[f0rdy]

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All white, first in.
24 board local league teams-of-four match; where do you fancy starting on this hand?

Does it affect your answer if either:

• Oppo seem quite poor?
  
• Partner was a last minute replacement because your planned partner failed to show up, and your entire system discussion has been:
  "ACOL, 3 weak 2s" + some carding discussion?

[gordontd]

5♣ from me.

[billw55]

1♣. The ♦A made me do it.

[Fluffy]

lack of agreements make 5♣ more attractive, but poor opponents is the contrary.

The normal bid is 5♣ since opponents are favourites to be comfortable playing 4 in a major.

[whereagles]

5C. The 8 good clubs lacking the ace made me do it.

[gordontd]

I don't know what made me do it - maybe that it looked like a 5♣ bid.

[neilkaz]

I should take 8 tricks most of the time in ♣ I expect to take between 1 and 1.5 tricks on average on defence of an opp 4M contract. I have only 2 cards in the majors and I hold less than 1/4 of the deck in HCP. All this points clearly to 5♣ for me.

[EricK]

5♣ is the bid I would make against any opponent. The only reason I wouldn't is if my partner and I had an agreement that this sort of hand is opened something else (eg 3NT) - and here we don't have any such agreement.

[Cyberyeti]

5♣ for me too.