Preempt Style

[awm]

♠xx ♥KJTxxxx ♦xxx ♣x

 

First seat, all vulnerable at matchpoints. Playing 2/1 with natural preempts (no multi or anything). What's your call?

[quiddity]

3♥ for me

[Fluffy]

I'd try 2♥, but can live with pass.

[jdonn]

2♥ seems very normal to me.

[Cascade]

Two

[TylerE]

3 or pass. People bid entirely too well over weak 2♥ these days.

[jdonn]

3 or pass. People bid entirely too well over weak 2♥ these days.

But they bid badly over pass?

[y66]

3H.

 

I have seen good players open 2M with 7 cards but I have never tried that. For me, 2H denies 7 hearts.

[Siegmund]

3 for me. Yes, its a slight overbid. Having 0 defensive tricks instead of 1 is a good reason to overbid. It's an otherwise perfect hand for preempting.

 

I do occasionally make a 7-card weak two, usually when unfavorable, but not on this kind of a hand - more like QJxxxxx Kx xx xx.

[eyhung]

2♥ here. We are vulnerable at matchpoints, the worst format for being aggressive, and it's not even clear the opponents will be bidding (they are vulnerable too!). Too many bad things can happen:

 

1) All pass, -200 or more against no game, or losing to all the people in the room playing in 2♥.

2) Getting doubled for -200/500 vs. partial or -800 vs. game

3) Having partner bid 4H with 3 playing tricks and going down against nothing

 

all seem much too risky to me for the gain of wiping out most of the 3-level.

 

I am of course assuming a good partner. If partner is hopeless a more destructive approach may yield more dividends (as well as more variance). Assuming that partner is good, I prefer to show my hand as roughly 5-6 playing tricks and let him take it from there. Opening 3♥ with this hand as well as the same hand with a side ace seems too much for my vulnerable partner to field. (And opening 4♥ with the latter is too much of an overbid for me.)

[MickyB]

Agree with Siegmund's sentiments, but I would make do with 2H. To never open a weak two with seven cards is ridiculous - on something like AJTxxxx xx xx xx, vulnerable, it would be inconceivable to open 3♠ and opening 2♠ will describe your hand better than passing then bidding ever could.

[Phil]

2♥ is completely normal. I can't say the same for 3♥ nor pass.

[Mbodell]

Normally if I have 7 cards and open a weak two it is because I'm 7222. But this hand is too bad to bid to the 3 level red! I'm not even sure if it is good enough to do it white!

 

So this is a clear wtp 2♥ for me. Nothing else is close.

 

Make the heart suit AQJxxxx and now I'm good with 3♥. :)

[JLOGIC]

Seems like an obv 2H. I don't understand the objection to the 7th heart, our hand is not good enough to open 3H and surely our partner won't be disappointed with our 7th trump if we open 2. Is it just some arbitrary rule? If partner ever goes to 3N we can go to 4H.

[Elianna]

This hand is here because my partner screamed and yelled at me for opening 2♥. She (so NOT Adam, as he is very eager for me to point out) was very displeased when the opponent overcalled 3C over this, and she doubled with Axxx x AKxx Axxx and 3C made.

 

She made statements along the lines of it being a failure to play bridge if I open this hand 2♥ (instead of the pass that she wanted) and that she's never going to bid over my preempts again.

[foo]

This hand is here because my partner screamed and yelled at me for opening 2♥.  She (so NOT Adam, as he is very eager for me to point out) was very displeased when the opponent overcalled 3C over this, and she doubled with

Axxx_x_AKxx_Axxx and 3C made.

 

She made statements along the lines of it being a failure to play bridge if I open this hand 2♥ (instead of the pass that she wanted) and that she's never going to bid over my preempts again.

First off, get a new partner.

No matter what happens ATT, there is NO excuse for such boorish behavior.

 

 

2nd, doesn't anyone teach or learn "The Rule of 2 and 3" anymore?

 

You are Vul and hold an 8 loser hand. You can afford to go no more than -2 X'd

(-500 vs -6x0 for Them bidding and making Game).

In addition, you are bidding "in front of" (eg "before") GOP.

Therefore you need to be more careful to "have your bid" than you do if GOP is a passed hand.

 

Now assume partner has 1/3 of the HCP and 1/3 of the ♥ you are not looking at.

Figure each 3 HCP GOP has removes a loser from your hand.

