When are nine and ten hcp point hands worth opening at the "one" level?

Question

With a holding like AKQTxx in one suit, and no side honors, I could usually open with a "weak two." But suppose the suit were clubs. Then I can't open with two clubs because that is a much stronger bid. And suppose I don't believe in "preempting" with only a six card suit. Is this holding strong enough to open one club if I have limited distributional values with a 6-3-2-2 hand? (I would open one club with a 6-3-3-1 distribution?

Would the addition of a side jack (bringing to total hcps to 10) make a difference when one has a six card suit? How about AKQJx in a five card suit (no side honors), and a 5-3-3-2 distribution.

And how about AKQxxxx with no side honors? Here I only have nine hard card points, but I have two extra cards in the suit, and IMHO, each extra card is worth at least two points, bringing the total to 13. I've seen experts open with 11 points and a somewhat "random" hand. Here, I have only nine points, none of them "wasted" and highly concentrated values that could take seven tricks. If a major, all I need from partner is three extra tricks, that is about 10 points, and we can make game with about 19 hpcs because so many tricks come from my trump suit.

There are some modern experts like Barry Crane who will open with eleven hcps and a "good" suit. So how about 10 hcps and a "great" suit. Or nine hpcs and a "tremendous" suit?

Answer 1

If you have nine or ten points, and not a two level bid, you pass. Not every hand is biddable; AKQTxx clubs plus a jack somewhere is one of them. If you actually have a game, partner will be able to open; you also may well have a chance to bid after opponents open the bidding. Both of those actions will describe your hand adequately.

Answer 2

Specifically to ♣AKQxxx and out, 1♣ is not (really) a preempt. The opponents will get in if they should, at the 1 level usually, and anyone over C flight can get to game (or slam!) if they see a 30 or 34-point deck and 23+ of them. Frankly, I'd rather bid at the 1 level with ♠AKQxxx and out than with clubs (although with most partners, I'd bid 2).

It does do a good job of preempting partner, though. Okay, more likely over-encouraging her, but still. You will pay with a bunch of 4Major -1s where the clubs can't be used because of entry issues. On the other hand, you will get to some 3NTs that run 9 tricks that will be harder to get to with a pass, because partner with xx won't take you for 6 (or 5-with-safety-play) tricks.

Your other option - which I guess from your other questions you may not take - is 3♣. Same as you would (if you play it) bid "4♣" (by Gambling 3NT) with one more club, bid 3 with 6-reasonably-solid and out. If you have the policy that 3M in 1st or 2nd "is happy to put dummy down in 3NT", well, you'll still get to 3NT (yes, I know there are some that won't bid 3NT without an honour. They lose to this, while winning opposite the more common AQJxxx(x)).

I am not denigrating Pass. Pass is the best call in bridge, and needs to be made more often. Yes, Bridge is a bidder's game, but that's "bid on these hands, and pass these ones you're currently bidding. They're awful". I definitely rank it higher than 1♣ on this hand. But I like 3♣ more yet.

Yes, this is not something to spring on an unsuspecting partner. OTOH, even with pickups, "preempt style" is one thing I discuss, because decisions like this (whether to preempt, whether to raise preempt, whether to bid game, what does a 1 bid look like) come up so often.

Answer 3

You'd do well to embrace Pass as a functional and enhancing part of the bid-system, it's not just a 'last bid'.

Often overlooked, but Pass-and-Rebid is a valuable set bids for describing many hands to partner, including the ones you mention. Moreover, it helps to retain the 'purity' in your opening and pre-emptive bids.

It's best to think of Pass as equally important to other opening bids rather than a worthless hand. Use Pass to show less useful hands, indeed many two-suiters may be described more efficiently by Pass-and-Rebid, whether through Overcalls or Responder-bidding.

Perhaps its beneficial to think of Passes more as range-bids that let you qualify your hand more precisely, whether it's Pass-and-overcall, pass-and-respond, or Bid-and-Pass.

Answer 4

It's definitely a matter of partnership style. If you have very sound preempts, AKQTxx and out could be a two bid and AKQxxxx could be a three bid. If your preempts are more destructive, both of these are worth an opening bid at the one level in the partnerships I play in. My general rule is that there is no gap between a two bid and a one bid.

With AKQxxxx x xxx xx (mentioned by @Forget in the comments), if the auction starts 1S (3H) P (P), I'll put down the 3S card and not feel bad. In some partnerships, that would be unacceptable. Many styles are playable, and the main thing is to have a partnership understanding.

On that point, preempt style is one of things I would bring up in the first conversation with a new partner, even if we have only a few minutes before the game starts (along with the meaning of opener rebidding their suit after partner's 2 over 1, defensive signaling agreements, and a quick checkin on conventions over our 1NT opening and their 1NT opening).

Answer 5

Most experts would open with 12 high card points and a reasonably good five card suit. They would also open a hand like AQxxxx Kx xx Qxx with 11 high card points and a six card suit. By linear extrapolation, I could see opening a hand like AQxxxxx x xx KJx or AKQxxxx x xx Jxx with a 10 high card point hand and a seven card suit. But taking the point card down to nine is probably going "a bridge too far."