Saturday, January 06, 2007 12:35 AM

Playing the Vulnerability – Pre-empts

PITBULLS:

Playing the vulnerability is a Standard Bridge tactic. Your bids do change depending on the vulnerability. Partner has been trained to give you leeway on the terrorist vulnerability & take you for your values on all the others. When the opponents pre-empt how does this strategy work ? Again partner allows you to get in earlier on the terrorist vulnerability because sacrifices are way more common. In fact , if you do not come in early you may have to take a single handed sacrifice later & leave partner out of the picture.

You have ♠AKQJxx ♥xx ♦xxx ♣Qx , they open 3♥ . This hand is not strong enough to come into the fray at the 3 level if you are vulnerable or if both sides are nv. On the terrorist vulnerability this is a clear cut 3♠ overcall. Why ? because partner will not punish you on this vulnerability so a 4♠ sacrifice might be excellent against their vul 4♥ game.

Say you do pass , they bid 4♥ vul so back around to you. Now you must make a single handed decision for the partnership. If you guess wrong and go for –300 or worse against a +100 it is a double digit IMP disaster. Is it not better to overcall light initially and bring partner into the picture ? . It turns out partner has two defensive tricks so after a 3♠ overcall will just let them play it there for +100.

Bridge is a partnership game. The more times you just guess & leave partner out of the decision , the more times you will be in trouble. Bid the vulnerability when the partnership is prepared for it !