nige1, on 2022-May-03, 03:47, said:
I played it for a while. It rarely came up, since my style, and that of my regular partners, is to open 1D with some very strong 4=5 red hands. In those same partnerships we respond light, and sometimes very light, if we have a major, so we rarely (indeed,I could say never if my memory is reliable) miss a good game or slam after opening 1D. I recall one hand from many years ago where I had 23 hcp (including a stiff King) and we were the only pair in the event to reach 7H.
Plus when it comes up it’s actually very unwieldy since in my experience it’s rare for partner to have a good red fit, and actually not at all easy if he has a heart fit. How does he show a fit in hearts while showing or denying slam interest?
I read the article in the Bulletin by Jake Jabbour (iirc) advocating for this treatment, which he called Jaws. As is often the case with people advocating a pet method, his examples all worked perfectly…he seemed extremely careful, again iirc, not to show hands where it’s a disaster
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Admittedly many strong 4=5 red hands, too strong to risk 1D, are difficult to bid absent this agreement. However, I see the benefits as very limited and the cost of not having a ‘hearts are trump’ jump after 2C 2D are real.
'one of the great markers of the advance of human kindness is the howls you will hear from the Men of God' Johann Hari
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That seems to be a more sensible agreement for this sequence.