AboutUnhunk Expertise I can answer questions on bidding and on cardplay with the caveat that the former may necessarily involve some subjectivity. I have been playing tournament bridge for over 20 years and I have won several regional tournaments.
Question QUESTION: what exactly does it mean opening 4 or 5 card majors?
Needless to say I have not been playing long.
ANSWER: Hi,
In short this describes the number of cards in the suit that you need to have in order to open it at the one level. People playing 4 card majors can open 1 heart with 4 hearts in their hand (assuming of course that they have sufficient high card strength). The same goes for opening the bidding 1 spade.
If you play 5 card majors, you need at least 5 hearts (or spades) to open that suit at the one level. As a result, it might be necessary to open the bidding in a 3 card minor suit instead. For example, if you have 4 spades, 4 hearts, 3 diamonds and 2 clubs and 13 points you cannot open 1 spade or 1 heart since those opening bids would promise at least 5 in those suits. Therefore you would open in your longer minor suit...in this case 1 diamond.
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: why would you not open 1NT in the last example?
Answer Hi,
I am using the Standard American bidding system as a frame of reference in which the point count range for an opening 1NT bid is 15-17. If instead you play a system for which the 1NT range is, for example, 13-15 then I certainly would open 1NT with that last hand.
