[EricK]

Like nearly everybody else, I open 1♠. How bad would you feel if you passed, and the hand were passed out?!

[AyunuS]

You should pass. It's very unlikely it'll pass out when others probably have good distribution, too, and then you won't end up in over your head. Even if it does pass out, it's not all that big of a loss. If you open and your partner ends up bidding a slam, you're probably screwed, and you're also screwed in some cases on anything 3NT or higher since he/she'll overrate how many points your team has.

[DrMunk]

HighLow21, on 2012-February-17, 12:35, said:

I'm curious to see what A/E players would do in First Seat with this collection:

---

I have to disagree. This is not borderline. This is a very,very,very clear 1♠ opening. Good offence, good suits, high ranking suits, good defence, high playing strength. Even thinking about passing this hand is an error in my view.

True, if your partner has a misfitting hand your hand will be a disapointment. But still, you have two aces to him if he ends up bidding a minor suit slam on his own..

[daveharty]

I'm sorry, but none of this post makes any sense:

AyunuS, on 2012-February-19, 04:52, said:

You should pass. It's very unlikely it'll pass out when others probably have good distribution, too, and then you won't end up in over your head.

Your concession that it might be bad if the deal was passed out amounts to a tacit admission that you want to be in the auction with this hand at some point. Why not simply get in quickly with an opening bid, especially when you have an easy, descriptive rebid? This seems far less risky than waiting until a subsequent round to make your first noise, after letting the opponents exchange information about their own hands and possibly elevating the bidding to an uncomfortable level.

Quote

Even if it does pass out, it's not all that big of a loss.

Unless you count the many plus scores your side could have earned by reaching a good partscore (or even game) if you had opened. If everyone else at the table has a balanced ten-count (the most likely scenario for a pass-out), don't you like your chances of making a partscore in one of the majors?

Quote

If you open and your partner ends up bidding a slam, you're probably screwed, and you're also screwed in some cases on anything 3NT or higher since he/she'll overrate how many points your team has.

If, after you open the bidding, your partner simply bids a slam with no further input from you, then one of two things is happening: either your partner has an ENORMOUS hand, in which case your two aces should not prove a disappointment; or you have a real problem, namely, a fundamental misapprehension of the purpose of dialogue bidding. Hopefully, your partner will allow you to more fully describe the nature of your hand (spades, hearts, minimum opening bid values but good controls, etc.) rather than deciding on a unilateral course of action.

Your main objection to opening with this hand seems to be that partner will play you for more than you actually have. I think that is erroneous for several reasons, but the main one is that this hand is simply good enough to open. If it doesn't fall within your partnership parameters for opening the bidding, okay, that's fine. (I think it's wrong, and the unanimity of the good players who have posted responses here suggests you may want to reconsider, but that's your business.) But don't let it be because there aren't 13 HCP in the hand; that kind of bean-counting is not very effective on unbalanced hands. Of course there is a risk of getting too high if you open the bidding, but that is the case every time you open anything.

[RunemPard]

In response to Dave...I find opening 2NT or 1NT will get you in more trouble than opening this hand...bad fit, lack of points, ect...but is that a reason to not open 1NT or 2NT?

As said...any open risks a disaster...but not opening in fear of that, is silly.

[whereagles]

I would open, but one can probably afford to pass. With this nice hand and the majors, it should be no problem to butt-in later at a safe level.

[Phil]

JLOGIC, on 2012-February-17, 18:31, said:

I miscounted my points yesterday and passed as dealer with 14. Worked out quite well actually. Musta been a good decision.

Getting some mileage out of this one?

[mikeh]

Seems like a clear opening bid.

4 controls

LTC of 6

No rebid problems

Both majors

Passing is just wrong, imo. Could it work out badly? Of course. So what?

[Statto]

Would anyone's decision be affected by vulnerability and scoring?

[Cthulhu D]

Amusingly this came up at the club last night, I opened a somewhat less sound S: -- H: KQxxx D: K9xxx C: QTx on the basis that I'd never get in if I didn't - which was right as it came back around to me at 3S. Worth all the matchpoints because the opponents took a phantom save in 5S (5H was off one on best defence, though you needed to be lucky).

There are more reasons to open vul vs NV imho, with a misfit partner will stop low (probably after 1S - 1NT; 2H)