[helene_t]

Yesterday I played some 15 boards on BBO with someone who was willing to try the Boring Club system. The basis of the system is that all balanced 12-18 hands without a 5-card major are opened 1♣. All unbalanced 11+ (appr.) hands with clubs are opened 1NT.

In boring club, constructive auctions are emphasized when the opening is 1♣. With a balanced 0-6 HCPs, responder must usually transfer to 1NT and pass, and cannot look for a 4-4-fit in a major (except if he has both majors). Also, there is no possibility for locating a 5-3-fit in a major without risking to end in 2NT. On the other hand, constructive auctions are quite accurate.

Is that the right priority? Maybe it depends on the scoring. Btw, are similar systems being played outside the Netherlands?

[Flame]

Never heard of this system but i have a basic problem with it, first the 1c is not including enough hands, 12-18 bal without 5 major is not enough, i once thought of playing all balanced 12-37 hcp to open 1c and it seems that the 1c can handle even more.
The second problem is about 1c being forcing, if 1c is 12-18 bal, there is no resson for it to be forcing.

[tysen2k]

I've done some research on system design and explored this kind of opening bid. I'm using it to develop a system I'm calling the "Shape System" for now. It's a system that emphasizes shape over strength for its opening bids.

Flame is right, limiting it to 12-18 w/ no 5cM is too rare. I played around with a few different definitions and 12+ or something like 12-21 are both much better. Including 5cM I think is a plus since now your 1M bids are always unbalanced. This allows you to use all NT rebids for some artificial purpose.

Tysen

[pbleighton]

Any merit to including 22(54) hands in the 1C bid?

Peter

[keylime]

Boring Club - is it a new theme in the naming of club methods to abstain from food and instead label it by a moniker? Like Millenium Club, Ultimate Club (yeah yeah that's a little older), Boring Club....what next, SuperDuper Club, Excellent Club, Kinda Good Club? <chuckles>

[helene_t]

I agree with Flame that 12-18 is too narrow. It puts a huge burden on the 2♣ and 2♦ openings that must contain all strong hands. Actually, in BC the 1♣ opening is not forcing, but responder can escape with a weak hand that is short in clubs.

I do have sympathy for the principle that the openings in the minors should say something about the shape, rather than about the strength of the hand.

As for 22(54): Depends on the position of the honours. In BC, the 2NT opening shows 5+ clubs and 4+diamonds, 12-15 HCPs.

As for the name of the system: I think it makes sense to name a system something with "club", since the meaning of the 1♣-opening is what above all distinguishes a system. In this case, it is openers obligation to differentiate boring hands from exciting hands.

What puzzles me is if it makes sense to require 7+ HCP for the transfers for the majors. One could argue that this is what you have most often: if we have a fit in a major and the minority of strength, the oponents would have said something. On the other hand, why escape to 1NT which might get doubled, if you can play 1♣ undoubled in a 3-2 fit or better, or, if 1♣ is forcing, find a 4-3 fit in a major?