 

8 losers - 0 "cover cards" => -3 down in 2HX, you should pass

8 losers - 1 "cover cards" => -2 down in 2HX, bid 2H

8 losers - 2 or more "cover cards" => -2 down or less in 3HX, bid 3H

 

you hold

♠xx ♥KJTxxxx ♦xxx ♣x

 

GOP rates to have

(40-4)/3= 8 2/3 HCP

=> That's 2 2/3 expected "cover cards"

 

You have 7 ♥'s. pard is expected to have (13-7)/3= 2 ♥'s

=> We should have 9 card fit.

 

3♥ is the "Book Bid".

2♥ may mislead GOP because it should promise more values than you have, But it is not outrageous to be more conservative than "The Book".

Especially when Red.

 

 

3rd, your "CHO", heard you say that you had no defense and still decided to X 3C for penalty with only 4 possible defensive tricks in hand.

The "rule of thumb" after partner preempts is to not Penalty X unless you have Them beat at least 2 tricks =in hand=.

IOW, your rude partner needed =6= defensive tricks in THEIR hand to justify a penalty X.

They blamed the bad result which was their fault on you.

 

 

They are rude and blame you for their Bridge mistakes.

Get them to clean up their act or get a new partner.

[Dirk Kuijt]

Speaking for the non 2 heart bidders:

 

2 hearts would be wonderful, or at least better than 3 hearts, on this hand if the only point of evaluation is play in hearts. However, that's not what 2 hearts means, at least to me. A 2 heart bid, to me, shows some high card values; something that is valuable in 3NT or on defense. This is not 2 hearts, even if it qualifies by the rule of 500

 

2

98765432

32

32

 

So, I'm not bidding 2 hearts on this hand; either 3 hearts (which doesn't promise values for anything except play in hearts) or, if the opponents look threatening and your nerve fails, then pass.

 

Of course, in third seat, anything goes, since partner can't have the hand to jump to 3NT or double the opponents in a partscore.

[TylerE]

So if you had held J KQJxxxx Jxx Jx partner would have been perfectly happy? :)

[bluecalm]

In my preferred style it's a pass.

I like weak twos to be just weak openings 7-10hcp and not "small preempts".

 

i don't mind not opening at all. Fantoni and Nunes don't use weak twos at all and are very conservative when it comes to 3 level openings (as all Italians are) and they don't seem to suffer too much because of it...

 

If I am forced to open I choose 3♥.

I don't approve a style when I open 2♥ with: AQxxxx Kxx xx xx as well as with this hand.

[mike777]

♠xx ♥KJTxxxx ♦xxx ♣x

 

First seat, all vulnerable at matchpoints. Playing 2/1 with natural preempts (no multi or anything). What's your call?

easyt 2h...sigh......

 

of course with agreements other

[Elianna]

So if you had held J KQJxxxx Jxx Jx partner would have been perfectly happy? ;)

I asked her that. She said yes, because then I would have had my bid.

 

I gave up after that.

[bluecalm]

I asked her that. She said yes, because then I would have had my bid.

 

I gave up after that.

 

I am not approving yelling or even blaming during play but your question doesn't make sense here.

Obviously she was furious because in her mind you broke partnership discipline and her normal action wasn't successful because of it.

It's of course possible that there are hands when you could open 2♥ and they would still make but that wasn't likely assuming you had your bid (in her mind).

 

In my mind asking this question is contributing to bad atmosphere and argument. While you didn't yell or anything you displayed aggressive behavior towards her in my opinion.

 

Also note that her answer is perfectly logical.

You would get the very same answer in normal discussion after the hand (assuming partner don't yell but just say he/she is unhappy about your action).

[the hog]

So if you had held J KQJxxxx Jxx Jx partner would have been perfectly happy? ;)

With this hand 3C would probably go off, maybe 2 off on S ruffs. Anyway, I would also bid 2H.

[eyhung]

2 hearts would be wonderful, or at least better than 3 hearts, on this hand if the only point of evaluation is play in hearts.  However, that's not what 2 hearts means, at least to me.  A 2 heart bid, to me, shows some high card values; something that is valuable in 3NT or on defense.

While you are certainly correct that this is not a 2♥ bid in your style, I doubt the OP is interested in your specific style, but more the style of a standard partner. As you can see, many people seem to think that a standard 2♥ does not promise significant defensive strength vs. 3NT. I think making a statement on the offensive potential of the hand in hearts is far more important, unless you frequently double the opponents after partner's weak twos.

[Free]

2.5♥

 

I voted 2 because 3 may be a disaster.