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 .