What would you open?

[apollo1201]

4 of a major or 3NT? Often a difficult decision and more often than not a decision to reach correctly.

And MPs or IMPs can depend on the right choice. Is there any guidelines which can help?

 

With 44 fit, you usually play better in 4M. Any ruf in any hand will bring an extra trick.

 

Only with 53 could you consider 3NT. For 3NT to be better you also need very balanced distributions with no profitable ruff (eg 5332 facing 4333), scattered honors in the short suits and obviously enough HCPs. Often, in that case, the trump suit will be not too good and could suffer the loss of trump trick in case they break 41 in defense.

 

The decision has to be made knowingly by both players e.g.;

- 1M-2M-2NT-3NT-pass: responder proposes NT (eg 9 HCPs 4333 with Q and Js) and opener accepts; with a small doubleton or concentrated values in 2 suits, opener would reject and bid 4M

- 1M - limit raise w/ 3 trumps - 3NT - pass: opener proposes and responder accepts

[NickRW]

Thank you for all your replies. Looks like I owe my husband an apology. We arrived in a 4♠ contract on a 5-3 fit going down one, when the same nine tricks are available in no-trumps. I am perhaps 'resulting' on this one hand but I have learnt a valuable lesson here.

 

 

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.

[TylerE]

I'd also add that when an 8+ fit it known, at matchpoints prefer to play 3N if values are 27-32ish - e.g. not enough for slam with two balances ahnds, but a more than minimum game values. Often produces the same tricks as 4M, and sometimes makes when 4M isn't (e.g. 5-0 trump break)