[Bbradley62]

Playing an Indy, I opened 1♦ with:

---

LHO overcalled 1♥ and pard bid 1♠ and I chose to simply bid 4♠ instead of investigating further. When my hand was exposed as dummy, I was greeted with:
[LHO]→Table: oh my god only 1 diamond????
She said that this was a clear 2NT opener. How common is it these days to open 2N (or 1N, with proper HCP) with a singleton?

[jillybean]

Opening 1♦ is fine.

[manudude03]

I'd open 1D but don't think 2NT is terrible. I would have rebid 4C though.

[Bbradley62]

manudude03, on 2011-May-28, 18:30, said:

I would have rebid 4C though.

Agreed, except that partner was a self-identified beginner.

[the hog]

I would have opened 2NT, but 1D is fine.

[MrAce]

I'd open 2 NT and indeed i do it a lot. To waranth i play the hand, not because i wanna hog but to play it from strong hand and it makes things easier when i show my limit in 1 bid. 1 ♦ is of course the normal opening with this, i'd rebid 4♣ though.

[han]

2NT is ok, so is 1D. A singleton king is very different from a small singleton.

[aguahombre]

One more vote for 1D is fine. If 4C is, in fact, a splinter (there are some who use this as a giant 4-6 in the pointed suits "no name"), then 4C is fine, too.

Otherwise, showing a relatively balanced jump to game in Spades is ok. Many have mentioned in the past how a 2NT opening is a slam killer, and avoiding that bid when another is available seems to be a good idea.

[JLOGIC]

Mark me in for 2N, but I would never be like ZOMG if someone opened 1D.

[menggq]

1♦ or 2N openning bids r both ok.
For this bidding sequence:
1D 1H 1S P
4S All Pass
1S=♠5+ 6HCP+,so N/S sd reach a game no doubt.Since might hv a slam contract,cue bid 2♥ or Spl 4♣ wd be better than 4♠ directly.

[mike777]

I dont get it easy 2nt open in any event 4s easy not 4c

[han]

I'd bid 2H, not 4C or 4S.

[Free]

Both 1♦ and 2NT openings are fine. It's not like one of these stands out... I'd rather yell "omg only 4♠" rather than "omg only 1♦".

Singletons are acceptable in NT openings imo. Some people agree with this, some want the Ace or King, some disagree completely. It depends a lot on the hand because 4441's can be very good holdings when there's a fit, and opening 1NT might hide that playing strength. Basically it would be a lot better for many bidding systems if all deals with a 4441 distribution were banned, but when you're dealt one you have to cope with it. Sometimes I open 1m (offensive hands like this one), sometimes 1NT/2NT (fewer controls).

[jmcw]

It's a clear 2N opening for me. The problem with 1♦ will be catching up with your rebid.
1♦>>1M>>4M doesn't quite get my values across, better is 1♦>>1M>>♣splinter which I can live with.

[jmcw]

BTW doesn't 1♦>>1M>>4M deny a stiff, usually 18/19 balanced?

[aguahombre]

jmcw, on 2011-May-30, 10:03, said:

It's a clear 2N opening for me. The problem with 1♦ will be catching up with your rebid.
1♦>>1M>>4M doesn't quite get my values across, better is 1♦>>1M>>♣splinter which I can live with.

jmcw, on 2011-May-30, 10:07, said:

BTW doesn't 1♦>>1M>>4M deny a stiff, usually 18/19 balanced?

Since it is a clear 2NT opening for you, perhaps you will excuse those to would open 1D, then treat the hand as balanced after a 1M response. The only problem is the extra one HCP, which seems ok, too, given the awkwardness of handling 4-4-4-1 hands to begin with

[tolvyrj]

IMO u opening of 1 ♦ was very correct one. And with such prd ( dont mean beginner rather unknown one) 4 ♠ would have been my choice too.
Opening 2Nt with 20 hcp. 4441 shape and singleton king... i mean why. U hand aint worth 20 hcp. and i can think several hand where u prd has long ♣ and u will be in trouble.
Stick to u sys; 3-suiters especially strong ones tend to be pain in the...well u know where, but that is no reason IMO to bend system that much.

[MrAce]

tolvyrj, on 2011-May-30, 12:19, said:

Opening 2Nt with 20 hcp. 4441 shape and singleton king... i mean why. U hand aint worth 20 hcp. and i can think several hand where u prd has long ♣ and u will be in trouble.

When you point out a negative possibility such as pd having ♣ and being in trouble after a 2 NT opening, i expect you to have a miracle cure for it that doesnt put you in trouble after 1♦ opening. How are you planning to avoid this trouble after 1♦ ? You can bid 2 NT showing 18-19 hcp and pd may pass but then again he may have his beans in side suits where 3 NT is cold. Or you can choose to pattern your hand with reverse and then 3rd suit, and god knows where you will stop that rig.

In fact by opening 2NT, we are the only ones who actually can stop b4 game and play there, although playing 3NT is not that of a great deal when game is not there, but at least we didnt get doubled yet (which may not be the case if Joe Grue is sitting as opponent)

[tolvyrj]

I dont quite follow u reasoning but lets try. 2Nt promises 2 cards in every suit including ♣, 1 ♦ does not.
In which kind of trouble am i with these cards if i open 1♦and prd bids his ♣ in 2 level? Yes i dont know where that rig is going to take us, but i dont see any reason to stay below game level, au contraire says the french.
Here u r trying to advocate 2Nt bid to use in a hand that is a) not balanced and b) has a singleton king in 20 hcp. count. Even though u may think im a stubborn fool ( i do hope u dont though ) i would like to ask why? U have a perfectly good natural bid available why not use that?

[Vampyr]

MrAce, on 2011-May-30, 16:12, said:

Or you can choose to pattern your hand with reverse and then 3rd suit, and god knows where you will stop that rig.

This would be an unusual auction, since the only suit available to reverse into is clubs.