I remember this hand and gave my opening bid a lot of thought. Open 1NT or 1H?
Open 1NTAdvantages:
It is has 15HCP and is worth 16 and so gets over my strength
It right sides the contract ensuring that I am declarer. eg
Q7 is best led up to esp if partner has Axx.
Disadvantages:
If partner has 4 spades and fewer than 8HCP then I miss the 4-4 spade fit.
Open 1 Advantages:
I will always find a 4-4 spade fit or a 5-3
fit if there is one.
Disadvantages: If partner has 9-10 HCP I am unlikely to find a 3NT contract.
I decided to open 1
and my robot responded 1NT. This gave me a problem. Normally I would only pass 1NT if I had 12HCP trusting that partner had a hand worth fewer than 13. On this occasion though I decided to pass hoping that partner did not have a hand worth 10HCP (partner had already passed) Also robots do not shout at you if your decision does not turn out well.
As far I remember this was the final contract and my robot partner mad 9 tricks.
I think this was a MP tourney. Maybe at imps I would go in favour of a 1NT opening bid.