October 2014 - 49

Newer Players

Play & Learn
BY PAT HARRINGTON

 mrsbridge@embarqmail.com

Factors in preempting, part 1
We've seen how preempts can foul
up our opponents' bidding. While
preempting can be fun and effective, it
also involves some risks. Let's explore
those risks as we look at factors that go
into determining when and how high
to preempt.
Suit length
Because a preempt is a high-level
bid often made with less than opening
strength, you need a safety net of some
kind. The length of your suit provides
some of that net. A typical three-level
preempt contains a seven-card suit.
Generally, the more cards in your long
suit, the higher you will preempt.
Suit quality
Having a good suit provides another
piece of your preempting safety net.
The best definition of a good suit is one
that will produce tricks. Which would
you say is the better suit?

1

♠A J 7 6 4 3 2 or

2 ♠Q J 10 9 8 7 3?
Students always want to know how
many points or how many honors they
need to preempt. Other than a preempt
generally having less than opening
strength, the real issue is the number
of tricks your hand can win assuming
your long suit will be a source of tricks.
While not cast in stone, it's often suggested that the preempt suit should
contain two of the top three cards or

three of the top five.
If partner has little or no support,
you have to rely on a good split of your
opponents' spades with holding (1).
Opposite a singleton or void from
partner, you could lose as many as five
spades depending on the split. With
holding (2), you will probably lose
only two spades. The quality of your
suit depends on more than just the top
honors. Intermediate cards such as the
10, 9 and 8 make your long suit better.
Additionally, the opponents are more
likely to make a penalty double when
they expect to win trump tricks that
are not the ace or king.
Trick-taking potential of the hand
Deciding how high or whether to
preempt is influenced by the length
and strength of suits other than your
long suit. It's OK to have an ace or king
outside of your suit. But most of your
strength should be in your long suit so
partner doesn't expect you to produce many tricks in other suits when
defending. With too much outside of
your suit, you risk hearing partner
sacrifice when you could have set the
opponents. A void or a second long suit
might also make your hand too strong
to preempt. You often hear the warning
not to preempt with a side four-card
major. Would you preempt as dealer
holding any of these hands?

a ♠K Q 10 8 7 5 3 ♥A 6 ♦Q 7 6 ♣5

c ♠K Q J 10 6 5 3 ♥7 6 5 2 ♦9 ♣5
d ♠K Q J 10 6 5 3 ♥- ♦K 9 4 ♣6 5 2
e ♠Q J 10 9 6 5 3 ♥- ♦9 4 3 ♣Q 5 2
You are too strong to open 3♠ with
(a). Open 1♠. Opening 3♦ on (b) could
prevent your side from reaching a good
4♠ contract. Pass to give partner,
whose strength is unlimited, a chance
to open, leaving you room to discuss
your best contract. With (c), spades
is so likely to be your best trump suit
that it's fine to preempt with four weak
hearts. The void combined with a hand
at the top of the preempt range makes
(d) too good to open 3♠, but you might
preempt with (e), a weaker hand.
Partnership style
Make sure you and partner are on the
same wavelength so that the problems
your preempts cause are for the opponents and not your side. When you
preempt as dealer or after one pass,
partner's hand is an unknown quantity.
If your side has sufficient strength, you
want to be able to reach your best game
or slam. This is where the descriptive
nature of a preempt is key. If partner
doesn't know how much you overbid,
how can partner choose the right level?
If your hand is not clearly defined, how
can partner know where to play?
Next month, we will discuss how vulnerability and position affect preempting decisions.
◾

b ♠Q 10 7 4 ♥8 ♦A J 10 7 6 4 3 ♣5

October 2014 Bridge Bulletin

49
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of October 2014
