Wednesday, May
12, 2004 11:31 PM
Hand Evaluation - Re
Pre-empting
PITBULLS:
Every Bridge player
knows the “art of re pre-empting” as a tactic. If you open one of a major , partner bids 3 showing a weak hand you can bid 4 as
an advanced sacrifice. You go down two probably undoubled , they can make
170 their way or game if they get to it. If partner pre-empts in a major you
know that 4 of the major might keep them out of the auction so you have a double edged sword of
making the contract or an advanced sacrifice.
With
weak twos, the
strategy of the ambiguous raise of the weak two suit comes into play. This can
be a trap with a hand with quite a bit of defense & goading the opponents
into balancing. Partner opens 2♥ , the opponents are vul and you
hold ♠AK10x ♥xx ♦Axxx ♣Q10x . With this collection 4♥ making is pretty
remote. I would bid 3♥ trying to catch a
balancer speeding. Partner opens 2♠ vul
so with this collection ♠Jxx ♥KJ10xx ♦xx ♣xxx it’s a clear cut 3♠ bid . Why ? because you can count points.
Partner’s bid
shows 5-10 so 7 HCP’s is an average . His 7 HCP’s & your 6 HCP’s equals 27 HCP for them . Time to
make it difficult for them to come in. You really get rewarded as they
can make 3NT or 5 of a minor . To add insult to injury
you make +170 in spades & jam the balancer completely out of the auction..
When
partner opens 3 of a minor , more judgment comes into play
. Your partner opens 3♦ first seat not vul , RHO
passes & you hold ♠Jxx ♥AKxx ♦Kx ♣xxxx . Is it time to re
pre-empt or let them balance at the 3 level ? You
diamond King should fill in partners suit so the majority of the time you can
count 9 tricks . If the diamonds are 3-1 ( which is the odds ) your side has only 3 defensive tricks
against 4 spades. The trouble with passing is that you can not bid again if they do balance.
Say they balance 4♣ so it comes around to you again. Bidding 4♦ is silly as you give
them a second chance
to bid 4♠ the game they are probably missing. I think 4♦ is the correct bid
going in . You are going for deliberate minus but you
are jamming them to the 4 level. The power of the re pre-empt !!! In a very weak match
point field ,
maybe passing hoping they do not balance is your best bet. Another interesting
bid you can make is 3♥ . This is forcing but
has a lead directing effect . If partner bids 4♦ it can be passed
& if partner bids 4♥ you can pass unless
it gets doubled.
Bids
change meaning depending on whether you are a passed
hand or not .
Good partnerships have most of their conventions off as a passed hand giving
the partnership the ability to bid naturally and freely. Instead of weak jump
shifts & splinters passed hand , jumps become two suited fit hands. Over their
weak twos the balancing 2NT bid as natural does not make any sense. You would
always double or pass with a flat 10 ish as a passed hand . It goes 2♥ so you are a passed
hand in the balancing with ♠Q ♥x ♦AJ986x ♣J10xxx
. The only reason the auction has come around to you at this level is partner
has a trump stack in hearts . If partner has one minor
you may have a vul game here. 2NT as a balance is the
unusual 2NT as a passed hand . As a non passed hand it shows close to a NT opener or a NT opener. It turns out if you do balance 2NT you play
it there ! Partner is 5-6 in the majors and 14 HCP’s . Turns out a pass by you would have worked out best
but c’est la vie ! Too bad
partner did not have ♠x ♥AQ10xxx ♦x ♣AKxxx
and you
get to your +1370 in clubs.
The
opponents open a non-vul 2♦ , you hold ♠AJ10xx ♥AQ ♦Ax ♣AKxx
. You start off with a double and partner bids 2♥ . Now what ?. Normally you play shape before strength so bid 2♠ . However , pre-empts changes that rule. The pre-empt robs you of room to show strong hands. Take advantage of a bid that does give
partner some idea of how strong you are. If you had overcalled 2NT you could be
as high as 19 HCP. The double first & jump to 3NT shows the higher range 20-22 . If you bid a quiet 2♠ , game could be easily missed as partner has no
idea you are this big . The opponents could now back in 3♦ or 4♦ & further complicated
the auction. A jump to 3♠ does not show this
type of hand. A 3♦ Q bid seems to imply hearts or a strong two suiter , so what is left ?
Strategy with pre-empts is the cat and mouse aspect of Bridge . What to do & when to do it makes the difference between losing & winning matches quite often . Pre-empts & tactics are a powerful mixture .