[SimonFa]

I hadn't given third hand light opening much thought until the other night, probably because it hasn't been discussed in any of my 20+ books and I haven't seen any in depth discussions on here (and I have done a search before writing this). However after seeing this dummy when I was in 2S:

Teams, R v R
♠T85 ♥KT5 ♦76 ♣KQT83

I have been giving the subject some thought and would welcome some feedback and comments.

One down wasn't a disaster as we had a flat board but what was the point of this bid and, more importantly, what is the point of opening light in 3rd hand anyway? I don't blame partner for this bid as we haven't discussed the subject but as I see it:

1. At teams its unlikely we are making game in a minor as 3NT is not on as we have at best 19 HCP and the 5-level has to be way out of sight, so no vulnerable game bonus to consider.

2. It has no pre-emptive value. If the Clubs were Spades I think it would be a great bid, especially at MPs as we could end up winning the part score battle.

3. Playing 5-card major, better minor, I can't rely on it being a 5 card suit so its unlikely that I will be making a pre-emptive bid over RHO, unless we have an agreement that it must be 5-cards in 3rd seat, but that doesn't seem wise as it stops partner bidding with a good 44(32).

4. It does have some lead directing value, especially if they get in to a NT contract, but...

5. It invites the enemy in to the bidding if one of them has something like xx KQxxx KQx xx and we could be losing the part score battle at MPs, because on normal distribution I'm not going to have enough Spades to over-call at the one level.

6. Without a 4-card major, preferably 44, in the majors we could be playing a very poor 4-3 fit. On this hand I suppose partner guarantees a good 4-3 fit in the majors but is that enough? The more I think about it the more I like 44 in the majors because it is likely the enemy won't have a 5-card major suit to get in to the bidding.

So from this I conclude that opening light in 3rd should ideally have the following characteristics:

1. A major suit to have some preemptive value or
2. If in a minor suit have be 44 of (43) in the majors to limit the enemy's options
3. Some lead directing value

Or am I missing something?

As always, thanks in advance for all comments,

Simon

PS if anyone has links to a good article on the subject or can recommend a good bok I'd be grateful.
PPS I'm surprised that Kit didn't have a section on the subject in Matchpoints, unless I've missed something?

[han]

1. I agree, getting to game is not likely. This is not an important reason to open light.

2. I disagree, 1C is preemptive. Many of their bids have a wider range after I've bid 1C. If I open 1C partner is more likely to find a bid, and partner's bid might make the auction more unclear. If partner is able to raise to 2C we'll have made their life much harder than if we give them a free auction. Often they'll still get to the best contract, but sometimes they won't. If partner opens on this hand and your raise is minimal, they could easily miss a game.

3. It is not so likely that you can make a preemptive raise. It sounds like you are desperately looking for reasons to disagree with the 1C opening. Perhaps open your mind a little?

4. + 5. Now you are not making any sense. You say that 1C has good lead directing value and then you say that the opponents are likely to win the contract. How is that a bad thing? Lead directing value is a good thing if the opponents win the contract, is it not? The fact that you write something positive but make it sound like something negative confirms that you have already formed your opinion.

6. I don't understand what you wrote here. If partner bids 1M we can pass and play 1M in a 4-3 fit. If they bid over 1M we will pass. It is possible that we end up playing 2M in a 4-3 fit but not so likely. If we do, it is not so clear that it will be bad. If we are 4-4 in the majors then they are less likely to have a major suit game. If they do have a game then there is more to win (them missing game, finding a good lead) and less to lose (going for 500 or 800 is less costly).

My advice:

A. Light third seat openers are better when non-vulnerable.
B. Light third seat openers are better when you have a good suit.
C. Light seat openers are better when your partner takes the possibility into account.
D. Light seat openers are better when you have some experience doing it.
E. Stop being so afraid, bridge is not a game for cowards.

Further points:

- I don't think that light third seat openers are necessarily better in a major suit. 1M openings are more preemptive, but it is hard to stop at 1 of a suit when you open 1S. The opponents easily getting into the auction is not necessarily a bad thing. Their strength will be less precisely defined compared to when they open.

- I definitely would recommend that you loosen up a little and experiment. Don't worry so much. You can't learn how to get out of trouble by reading a book. You can only learn it by getting into trouble first. Only by trying out light seat openings yourself can you develop a good feeling of what works and what doesn't work.

[SimonFa]

Good points, thanks Han.

[fromageGB]

I would add that precisely because of your point 3, a 1♣ light opening in 3rd seat is somewhat safer than a light opening in a major. Having 3 cards in both majors also allows him to pass 1M, so it makes it safer still.

Sometimes light openers work, sometimes they don't. You try to strike a balance by experience. I sometimes play with someone who hates light openers (so I don't) and light overcalls (so I will have at least a 10 count) but I don't think that is the right approach.

[P_Marlowe]

If you start to open regular ligh in 3rd seat, you need to add conventions
to your agreement set, to give you the chance to find out, if the opener
was for real or a joke.
This is espesially important, if the opening was a major.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[Cyberyeti]

Depending on jurisdiction, you may need to be careful.

Quote

C. Light seat openers are better when your partner takes the possibility into account.

If your opening bid is comic enough that it's not legal as a 1 opener and you have the technology to find this out you are in psyche control territory and may get slapped with a rulebook.