The hand shape 4441 is a “problem chile” you need to understand what to bid , but the shape comes up only 2% of all hands !! Examples are below
| Suit | Hand 1 | Hand 2 | Hand 3 | Hand 4 | Hand 5 |
| ♠️ | AK97 | AK97 | AK97 | 8 | AQJ8 |
| ♥️ | KJ92 | KJ92 | 8 | AK97 | 9 |
♦️ | K863 | 8 | KJ92 | Kj92 | kJ92 |
♣️ | 8 | K863 | K863 | K863 | AJ63 |
| Open 1 | ♥️ | ♣️ | ♣️ | ♦️ | ♣️ |
With hand 4 you recommend bidding 1 diamond. Why is the cheapest suit of clubs ignored?
Hi Ursula, sorry about the delay getting back to you. My understanding is that with that 4441 layout , if the singleton in Red then yes you would call the club, as the singleton is black your “told” to call the suit in the middle, which in this case that is the diamond. I think the reasoning is if partner calls the hearts then happy days , if they don’t then you can call the club at the two level and then partner can pick the diamond or the club. If you called the club first and then the diamond , you would be showing a very strong minor hand. Anyway that’s what I think the reasoning is. Cheers Gareth