[kenberg]

 fourdad, on 2016-April-07, 10:17, said:

I thought I was clear about AVOIDING the reverse. However, give me AK of C and KQ of hearts in exchange for the honors shown in those suits and I would reverse it every time. There is no such thing as "100%" in any bidding system.

Ok, I understood you correctly and that's what I was responding to. You would open it 1C, planning to reverse into 2D with a strong 4-4 such as you describe. Which of course you can do. I was saying that it is not the standard approach and I was citing some evidence for this.

Summary: Holding a strong 3=2=4=4, you open 1C and reverse into diamonds. I open 1D and rebid 2NT (assuming the hand is too strong to open 1NT). Where I have the most problem is with 1=4=4=4 big hands. After 1D-1S I have a choice of unpleasant bids. Maybe I can survive if I rebid 2C, maybe not. Bidding a gf 3C seems too much. But I also am stuck if I open 1C. With specifically this shape I, with discussion, like to go against the advice of mikeh. I think 1D-1S-2H should promise either five diamonds or exactly this 1=4=4=4 shape. This may not be the thread for it but if the discussion of the OP hand has run its course I would be happy to see references to how to deal with this shape, say holding an 18 count.

[costi_m25]

With 1444 or 4441(shortage in black suit)ussualy open 1!d
Auction from my point of view might be:
1!d ....1!s.....2!s=invite or better with diamonds...pass
3!c.....pass....4!c..................................pass
4!h.....pass....4NT..................................pass
5!h.....pass....6!d..................................pass
pass....pass

4!h=shows 1345 or 1444
4NT=RKCB for !ds
5!h=2KC-!dsQ

[costi_m25]

Ussualy with 1444 or 4441(shortage in balck suit) open 1♦
Auction might be:

1♦...1♠....2♠.....pass
3♣......pass.........4♣......pass
4♥.....pass.........4NT...........pass
5♥.....pass.........6♦

[kenberg]

I wasn't being clear, sorry. If I am 1=4=4=4 and it begins 1♦-(1♠)-2♠ I put the opponents on my X-mas list for helping clarify matters.

I was leaving the OP question as pretty much settles and thinking of 1♦-P-1♠-P. Suppose I am 1=4=4=4 with an 18 count. If I bid 2NT partner is apt to play me for at least two spades, if I bid 2♥ partner will play me for five diamonds, if I bid 2♣ partner might pass, perhaps ok perhaps not. and 3♣ seems optimistic, I regard it as a gf with no exit. Maybe 2NT is the least of evils. Partner once did this to me, I went on to 6♠ on my AKQxxx, they broke 3-3.

But as mentioned, this is way off the OP topic so I should probably pursue this on a different thread.

[Winstonm]

1D-1S-2C-P
3S-P-4D-P
4H-P-4N*-P
5C-P-6D-P
P-P

*general slam try, values left unbid

[kenberg]

 Winstonm, on 2016-April-08, 14:13, said:

1D-1S-2C-P
3S-P-4D-P
4H-P-4N*-P
5C-P-6D-P
P-P

*general slam try, values left unbid

After
1D-1S-2C-P
3S

I would think clubs are trump. And then we convert 6C to 6D why? That 4D call seems a little late for showing four card diamond support. For that matter, 6C is a superior contract to 6D. Assuming no weirdness, there are either 11 or 12 tricks depending on the heart finesse. That is true in either minor. But weirdness is less likely to doom us in 6C. Spade and then a club ruff in 6D is a bigger risk than spade and then a diamond ruff in 6C. Also, if both minors are 4-1 then we definitely want to be in clubs if the stiff minor is led. In clubs, after the stiff D lead, we draw trump in three rounds and make 11 or 12 depending on the heart finesse. But in diamonds after the stiff club lead? All in all, I think 6C is a better contract then 6D. It requires that the heart finesse work, so does 6D, and then it requires that diamonds not be 5-0, and that diamonds are not 4-1 with clubs 4-0. I think that does it.
Personally, I like 5C. It requires not much of anything. If diamonds are 5-0, with the five card suit on lead, it could go ruff, spade, ruff. Nothing is perfect.

Change the heart Q to the K, of course we want to be in 6, change the heart Q to the J and we definitely do not want to be in 6, leave the heart Q as the heart Q and we want to be in 6 if and only if the king is on our right. I go with 5.