[jillybean]

15-17NT

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[apollo1201]

Pros:
- black leads go through tenaces esp C
- sells the strength well (with 17 we would be too strong) in one bid
- D suit is weakish

Cons:
- 5422
- would prefer red leads to go through the hand
- some like to have 3 hearts in case partner transfers and had 3 spades
- no rebid issue after 1NT from partner

I ve not done it yet on 5422 hands bur will let better and more experienced players tell us if it is good or not.

Instinctively I feel it is less good here, too many cons vs pros, but other honor structure could be more suitable.

Eager to see what oryers say

[mike777]

I had a similar themed hand Wednesday night.
1NT was the winning choice. Unfortunately.

4H played better from my side.

[jillybean]

mike777, on 2026-November-06, 10:20, said:

I had a similar themed hand Wednesday night.
1NT was the winning choice. Unfortunately.

4H played better from my side.

I predicted you'd open 1♠

[P_Marlowe]

Hi,

1S followed by 2D, I though we were talking about 5332.

With kind regards
Marlowe

[mikeh]

I’m seeing more and more good players opening 1N with 5422 hands. The main reason for doing so is the rebid problem.

I saw Korbel open 1N against me with 4=5=2=2. Now, he was playing with a significantly less skilled partner and that might have been a factor but I don’t get the sense that he’s prone to masterminding.

I do think 4=5=2=2 1N is ok because of the rebid problem after 1H 1N but the downsides are non trivial. You rate to miss all 5=3 heart fits unless you happen to play puppet AND partner has the values and hand type to use puppet, and you miss all 4=4 or 5=4 major fits when partner has one or both 4 card majors and is too weak to bid…or is 4333 and decides to blast 3N.

So I think it’s close and without a detailed analysis of hand type frequencies I don’t think one can ‘prove’ whether 1N or 1H works better than the other

Hands with a 5 card major and 4 card minor, 5422, are different. Whereas 4522 or 5422 1N bids could miss good fits in either or both majors, there’s only one major fit at risk of being missed, which I think tilts the odds significantly.

My own opinion is that it depends on the details. Here, I’m not especially thrilled about 1S 1N 2D on two relatively weak suits. Make a small adjustment: KQxxx 10x AQxx Ax and I think I’d prefer 1S but with the actual hand I tend towards 1N.

[P_Marlowe]

mikeh, on 2026-November-06, 11:03, said:

I’m seeing more and more good players opening 1N with 5422 hands. The main reason for doing so is the rebid problem.

I saw Korbel open 1N against me with 4=5=2=2. Now, he was playing with a significantly less skilled partner and that might have been a factor but I don’t get the sense that he’s prone to masterminding.
<snip>

I am fully onboard with 1NT, if the 5 card suit is a minor, and you dont think the hand worth a reverse.

[jillybean]

This hand was played in my regular BBO teams game with players "better than me." Due to a lack of players, we were playing at a single table, but across the 20 comparisons in the overall field, I was the only one to open 1NT. Not all that surprisingly, everyone else ended up in spades.

The feedback I received at my table was diametrically opposed to what is being said here.
I guess I'm just reminded that a single board is a terrible yardstick for sanity.

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[pescetom]

If this is your NT style then West should have and use an ask that exposes a 5 card major.

Did South find the small heart lead against 3NT? Club Jack is not unlikely.

[mw64ahw]

I'd prefer to play a strong club system to show the strength.

[jillybean]

Ciao!
This is a group of local players and a few extras. The skill level ranges from past top players (South) to average club players, plus the wild card—me.

There are some established partnerships in the group who routinely play together, while others are paired up somewhat randomly.
Some play complex systems,big club, weak nt, others play simple 2/1. I am developing systems with a couple of the players, and in this matchup, I have three conventions noted.

South led the textbook fourth-highest 4♥. -2

[bluenikki]

apollo1201, on 2026-November-06, 10:12, said:

Pros:
- black leads go through tenaces esp C
- sells the strength well (with 17 we would be too strong) in one bid
- D suit is weakish

Cons:
- 5422
- would prefer red leads to go through the hand
- some like to have 3 hearts in case partner transfers and had 3 spades
- no rebid issue after 1NT from partner

I ve not done it yet on 5422 hands bur will let better and more experienced players tell us if it is good or not.

Instinctively I feel it is less good here, too many cons vs pros, but other honor structure could be more suitable.

Eager to see what oryers say

You omitted a serious con: When partner would have _passed_ 1♠ you won't enjoy the play.