Opening Bid

Those playing Acol 2s or Benji Acol will open at the 2 level and all will be plain sailing.

For the rest of us playing Acol we are likely to open 1 ♥ ( the hand is not suitable for either a strong 2 ♣ opener or a 4 ♥ opener).
Opening 1 ♥ risks the hand being passed out, but that’s better than distorting your hand with an inappropriate opening bid.

Opener’s Rebid

This is a genuine problem for inexperienced players. You want to be in game but slam is a real possibility.

Rebidding 2 ♥ or 3 ♥ are gross underbids

Rebidding 4 ♥ gets you to game but is a bid normally reserved for a longer suit and weaker hand, where you have no aspirations of slam but want to play in the heart game.

The experts would consider two possible rebids

1. 3 ♣ which is game forcing but allows room for slam exploration. You would normally have 4+ clubs but partner would be aware of the possibility of you having fewer.

2. 4 ♦ which is called an auto-splinter showing a ♦ shortage and 6+ good heart suit in a hand such as this.

I SUGGEST YOU DISCUSS WITH YOUR PARTNER BEFORE YOU MAKE SUCH A BID