[dickiegera]

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Do you agree with 4th seat opening with 11 Pts?

Next: should east bid 1♥ or negative double showing both majors?
If east bids 1♥ what should west do? pass showing minimum hand or bid 1♠


Thank you

[hrothgar]

 dickiegera, on 2015-December-23, 15:14, said:

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Do you agree with 4th seat opening with 11 Pts?

Next: should east bid 1♥ or negative double showing both majors?
If east bids 1♥ what should west do? pass showing minimum hand or bid 1♠


Thank you

I am personally indifferent between passing and opening 1♣.

If you are a believer in Pearson points this is an opener
(Add your HCPs to the number of spades in your hand and if the total >= 15, open)

Following 1♣ - (1♦), this would seem like a textbook negative double

Following 1♣ - (1♦) - 1♥, I prefer either 1N or 1♠ to passing
I personally would rebid 1NT to protect the King of Diamonds and show a balanced hand.

[billw55]

With ♠J9xx and good spots, I agree to open the west hand in 4th.

As east I would make the negative double.

[sfi]

If the auction proceeds 1C - (1D) - 1H, West should not pass this without three card support for partner. Doing so is too likely to result in a negative score. Fortunately, West has an easy 1S rebid, which will see them land in 2S.

[mike777]

can live with pass or 1c: that west hand is really ugly.
neg double now

It looks like that east hand is worth a limit raise(roughly 7.5 loser hand) after 1s by west so hard to stop in 2s. Expect many to end up in 3s

[gszes]

A lot of bidding is planning. A neg x (vs 1h) is much better in the long run since it keeps both majors in play. While it appears the 1h bid keeps spades in play (opener can easily bid them over 1h) what happens if east bids 2d? South is too weak to do anything and with no heart fit has no reason to bid further and poof just like that the spade suit disappears. Note that over the neg x if east bids 2d opener may well still pass (downgrading their dia K) but north can then bid 2h to compete allowing south to bid 2s. The neg x saves the spade suit
while the 1h bid can quite easily lose it. Always try to make the bid that is the most flexible if you have no clear direction.

[mike777]

again I don't see how you stop in 2s...that east hand is worth a limit raise once west opens.

[blackshoe]

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What does East do now?

[sfi]

 blackshoe, on 2015-December-23, 17:32, said:

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What does East do now?

Pass, obviously. East got the chance to invite and remain at the two level - the best they can hope for.

FWIW, I would invite with the East hand if I could stop in 2S but not if I had to force to 3S.

[lycier]

 billw55, on 2015-December-23, 15:25, said:

With ♠J9xx and good spots, I agree to open the west hand in 4th.

I disagree with you. What you said is not reasons which opens that hand lightly.
1- Even opener has 15 Pearson points,however opener has not any Ace with 1.5 quick tricks in the balance hand. It should decrease 1 point on evaluation.

2- Opener has balance hand without any 5 cards suit,it is a disadvantage. Hcp distribution are not good.
Assume that opener holds ♠Q973, ♥QJ , ♦K107 , ♣K1098 or ♠QJ73, ♥Q10, ♦K107 , ♣K1098, who is willing to open lightly?
If opener holds ♠QJ73, ♥10x , ♦K107 , ♣KQ109 ,I will agree to open.
So ♥Qx,it should decrease 1 point on evaluation.

3- As luck would have it, opener has three Tens to add 0.75-1.0 point value, ♣KQ109 is also a good spot.So opening lightly may be a playable option,but how open lightly should depend on partnership agreement.

[rmnka447]

I'd pass West's 4th seat hand -- an ugly 11 and only 1 1/2 QTs.

Once West opens, I agree with a negative double by East.

[zillahandp]

No openng lght in fourth is generally not advantageous, esp if poor majors bid hts five p can still bd spades.

[wank]

Yes open. 1h as responder.

If you play a style whereby you suppress a major in an balanced hand, i don't think you should in 4th.

[abacus001]

This is bridge folks, you open! Partner MUST negative double. This gives maximum opportunity to end in the right contract. Anything else is mindless and "selfish/"

[Phil]

1. I open but it doesn't guarantee a plus score.

2. Make a negative x with 4-5 and this strength. If LHO raises diamonds you'll have a hard time finding your 44 spade fit. With 54 bidding 1S is better.

[rmnka447]

 abacus001, on 2015-December-24, 11:36, said:

This is bridge folks, you open! Partner MUST negative double. This gives maximum opportunity to end in the right contract. Anything else is mindless and "selfish/"

No, it isn't. Opening sub-par hands in fourth seat isn't likely to yield any better results than passing. The positives when you find a good contract/set the opponents are pretty much offset by an equal number of times you go down or have the opponents find a better contract.

I've never been embarrassed to pass iffy hands in 4th seat. I'd rather save my bridge playing energy for hands which yield a competitive advantage.

[Caitlynne]

Sometimes an 11 HCP hand with 4 spades is worth opening (e.g., according to the Rule of 15 which says if your HCP + number of spade >= 15 you have a 4th seat opener), but not this one. There are just too many flaws - no Aces, QT doubleton, Jxxx suit, balanced pattern. Yes, the clubs are chunky and the Ten of diamonds is a nice spot for supporting the King, but this hardly compensates for the many and serious flaws. I would pass this hand out.

As for the opening bidder's partner, I think a negative double is clear. The hearts are not so great and you don't want to lose the spade suit. Not losing the spade suit is especially important when partner opens in 4th position since spades is the suit partner is likely to have length in when opening on marginal values in 4th seat.

[jdgalt]

 mike777, on 2015-December-23, 16:43, said:

again I don't see how you stop in 2s...that east hand is worth a limit raise once west opens.

On this auction, as East I would raise 1S to only 2S on this auction because opener may be weak. With only 6-8 as East I would pass 1S instead. The opponents have taken Drury away from us, so I don't want to push to game.

Thus as West, I'm going to take 2S as a limit raise -- but I'm still not strong enough to say 3. Pass.

(This reasoning assumes matchpoints. Vulnerable at IMPs, I'd do the same thing as East but would raise to 3 as West.)