2S opening in 3th hand

[beatrix45]

In this particular situation your bid should have maximal effect versus a partnership that has likely never played together before. The probable impact on partner, wtf. Ain't BBO indies fun. To say that this is really bridge - whatever?

[Jinksy]

Two spades is a fine bid provided 1)the next time you hold S-KQ109xx H- x D-xx C-QJ9x you intend to open 2C

 

Why, because you want P to bid game with Axxx Kxx Jxxx Kx? Open 1♠ if you're worried about missing game with that hand, and play Drury.

 

hand has a HORRIBLE offense-to-defense ratio.. just pass

 

I don't agree, in expectation. It has zero defence - they almost certainly have a game and quite likely a slam available, but it has quite a lot of offensive potential. The important thing is including P's hand in the calculation - he's very unlikely to show up with 3.4 defensive tricks to combine with your 0.3ish of one, but can quite plausibly show up with 3-5 or even 6Ss.

 

As long as he doesn't go raising you on weak balanced hands with 3-4 card support (which is prob bad bridge even if you don't open hands like this - even on the hand in gave earlier in this post, I'd expect P to pass, and this is one of the few occasions where I think passing then competing is a good strategy), that means for both opps your partnership's ♠ expectation is still 7-8 cards (unless they happen to have 5 or 6 of their own. Doesn't happen much, or guarantee they'll manage to penalise you profitably when they do).

 

Also ODR isn't as big a factor as for other preempts. Whereas with a first or second seat preempt you're suggesting to P the possibility of a high level sac (so having a lot of outside losers can go wrong whenever he raises you), with a third-seat preempt you're not inviting P to get involved. On this hand, since it's very rare either that 2♠ will get passed out or that P will raise you, your main goal is just to eat their bidding space without the risk (or at least without much of it) that your partnership will end up overcompeting as a result.