|
Preemptive Overcalls
No special methods here, merely an opportunity to exhibit good bidding judgment. As usual, when preempting, we are concerned about suit length and quality, vulnerability, and amount of defensive potential.
6th July, 2011 E-W Vul
We cannot see any good reason for North to bid anything other than 4♠ here. The suit’s intermediates are just about good enough, and there’s no point in worrying about how to get Diamonds into the auction. The vulnerability is highly encouraging for preemptive action, as is the hand itself. Bidding just 3♠ would give E-W too much room to play with. And, having bid 4♠, North has done her all, she should not be tempted to bid again if the opponents go to the 5-level.
2nd November, 2011 N-S Vul
Would you preempt 3♥ with that North hand? It’s really not a good idea at unfavorable vulnerability, though change the colors and we suppose we would indeed overcall with 3♥. If North does preempt 3♥ then he will be punished to the tune of down two (doubled). That’s -500 for N-S, more than the value of the non-vulnerable E-W game. Yes, preempting when Red vs White is dangerous business! However, North could throw in a 2♥ preempt, that looks relatively safe, and indeed it turns out to be.
3rd March, 2010 N-S Vul
What are your choices? - A Pusillanimous Pass? Perish the thought! - A Club Raise? No, it wouldn’t do to give up on Hearts completely. - A Boisterous 2♥? No, that would be an over-bid. Much as we like the 6th Heart, the singleton in the enemy suit and the Club fit, Partner will expect us to have more high-card values for this bid. - A Negative Double? That would be our second choice. - A Preemptive 3♥? That’s the ticket! Sure the suit could be better, but it’s a hand with lots of offense (thanks in part to the Club fit) and very little defense. Such hands should be preempted, especially at this vulnerability.
After you bid 3♥, suppose that South bids 3♠ (just barely) and North raises. Back to you (East). Yes, at this vulnerability, we would try 5♣. Of course, if this were to work out badly, we can look forward to the standard lecture from Partner, the one that goes “Once you have preempted you have told me your hand, you’re not supposed to bid again”. But, as it happens, 5♣ doubled is a fine save against 4♠, down two tricks for -300. So there will be no lecture, instead it’ll be “Nice bid, Partner!”
4th June, 2008 Board 16 E-W Vul
At this favorable vulnerability it seems almost criminal to pass when there is a viable alternative. North could throw in a 1♠ overcall, it’s ultra-light in the HCP department, of course, but justifiable because a Spade lead from Partner is much to be desired. However, even that seems a bit wimpish, we’d dive in with 2♠! No need to be shy here.
22nd November, 2006 Board 25 E-W Vul
We offer this one as a cautionary tale! It’s always so tempting to preempt at favorable vulnerability, but there are limits. You can decide for yourself whether this one is over the limit, that’s part of developing one’s own bidding style. We’d probably bid 3♣ here, but only at this vulnerability. Are we sure that this is clearly the right bid in the circumstances? Not at all! And what happens on the actual hand if we do chime in with 3♣? It will be -800 and a zero if the opponents decide to go for the jugular.
If your Partner suffers from indigestion or a heart ailment, we’d recommend 2♣ here … it’s safe and lead-directing and less likely to provoke a medical emergency.
14th June, 2006 Board 2 N-S Vul
We have a lively distribution, but have nothing worth saying in first seat, better to pass and see what happens. But, after North opens in 4th seat with a 1♣ bid, the gloves are off. At this point in the proceedings action is required! And all the more so as we are white versus red. It would be nice if East could show both of his suits here, but, using “standard” methods, he cannot … he can show the two lower unbid suits (with the Unusual 2NT), or the majors (with Michaels), but what he cannot do is show Diamonds and Spades.
Given the unavailability of a two-suited bid, we rather like 3♦ here, that white versus red thing sometimes makes us go crazy … but, seriously, at this vulnerability, bidding a mere 2♦ would be quite lame.
1st November, 2006 Board 29 Both Vul
Anyone for 2♠ here? Not a good bid in our opinion. We’ve had a few hands this week where the issue has been “To preempt or not to preempt?” And, as usual, we have to weigh up our offensive and defensive assets. We have the approximate hand strength and suit length for a preempt but altogether too much defense. The A♠ is a likely defensive trick, maybe even the K♠, and we probably also have a trump trick against 4♥. As was the case on Board 28, we don’t want to surprise Partner with all this defense, and encourage him to take a phantom sacrifice. So, a simple 1♠ is surely called for here.
February 7th, 2007 Board 21 N-S Vul
We have 18 HCP’s opposite a preempting Partner. But, hard as it is to do so, we should just Pass. 3NT is most unlikely to make, Partner will need an entry if the Clubs and that is something of a long shot. He won’t have the A♦ and good Clubs, that would be a 2♣ overcall … he might have the Q♠ … or perhaps the J♦ with the Ace on-side. We wouldn’t bet on one of these possibilities, it’s a well-known fact of life that Partner rarely has the perfect hand.
Is it worth trying for 4♥? Too dangerous, we think … if we bid 3♥, Partner will expect a much better suit and will likely raise us with a holding such as Jx.
12th July, 2006 Board 18 N-S Vul
When West made his 4♠ preempt he was doing it white versus red, opposite a passed hand. This means he has considerable latitude, and he might have a surprising amount of defense or fewer Spades than usual ... in these circumstances, he's got the green light to create some mayhem. Therefore, East must be quite circumspect about taking another call. If North bids 5♦ over 4♠, we'd say that East has an easy 5♠ call if he were not a passed hand. As a passed hand, it is not so clear to bid 5♠, who knows what atrocity West has committed with that preempt? East probably should bid 5♠ anyway, but he should not be surprised if it turns out badly ... maybe very badly!
18th July, 2007 Board 22 E-W Vul
“Oh, my goodness!” thinks North when she sees her hand and notices the vulnerability. What is 3♠ here? We would say that it should probably be Michaels, and we would also say that it is most feeble. The opponents are headed at least to game, and in all likelihood to slam, and 3♠ is not going to be much of an inconvenience to them. Do we really want to defend 6♠? Surely not! Even if they decide that they don’t have a slam, we probably have a good save at the 5- or 6-level.
If not 3♠, then how about 5♠ or 5NT? That’s more like it! We prefer 5NT ourselves, but only if Partner will interpret this as any two-suiter rather than for the minors. Both would be vastly preferable to a 3♠ call.
Now, suppose that the auction starts out differently: North East South West 1♠ Pass 5NT ?? West is trying for 7♠ with the Grand Slam Force. What now? Now, we would bid 6♠ or 6NT. True, we cannot do anything if the opponents bid on to 7♠ or 7NT, but they may belong in 6♠ in which case we’d like to take a sacrifice at the 7-level.
19th September, 2007 Board 6 E-W Vul
This is obviously the opponents’ hand but at this vulnerability it is our solemn duty to create some mayhem with our lovely suit. We’d say that 3♥ would be the “down the middle” course of action here, though (only because we are “White vs Red”) if we were feeling extra frisky we might try gambling with 4♥. On the actual board, 3♥ creates problems but good opponents might still get to slam, whereas 4♥ would make their life impossible.
© BES, Inc All Rights Reserved | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
