[strong 1c]

Playing precision, do you ever struggle or miss a 4-4 major fit after bidding has gone 1C-1D?


One example might be Opener has 4531 with 19 hcp and partner has 4216 with 7 HCP. Here bidding might go 1C-1D-1H-2C -? pass?

From a theoretical viewpoint, is there a reason why opener has to show a 5-card suit on his second bid rather than bidding a 4-card suit as in 4450 or is that just 'how it's done'.

I used to play a canape system and opening 4 card Majors was really enjoyable. Are there strong club systems where the strong hand bids his 4 card Major ?

Thank you very much

[DavidKok]

You should count your lucky stars that the opponents are so docile with a 9 card diamond fit.

There are plenty of solutions here, but the simplest one is for opener to rebid 2♠ over 2♣. Your 2♣ should show 6-8, so opener with 19 should force to game. With fewer values, responder should bid a second negative 1NT.
You can absolutely bid a 4c♠ ahead of a 5c♣ as responder. This is common, but perhaps not the simplest system.
In Mecklite opener rebids a 4cM ahead of a 5cm, but not ahead of a 5coM. This is a system improvement, but not relevant on this example deal. I like canapé in specific context but not here.

[strong 1c]

I just threw that in as an example. Lower point counts to 16 and 5 which is my minimum hcp for 1c-1d. ?

[DavidKok]

It is good to bid 1♠ over 1♥ as responder, but you may need to be a bit more careful with the continuations, as mentioned.
In your '16 opposite 5' example you're looking for a fit in your third suit while giving the opponents 19 hcp and a 9 card fit but not having them enter the auction. I think it will take quite a large number of months before this will happen at the table, as mentioned.

[strong 1c]

You aware of a strong club that shows the 4 card Major? Eg 1c-1d-1S shows 4? What does 5 card majors have to do with strong club , I wonder sometimes (rhetorical). Thanks

[DavidKok]

Yes. Mecklite, i.e. Standard Modern Precision, plays that 1♠ rebid as 4(+) and unbalanced, may have a longer minor suit.

[PrecisionL]

Yes, Johnson-Berkowitz played such over 20 years ago. (Wayback Machine archive for details by Don Varvel).

1♣ - 1♦ - 1♥ = 4+♥ 16-19 forcing 1 round.

1♠ 0-4 hcp Artificial

1NT 5-8 hcp 4+♠

2♣ 5-8 hcp 0-2♥

2♦ 5-8 hcp 3♥ exactly

2♥ 5-8 hcp 4♥, less than a Limit Raise (3 potential tricks)

2♠ 5-8 hcp 5♠ & 0-2♥

2NT 5-8 hcp Mini-splinter (singleton unknown)

3♣ Asks for suit of singleton ... and so on for 1♠ rebid after 1♣ -1♦.

Opener now has some information about strength and support that allows him to chose an intelligent rebid,

(maybe 5 of a good major, or 5 of a minor (canape style).