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I pulled it to 4H. For me, the problem is that we don't have the ace of clubs. I was imagining a hand such as Axxx xx Axxx xxx where we make 11-12 tricks in hearts if trumps break depending on what happens in clubs. However, in 3NT on the presumed diamond lead, there would only be 9 tricks if hearts break, and not even that if they don't. Compare the OP hand with Kx AKQ98x x AQJ9 simply changing the CK to the ace. Now 3NT plays quite a bit better and I would probably pass 3NT.
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This hand has nowhere near 9 playing tricks - more like 7. It would be close to 2C opener, but still not quite, if you swapped SK -> SA or Hx -> HJ. (If playing Benji or similar, one could open it 2C because it is a three-loser hand and as mike777 suggested 1H...3C...4H doesn't quite show it all; but it wouldn't be my choice)

 

Still I don't think we can do more than 4H here, partner can have something useless like QJxxx x KQxx xxx.

 

ahydra

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Thanks all. 4 was right on this hand. If you do that, pd will raise to a making 6.

 

I passed it out at the table, blinded by the matchpointitis myth of 3NT >>> whatever.

 

Here's the full deal:

 

[hv=pc=n&s=SK6HAKQ982D7CKQJ9&w=SJT84HT54DJ54CA85&n=SA532HJ3DAQ63CT73&e=SQ97H76DKT982C642&d=e&v=n]399|300[/hv]

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I understand partner's desire to bid nt, because your weakest collective suit is diamonds and partner has the positional stop in diamonds. So grabbing NT is reasonable. Treating the hand like xxxx xx AQxx xxx which also might bid 3nt seems bad. A natural 4nt call is surely better than a 3nt call with this rich responding hand, although a slower route might also be ok/better.
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This hand has nowhere near 9 playing tricks - more like 7.

I think you might be confused about PTs. This does not mean you think you have this many tricks! The forumlae as laid down in the 40s are quite complicated, most notably for Responder's PTs but in essence you count trumps length winners on the scale:

 

4 card suit = 1 PT

5 card suit = 2 PT

6 card suit = 3 PT

7 card suit = 4 PT

8 card suit = 6 PT (+1 PT per additional card)

 

For a side suit you count 1 PT less with 0.5 PT for a 4 card suit.

 

Then you look at the honours not counted as length winners and ascribe PTs to them using the HT listings adjusted for obvious cases (so KQJ = 2 and QJT = 1, for example)

 

So spades = 0.5 PT; hearts = 6 PT (3 + 3); diamonds = 0 PT; clubs = 1.5+ PT (a + is somewhere between 0.25 and 0.5)

 

The result is that is probably an Acol 2 rather than a traditional 2 hand. It is certainly nothing like 7 PT though! Since many modern players include some Acol 2 hands within their 2 opening, I could easily imagine it being opened 2 at some tables. In the UK, France or Germany, where 2 is often Benji, I would expect a 2 opening to be common.

 

I also second the motion that 3NT is pretty bad but not exceptionally so for an indi.

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