Interesting to see North not using Stayman today on a flat hand with no Aces and Kings – 4S really doesn’t appeal much, especially as West will surely go passive with a trump lead. South probably wins and draws trumps then runs the D10 but West can then lead the CJ if he reads the position (East’s trumps should reflect suit preference) and South is stuck in hand after the 3rd club unable to take the H finesse although it loses anyway.
Yet there seems to be a growing trend towards shoe-horning hands into 2N openings. If South held (say) K109x AJ KQ AKJxx then many would open 2N rather than risking 1C being passed out. Any thoughts here (apart from the benefits of strong club systems) on when to bend matters?
Regards,
Iain
Bobby WolffNovember 25th, 2022 at 9:17 pm
Hi Iain,
If I claimed to hold a magic elixir when to always choose the higher percentage game (usually either 4 of a major or 3NT) I would be lying. However, when holding any 4-3-3-3 balanced hand and, of course 4 cards in a major I’ll choose to stay in NT.
Most of the time it seems to work, especially the added built-in advantage of some of that time, getting my four-card major led and apparently also keeping my partner’s distribution a deep, dark secret, which in my considered opinion,
is even more valuable.
Also, I tend to also sometimes distort a 2NT opening for the same basic reasons, except somehow those advantages would not work against that awful word, cheaters.
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Hi Bobby,
Interesting to see North not using Stayman today on a flat hand with no Aces and Kings – 4S really doesn’t appeal much, especially as West will surely go passive with a trump lead. South probably wins and draws trumps then runs the D10 but West can then lead the CJ if he reads the position (East’s trumps should reflect suit preference) and South is stuck in hand after the 3rd club unable to take the H finesse although it loses anyway.
Yet there seems to be a growing trend towards shoe-horning hands into 2N openings. If South held (say) K109x AJ KQ AKJxx then many would open 2N rather than risking 1C being passed out. Any thoughts here (apart from the benefits of strong club systems) on when to bend matters?
Regards,
Iain
Hi Iain,
If I claimed to hold a magic elixir when to always choose the higher percentage game (usually either 4 of a major or 3NT) I would be lying. However, when holding any 4-3-3-3 balanced hand and, of course 4 cards in a major I’ll choose to stay in NT.
Most of the time it seems to work, especially the added built-in advantage of some of that time, getting my four-card major led and apparently also keeping my partner’s distribution a deep, dark secret, which in my considered opinion,
is even more valuable.
Also, I tend to also sometimes distort a 2NT opening for the same basic reasons, except somehow those advantages would not work against that awful word, cheaters.
Possibly adding up to a new term DDAC!