[Impact]

As Frances says - a flexible approach with system to cater for it will work best.

Most people would prefer to open 1NT with all 5332 (and an increasing number of 6322 - at least with 6m) simply because it takes all those hands in a given range out of the equation for their other bids - and allows the remainder of their system to focus on hands excluding those shapes.

Part of the problem is that by the time they finish upgrading and downgrading and adjusting they are opening not only this hand 1NT but also xx Kxx Kx AKQxxx and perhaps Ax Kx Kx QJTxxxx (!!!) - none of which makes it easy for the partnership to bid its slams (if that is a priority), but may make it difficult for the opponents to defend.

Returning to the initial problem : my inclination is that when you own (5 or more) S, you should only open in the NT range if it positively screams for that action: typically a VERY weak (<Qxxxx) suit. The reason for this is principally because you have the boss suit and can show 5 in one bid, forcing them to overcall at the next (2) level - and if there is a fit you win by denomination at each level.

By contrast, if you own H it is far less clearcut, and you do not have the advantage of dominating by denomination.

Accordingly I have required the suit to be rebiddable or at least KJ9xx.

In a relay dominated system although I show my shape, relayer will know that if I have the range for the NT shape (and I tend to call these hands balanced for other parts of the system) when I open them with a bid in the relevant major and show a 5332, he knows something of suit quality.

That is a balance between the space saved by allocating all 5M332 shapes to 1NT and the judgement rule.

This might not suit everyone, but seems to me to give better definition.

There is also the issue of competing after you open with 1NT: the subject hand would dearly like to compete in H, but how can partern with a holding lacking any top Honour conceive (perhaps Hxxx) that this is the suit to be playing at the 3-level?

Similarly once you let the genie out of the bottle with 6 & 7 card minors you are looking for disaster when partenrknows you must have a fit with his M55 etc...

Don't get me wrong: QJ2 KT KT Q87652 looks balanced to me and suitable for a weak NT rather than showing a 6card C suit, and is positionally friendly too.

I understand the desire to eliminate certain shapes from the other bids, but having played relay for a long time, you also have to accept that there will be times when it will be right to ignore the shape (just as you would be reluctant to make a defensive bid showing a 2-suiter when all your HCP are contained in the other 2 suits!).

Whatever your view, in a pickup partenrship you can do what you like (judgement or view or shape), but in any longer term partnership it is a good idea to be on the same wavelength.

regards

[helene_t]

I normally open 1NT with this shape but this one is just too extreme.

Move a small club to the diamonds and I'll open 1NT since then I really don't have a rebid.

FWIW, I'm not convinced that opening 1NT with this shape is "best". I just do it because it's much simpler to make agreements about how to catter for a 5M in a 1NT opening than to agree how to catter for this hand after a 1M opening.

[whereagles]

The 1NT opener is not too overloaded, even if you dump 5 card majors into it. Go for it.

[tlgoodwin]

gwnn, on Mar 19 2007, 12:29 AM, said:

Not so long ago I opened 1♦ on Axx Axxx Axxx Ax, remembering a "cool" tip from the club "don't open 1NT on 4 aces". Partner bid 1♠ and I was almost in tears: every rebid of mine seemed inappropriate and each seemed sillier than all the others (I bid 2♠ eventually and we got a good result, 3NT failing on a few evil breaks). I learned my lesson.

[QUOTE]

Yes, you sure wouldn't want to get any more good results on that sort of hand . . . .