[Zelandakh]

gordontd, on 2017-May-26, 01:01, said:

Depends how far back you go with "traditional". Originally Acol opened the suit below the singleton, so 1S. This changed about 40 years ago to become the middle suit with a black singleton - ie 1H with 4441.

You are being very generous here Gordon. My memory is that the "new" method was in the blue book, which was published around 1970 (71 I think).

Nabooba, on 2017-May-26, 18:56, said:

The worst option is to open 1D and rebid 2D. Those who choose this option have not thought through the ramifications. You do not have a balanced hand - no 1NT opening or rebid, you do not raise C, s what do you have? Either a 4 card M with a hand not good enough to reverse, or 6D. Regardless, partner will overvalue the DK.

Or perhaps they have thought them through better than you have. Having the sequence 1♦ - 2♣; 2♦ forcing for a round can be extremely useful on some hands. It does have knock-on effects to the minimum strength requirement for the 2♣ response along with some other subtleties. There are other solutions possible for this too of course - no doubt you think have looked into every option in more detail than any of the very strong players and theorists who advance such methods...

GrahamJson, on 2017-May-27, 17:34, said:

My copy of Precision Bidding in Acol recommends that with 4441 (any singleton) with one poor suit you treat it as a two suiter. I can find no book on Acol that recommends opening 1D with 4441, singleton club. A wide range 2NT rebid would be 15+ (assuming 12-14 NT) so is not an option.

It started to come in in the 80s along with some other ideas taken from America such as opening 1♠ with 5-5 in the black suits. The first Acol book I saw it in was a Master Bridge series entry from Ron Klinger. It was actually the early 90s by the time I read it but the publication date of the book was late 80s.

Cyberyeti, on 2017-May-28, 05:10, said:

err no real acol player opens this 1♥ ever. Yes if it was QJx, AKQJ, xxxxx, x you might choose to missort your hand, but not for that heart suit.

They did in the 60s. Some of the 70s Acol books explicitly mentioned the practice and pointed out that it was to be avoided. The simple truth is that it is a good way of playing in a 4-2 heart fit when a 5-3 diamond fit is available. I think only a rank beginner would do this these days.

[Zelandakh]

Zelandakh, on 2017-May-29, 09:02, said:

The first Acol book I saw it in was a Master Bridge series entry from Ron Klinger. It was actually the early 90s by the time I read it but the publication date of the book was late 80s.

Looking up Klinger's wiki entry it appears that this would have to have been either "Acol Bridge Made Easy" (1986) or "Guide to Better Acol Bridge" (1988). Does anyone have these to check? Does anyone have any earlier Acol book suggesting the method? Was it part of his Acol Bridge Flipper from 1983, for example?

[Tramticket]

Zelandakh, on 2017-May-29, 09:33, said:

Looking up Klinger's wiki entry it appears that this would have to have been either "Acol Bridge Made Easy" (1986) or "Guide to Better Acol Bridge" (1988). Does anyone have these to check? Does anyone have any earlier Acol book suggesting the method? Was it part of his Acol Bridge Flipper from 1983, for example?

I've had an interesting time looking at some of my old books, but haven't found a reference yet:

• Guide to Better Acol Bridge: I have two copies and they are different!!! 1989 Edition says: "Open one of the 4-card suits, preferably the one below the singleton. (Alternative: With a black singleton, open the middle suit: with a red singleton, open the suit below the singleton.)."
  
• The 2007 edition says: "4-4-4-1 pattern: Black Singleton, open the middle suit".
  
• The Basic Acol Flipper also says to open the middle suit with a black singleton.

Neither of these deals with this in any detail - Guide to Better Acol Bridge only covers it in a one page summary of assumed knowledge "The Basics". And the bridge flipper is ... a flipper. I don't have "Acol Bridge made Easy".

For what it's worth, I first came across the idea from my regular partner. She had played in a match against David Bahkhshi and reached the usual 4♥ on a 4-3 fit. He had said "why don't you open those hand types 1♦? WE have been doing so ever since (7-8 years). We have never had to play a hand in two diamonds using the method.

I have seen it in print several times since - probably in magazine articles.