Transfer pre-empts

[mishovnbg]

Hi friends!

Transfer preempts give you advantages:

- Play contract from better hand.

- Can include strong hands with wild distribution.

They give to your opps advantages too:

- DBL with bal hand

- cue at 3 level ask for stop or unbalanced

- Pass and dbl later for penalty

 

Interesting to know what you think about ::P?

Misho

 

P.S. A: means strong variants of opening include shown pre-empt suit. For example, if you open 3CL = DI pre-empt, then all strong variants inlude DI suit. This is WBF legal for any tournaments. A: 5-5 or A: 6-4 means you will open strong variants only with such distribution. In case of 3CL=DI pre-empt: 5-5 is 5+DI-5+ any other suit, 6-4 is 6+DI-4 any other suit.

B: means you like version, where strong variant dont include shown pre-empt suit. For example 3CL=DI pre-empt or any strong hand 5-5 or 6-4 without DI suit. B: 5-5 or B: 6-4 (5-5 again is mistake, like missing "r" in "describe") similar to A:

[the hog]

I have played transfer pre empts Misho, but then decided I did not like them. They do have advs, but I think these are mainly against weaker unprepared opponents.

 

Good opponents should have worked out the meanings of X and the cue bid. Possibilities are where X could be either a penalty X of the real suit, or perhaps it can show a good holding in the opened suit. The cue bid should be takeout.

 

Like most things, what you gain on the swings, you lose on the roundabout. The memory issue is a problem as well, especially when you get older!!

[Free]

I dont understand the poll actually... :-

 

Anyway, I've played transfer preempts for a few years now, and I have no bad experiences with them, only good ones. The key to success is to insert strong 2-suiters (FG) so you can penalize opponent's interference. If you play them only weak, I guess you dont get the maximum potential out of these bids.

 

Dont forget you give up a bid: 2S or 2NT (unless you dont care about the lost suit - Clubs) so you better make them multi-wise.

 

The simplest way I played them is as follows:

2NT = preempt C or FG 55+ C-X

3C = preempt D or FG 55+ D-M

3D = preempt H or FG 55+ H-S

3H = NF preempt S

3S = Gambling or pre-empt minor which doesn't quallify for 3NT

3NT = preempt 55+ minors

4m = Namyats

4M = bad preempt M

 

Why not at 4-level you might wonder. I've read that it's never good to put an 8-card on the table - and its true. Ok, you make preempts with 7-cards or less, but anyway...

 

After a step 1 response, opener passes with preempt or bids his second suit. Further bidding is with rest asking bids and super relays + control asking bids to explore slam. If opponents intervene with Dbl, they actually help us to bid 1 bid lower (partner will pass - Dbl = preempt, step 1 = 55+ with the suit above,...). If they bid suit, anyone's dbl is penalty. The best one I've ever had:

 

I had something like:

x

AKJxx

KQJxx

xx

 

and partner:

AKxxx

x

xx

Kxxxx

 

Bidding went

3C - Dbl - P* - 3H

Dbl - 3S - Dbl - all pass

* = Forcing for one round

 

They went down a lot, nobody was vulnerable and we had no game to play because of the distributions of ops hands.

 

It's true that you get a lot of Doubles if you open this way, but if you have the strong version they will wish they never bid. In case you're weak, it'll give away the lead, BUT it's a lead through the long trump hand, and possibly gives away a trick. And in the years that I've played it, I have NEVER known someone who bid our suit (I dont say its not possible, but the occasions for it are very rare).

 

To improve the transfer openings, I now play a modified version:

3C = trf preempt D OR FG 55+ H and another suit

3D = trf preempt H OR FG 55+ S and a minor

3H+ like before

This has the advantage that opener can pass in the Dbl if he has the suit. Then you play for example 3D* with at least one overtrick if the bidding goes 3D-Dbl-P*-P-P (*=forcing when preempt or FG 55+ without D). This keeps ops more out of the bidding :P

 

My opinion:

positive:

- inserts new possibilities of strong hands (2-suiters are most common)

- the right hand plays

- it still takes a lot of bidding space away

- sometimes ops will get down heavily because they intervene against the wrong hand

- Gambling 3S (for NT) is a lot better!!!

negative:

- gives away a bid at 2-level OR the 3-level-Club-preempt

- gives away an extra bid to compete (but rarely happens)

- ops have more information on how to lead (Dbl or pass both have a meaning)

all together: positive!

 

[EDIT] Note: these openings are played in a natural system. When playing strong Club it has a fewer positive points...

[Gerben47]

Well the only situation where I play them is on the two-level. Since 2H is weak with both majors, the weak two in hearts hands have to go somewhere. They're in 2D with some strong variants.

 

Gerben

[luis]

I fully agree with Ron, the only merit of transfer preempts is that they are something not very common. Against a well prepaired partnership you are just giving them 1 extra space of bidding. Actually is not only 1 extra bid but 2 since they can pass and double later.

Preempts are used because they work and they work because they constrain the constructive bidding space for your opponents then it doesn't make any sense at all to give them 1 extra bid and 1 extra tempo.

[EricK]

I fully agree with Ron, the only merit of transfer preempts is that they are something not very common. Against a well prepaired partnership you are just giving them 1 extra space of bidding. Actually is not only 1 extra bid but 2 since they can pass and double later.

Preempts are used because they work and they work because they constrain the constructive bidding space for your opponents then it doesn't make any sense at all to give them 1 extra bid and 1 extra tempo.

 

 

This is surely an exaggeration! Sometimes when you preempt it is your hand, and in these instances you might very well be better off having the contract played by the "unknown" hand.

 

Assuming you pay the transfer pre-empt as exactly the same hands as a "normal" pre-empt, then this is probably not enough of an advantage to counterbalance the downsides you mention. But by playing transfers, you can include other hand types as well.

 

It is the same as transfers opposite a weak 1NT. If you just use them on weak hands, the advantages of having the hand played by the 1NT opener would be more than offset by the extra space you gave the opposition - you would be better off using direct sign offs; but include other, stronger, hands and now transfers are the way to go.

 

I am not sure that there are enough stronger hands to put through a transfer pre-empt to make the concept work against well prepared oppostion, but I don't think it should be dismissed out of hand.

 

Eric