[Cyberyeti]

Had a minor incident over the weekend where I felt I wasn't being given information I deserved, but wasn't sure there was anything I could do about it.

A pair is playing 4 card majors, they've played together for MANY years.

They do not always open the 4 card major with 4M4m32 (but sometimes do) and also BOTH minors are prepared being split by the whether the number of odd spot cards in the minors is odd or even (this part is legal if odd).

I asked while defending what affects the decision to open 1M or 1m with a 4M4m32 and was told that was GBK, despite the fact that they have 20 or 30 years of experience of what causes them to make that decision, and not many good players (and these were) have the option, most always open the minor or always open the major.

Am I entitled to some pointers here ?

[WellSpyder]

Cyberyeti, on 2017-June-13, 10:06, said:

Am I entitled to some pointers here ?

I think so, yes. I think it is very far from GBK since different partnerships have very different approaches.

(Having said that, I have played in partnerships where there is by agreement a choice over what to open here but where nevertheless I couldn't really tell you anything about how partner might make the choice.)

[barmar]

I've been playing with my regular partner for over 16 years. I almost always open 1♦ with 4-4 minors, he varies between 1♣ and 1♦. I still haven't figured out his criteria. It doesn't come up often enough for me to notice the pattern intuitively, I would have to keep a record of all the times he's opened with this shape and analyze the hands to see if I can discern it.

It's conceivable that my subconscious has detected the pattern, and it subtlely influences how I bid or play in these situations. Determining if that's going on would take even more analysis, and the available sample space probably isn't enough to draw any real conclusions.

I suppose I could ask him. But I'm not sure how the information would help me. And if I don't know, I can hardly be expected to disclose it. The opponents are just as unsure as I am.

[steve2005]

Cyberyeti, on 2017-June-13, 10:06, said:

They do not always open the 4 card major with 4M4m32 (but sometimes do) and also BOTH minors are prepared being split by the whether the number of odd spot cards in the minors is odd or even (this part is legal if odd).

Surprised that's legal, but of what benefit would knowing the parity of spot cards or choosing your opening based on this be?

[Vampyr]

steve2005, on 2017-June-13, 13:52, said:

Surprised that's legal, but of what benefit would knowing the parity of spot cards or choosing your opening based on this be?

It is a randomiser.

[Cyberyeti]

Vampyr, on 2017-June-13, 15:03, said:

It is a randomiser.

Exactly, it's a legal way of effectively giving no info to partner or opps about the minor suit lengths