When you have 11 points and an unbalanced hands, consider opening if your points are concentrated in your long suits.
There are two rules about opening unbalanced hands:
RULE: OPEN YOUR LONGEST SUIT.
With two 5-card suits, open the higher ranking suit.
RULE: PLAN YOUR REBID.
With two 4-card suits, open ONE HEART with both majors, ONE CLUB with both minors. With three 4-card suits, open ONE HEART with a black singleton and ONE CLUB with a red singleton as this will help your rebid.
It is a common mistake to open your shorter suit and rebid a longer suit in order to show strength (a reverse) - just remember that distribution is more important than strength, so opening your longest suit is always correct.
When you rebid a suit, this denies a balanced hand and confirms that the first suit is at least as long as the second suit.
S KQxx H KQxx D KQx C xx Open 1H, planning to:
| S Q H Axxx Open 1D, planning to:
|
S Axxx Open 1C, planning to:
| S AKxx Open 1C, planning to:
|
S Kx H KQxx D KQxx C AJx Open 1H, planning to:
| S Qx H Ax Open 1C planning to:
|