to open 4♥ so that's what I'd do

[ArtK78]

On a side note...

 

As long as we're on the subject of what to do with 7-trick hands at favorable (or 8-trick hands with neither side vul)... has anybody ever tried playing a preemptive 5H opening, same as 5C and 5D? There's no need for a 5S preempt -- but if you're trying to deny the opponents a spade fit, and you have so many hearts you'd have an obvious 5H bid over their 4S, maybe it'd be better to do it right away.

I suppose that one might be able to construct a hand that merits a 5♥ opening bid, even in first or second seat. For example, at favorable vul:

 

x KQJTxxxxx xx x

 

But the chance that you will be able to buy the contract in 4♥ is significant (even with the popular trend that 4♥ openings are a transfer to 4♠ by the opponents). And the danger that a 5♥ opening is too high for your side when the opponents can't make anything is significantly more than for a 4♥ opening.

 

It is not always right for the opponents to bid 4♠ over your 4♥, even on a hand like the one I suggested above.

 

If I opened 5♥ on this hand and took 10 tricks, with the opponents having no playable contract, I would find it hard to explain my action to my partner and teammates.

 

The bottom line is that opening 5♥ rather than 4♥ will be right on occasion, but it is a very small target to hit, and the downside is significant.

[gwnn]

I learned from Larry Cohen I think that 5M shows a solid hand off the A and K of trump. the name was "the rarest convention you will ever use" was it?

[ArtK78]

I learned from Larry Cohen I think that 5M shows a solid hand off the A and K of trump. the name was "the rarest convention you will ever use" was it?

That is another point. The traditional meaning of a 5 of a major opening is a hand with 11 playing tricks missing the A and K of trump, i.e.:

 

A QJT9xxxxxx A A

 

Or some variant of that with a void.

 

This hand is even less common than a hand where one might want to open a preemptive 5 of a major.

 

So, if you want to play that a 5 of a major bid is preemptive, you should discuss it with your partner.

 

But I suspect that the 20 seconds of that discussion would be better spent on finding a way to create world peace. It will be just as useful and just as productive.

[pooltuna]

Dealer holding[hv=d=s&v=b&s=sxhakqxxxxdjxxcxx]133|100|Scoring: MP[/hv]

 

Should opening bid be 1♥, 3♥ , 4♥ or

something else???

Thank you

tell your story as fast as you can so 3♥ but no real quibble with 1♥

[mikegill]

I certainly would treat a favorable 5♥ opening as as preempt, particularly first/3rd seat, maybe even just 1/3 white at matchpoints. It would have to be a real freak though - maybe - KQJTxxxx JTxx x or something. Other seats/colors I would essentially never do it (and the hands would have to be even rarer). Since I have no agreement about what those bids would mean, though, I would take it as a preempt I guess. These things never happen anyway.