LEARNING CENTER

Yes, the 11 point hand is better than either 12 point hand, even with the same shape. If I asked the question differently, "How many tricks will you take?" I think you'd notice that with hand 1, you will probably take a diamond trick and that's about it. On option two you will take 3 tricks, and on option 3, you are definitely taking the spade ace and that's all so far. Yes, with a little luck, you can take extra tricks with hand 1 and 3, but you can make your own luck. Notice that you also have values concentrated in your long suits for hand 2--you like your values to help set up your suits. I know many players would open hand 1 and hand 3, but pass with hand 2. 

Hand 3 is best. Again, we see the importance of the location of your honors. This time, all of the hands have the same 12 points (an ace, a king, two queens, a jack and a ten). Notice, though, that in option 1 (the worst hand), our queen of spades is poorly placed and our long suit has only the jack. Hand two has a better heart suit, however the QJx of diamonds are the types of slow values that we don't love. Hand three has all of the values in two suits. Notice how great the J is for completing your suit. Compare the importance of that J to the lonely jack in option one. Having honors grouped together increases the value of the lower honors. 

Option 1 is best this time. Again, we see a hand with a lower point count being better than the others. Here hand one has aces and kings (and one VERY useful jack in the long suit). Hand two is very quacky (queens and jacks) and the diamond suit is bad. Hand three has aces but the diamond suit is even worse than in hand two. If you open 2 and 3 1NT, why not 1 also? 

Option 2 is the best preempt. Yes, it's only a 6 count, but all of the points are where they belong (in spades). I wouldn't open option one 2 most of the time and I would never open option 3 2, but I would open hand #2 2 at any vulnerability and seat (not 4th seat). Suit quality is important for opening on the 1-level but even more important when considering a preempt. 

Option 3. I don't like bidding rules, because it's not so simple to evaluate a hand. Notice that options 1 and 2 both fit the rule of 20, but option 3 doesn't. Yet, option one is full of quacks. You can't draw up a worse 12 point hand with a 6-card suit. Option two is roughly the same, with quacks and a weak diamond suit. Hand three has two aces and a lovely diamond suit buttressed by the Q109. If you scored well on this quiz, good job! One final question, if you spotted the strongest hand, how many of you were willing to bid it accurately?