______ Contrary to what other sources may advise, the purpose of a pre-emptive bid is not to direct a lead, or help Partner find the best makeable contract. Rather, pre-empts are a logical extension of the second part of Ward Rule #2:

______ "Behave politely, bid obnoxiously."

______ Any lead directing or constructive benefit which derives from pre-empting is purely incidental to its main goal: taking up as much bidding space as possible and to make it as difficult as possible for whichever side holds the balance of power. The pre-emptor is gambling, then, that the hand belongs to the opponents. Only a few precautions are taken against the possibility that Partner is the one with the requisite 18+ points which might make this hand ours. We will begin by analyzing the strategies adopted depending on which seat opening Pre-Emptor occupies.

Pre-Empts in First Seat
______ Here, a certain amount of discipline is required because of the real possibility of Partner holding a powerhouse. However, two opponents have not bid, and we only have one partner. Hence, the odds are 2-1 in favour of an opponent having great strength.

Pre-Empts in Second Seat
______ With one opponent having passed, the odds have now narrowed to 1-1 (i.e. 50%) that it is Partner whom we will be shutting out with our space-consuming pre-emptive opening bid. Hence, pre-empts in second seat should be the most disciplined: 6 cards if opening at the 2-level, 7 cards if opening at the 3-level, 7-9 HCPs if not vulnerable, 8-10 HCPs if vulnerable.

Pre-Empts in Third Seat
______ Here we have the benefit of knowing who is the only player at the table who might have a powerful hand (i.e. LHO). Hence, all bets are off regarding a 3rd seat pre-empt. Pre-Emptor may be bidding with one card short of the usual total, and can have as few as 0 HCPs.

Opener

1098xxx

xx

xxx

xx

Unless vulnerable versus not, open 2 in third seat with this hand. What have you got to lose? With Partner holding 0-12 HCPs, the opponents have at least 28, enough for game, and may well have a slam!

Pre-Empts in Fourth Seat
______ "Pre-empts" in 4th seat is something of a misnomer, since we could Pass out the hand! Hence, opening 2, 2, 2 or 3 here endeavours to "steal" a plus without allowing the opponents to find the fit in which they may be able to make a positive score. In other words, this pre-emptor intends to make the contract bid. This confidence is based on a good 6+card suit and 12-13 points. Opener does not want to be raised (except, perhaps, in competition) by Responder, and does not envision game chances (else, open at the one level).

______ Because of the unique nature of the 4th seat opening bid, none of the discussion which follows pertains to a fourth seat "pre-emptive" Opener.


Questions

#1	I have often seen experienced players open a weak 2-bid with a 5-card suit. Is this recommended in 3rd seat?

Yes.

No.

Maybe.

#2	Does an opening pre-empt promise a certain minimum number of top honours in the bid suit?

Yes.

No.

General Rules of Pre-Empting ______

1. Never open pre-emptively with an opening bid.
   
   
2. Never pre-empt with 2 Aces.
   
   
3. Never pre-empt with a 4-card major side suit in first or second seat.
   
   
4. With long Diamonds, Hearts or Spades, pre-empt at the 2-level with six, at the three level or higher with seven. An opening bid of 3 can show only 6 Clubs.
   
   
5. Never pre-empt with more than 2 defensive tricks.
   
   
6. Tend not to pre-empt with exactly 2 defensive tricks. Partner may make a "phantom" sacrifice in your long suit against a game which turns out not to make.
   
   
7. Tend not to pre-empt with the Ace in your long suit (if Partner is short, that Ace may well set up a ruff for a second defensive trick).
   
   
8. Tend not to pre-empt with a void -- especially a major suit void. This might give you a ruff...and if they end up in this suit, it will break as badly as it can for them.
   
   

Counting Losers
______ When evaluating your hand for any purpose, the traditional approach is to count your losers by always assuming LHO is on lead. This method is known by various names, but we will call it the "Culbertson Loser Count" method.

Opener

Kx

Qxx

QJ109xxx

x

Using the Culbertson Loser Count, this hand will lose one Spade, two Hearts, two Diamonds and one Club. Six losers.

______ The problem with this method is with its premise. LHO will not be on lead for all thirteen tricks--at least, we hope LHO won't be on lead for all 13 tricks!

______ The Culbertson Loser Count is intended to be used in conjunction with the Rule of 1, 2 and 3.

______ I suggest, instead, the "Born Loser Count" method. Simply assume that Partner has no HCPs and a flattish distribution type, inclugin 4 or 5 cards in your shortest suit. In this way, the above hand will lose eight tricks.

______ The Born Loser Count is intended for use by Hemmingway Pre-emptors and by those considering a strong 2 opening bid.

______ When applying the "Born Loser Count", always assume that Partner is shortest (doubleton) in your long suit and longest (4 or 5 cards) in your short suit with a flattish hand to create a "worst case" scenario.

______ If you hold: - AKQxxx - AQx - x - AQx assume that Partner has: - xx - xxx - xxxxx - xxx in deciding whether to open 2 or 1. With only 8 sure tricks, open 1, not 2.

______ The most practical and accurate Loser Count is the Fractional Loser Count, which presumes that Partner is on lead. Kx is 1-and-a-half losers, Qxx is 2 and 3/4 losers, etc.

The Rule of Two and Three
______ In the old days, pre-emptors adopted the style that any pre-emptive opening bid promised within two tricks of the bid if Vulnerable, within three tricks of the bid if not vulnerable. Presuming that the opponents had a game, though, this meant that the pair was willing to for -500 against a non-vulnerable game that would pay only 400 or 420. For this reason, conservative theorists abandoned this approach in favour of the Rule of 1, 2 and 3.

The Rule of One, Two and Three
______ The modern conservative approach is that, if vulnerable versus non-vulnerable opponents, we should be with one trick of our pre-empt. At equal vulnerability, having within two tricks of one's bid is recommended. Only a favourable vulnerability (i.e we are not vulnerable, they are vulnerable) are we advised to have within three tricks of our bid.

______ If playing with a new partner on OKBridge, assume this rule of 1, 2 and 3 is in effect.

______ This conservative approach accomplished one feat: it ended the popularity of Fishbein, a conventional agreement whereby doubles of pre-emptive opening bids were for Penalty.
Hemmingway Pre-Empts
______ Some players, including Kaltica and KSired, adopt a much more aggressive approach to pre-empting. Especially at the top levels of bridge, pre-emptors use the "52 Pickup" rule as a guideline:

Vul vs Not	Have within 2 tricks
Vul vs Vul	Have within 3 tricks
None Vul	Have within 4 tricks
Not Vul vs Vul	Have within 5 tricks

______ At first glance, the arithmetic doesn't seem to add up here. Why are we willing to go down more than they can make for a game?

______ The answer lies in the fact that the opponents may well have a slam. Also, the modern style of using takeout Doubles makes it difficult for opponents to double us for penalty. And if our Partner cannot provide us with a trick, the chances of the opponents making a slam skyrockets.

Questions

#3	What is Fishbein?

Penalty Doubles of opening Pre-empts.

Penalty Doubles of all Pre-empts.

#4	Zia Mahmood is arguably the greatest living bridge player. To which pre-empting style does he subscribe?

Rule of 2 and 3.

Rule of 1, 2 and 3.

Hemmingway.