Chapter 6

Defense Against Preempts

Most preempts have less than a quarter of the high card points.  If follows that the defending side will be stronger over half the time, and the plus should belong to the defenders over half the time.  Also, because the preempt both weaker and more distributional than a one-bid, we should have more games and slams than when defending against a one-bid.

A table is created from a double-dummy analysis of 1008 deals for each of the following first-seat openings:

1. 4 , 4 preempts.  Opener has eight or more trumps and 0 to 10 HCP.  Four-preempts are often better than this.
2. 3 , 3 preempts.  Opener has seven trumps and 0-10 HCP.  Some make three bids with only six trumps.
3. Two-major preempts.  Six trumps, a piece in trumps, and 6-10 HCP.
4. Bailey two-bids.

East-West pluses

	Slam	Game	PartScore	Total Pluses
4 , 4	220	247	45	512
3 , 3	180	288	108	576
2 , 2	132	257	152	541
Bailey	78	254	220	552

An East-West plus means the highest making contract belongs to East-West.  Obviously partscore against a 4-major preempt means they have overbid, and if your game is exactly 3NT or 4 your plus must come through defense.

Other observations:  (1) The plus belongs to the defenders over half the time.  (2) The more distributional the preempt, the more likely you are to have game and slam rather than partscore.

Game and slam bidding is important against preempts.  Defensive bidding theory often relates to partscore decisions.

We have been defending against preempts for years, and I never have had a set of notes on the subject.  If your judgement disagrees with the rules, stick to your judgement, and provide feedback.  The preempt can be anything from 2 to 4 (or 4 ), and I am trying to cover all cases.

The preempter's partner has the best idea of what we should do.  Does he give clues?  Lack of interest suggests we have game or slam.  Raising the preempt can indicate either high cards or a fit.  Passing indicates no cards or a misfit.  Be aware of the phony 3NT, especially over a minor suit preempt.  We are allowed to read his behavior.  If partner is the preempter, then we must avoid giving clues.  Coffeehousing is not allowed.

You hold

	x x
	K Q J x x x
	x x
	A Q x

and they open anything from 2 to 4 .  I would make a minimum bid in hearts at all vulnerabilities.  If I bid 4 it could be a disaster, but if partner has the expected 10 points I should be okay.

Try again

	x x
	K Q J x x x
	x x
	A x x

RHO bids anything from 2 to 3 .  If you pass, they steal.  If you bid, partner will get you too high.  I would bid 2 over 2 .  I think it is right to bid 3 over 2 through 3 .  Partner should play me for a better hand than I have.  If the ten points were scattered I would pass all preempts.  Requirements for fourth seat are not much lower.  If I am fourth seat, I do bid with this hand.

Play a suit overcall to start a hair better than an opening bid.  Though, it may be a five-card suit, expect six cards.  Suit length can make up for lack of points.  Jumps are strong.  With 5-3 in the majors, we bid the 5-bagger.  With 6-4, we double.

Play a two-level overcall to start at 15 suit points.  Bidding game starts at 10 suit points.  DIFFERENT:  For two-level overcalls there is a courtesy raise and an invitational raise.  The courtesy raise is three trumps and a hand worth 6-7 suit points.  A serious raise is a cue -bid and a hand worth 8-9 suit points.  DIFFERENT:  New suit by unpassed advancer is forcing one round.  The advancer hand that wants to play 3NT rather than 4-major if overcaller has a stopper is rare.

If the preempt is raised to the 3-level, then double is responsive.  It does not matter whether partner bid a suit or doubled.  If it is raised to the 4-level, then double is cards and penalty.

The raise of a three-level overcall probably starts at about 8 suit points.  Here, cue is a choice of games with priority given to notrump.  The cue-er can be interested in the other major.

2	3	Pass	3
Pass	?

Bid 3NT with a stopper else 4 .

2	2	Pass	3
Pass	?

Bid 3 with a minimum, else something else.

2	3	Pass	3
Pass	?

Bid 3NT with a stopper, else 3 with three spades, else 4 .  The cue-er, with spades, could bid 3 with the close to the same effect.

Doubles start at an opening bid, and should have at least three-card support for each unbid major.  With only three you should have extras.  Versus 2 , 3-minor, and 4-minor, you do not need support for the other minor.  You can double a major with the other major, and shortage in a minor.  The upper limit of a two-level advance is about 8 or 9 suit points.  The 2NT response should sort the minors.  If 2NT is available as a response (to a double), then 3 and 3-major (jump or not) are invitational.  Both 3-major, and 2NT followed 3-major invite; 2NT and then 3-major shows four.  Cue over a double is choice of games, and priority is notrump.

We accept Robinson's double of 4 :  It is a strong notrump (or better) and takeout; it will usually be left in.  Takeout means that you cannot double on a trump stack.

Responding to a Takeout Double  of a Weak-Two

2 — Double — Pass	3	Large range.  0-10 HCP
	3	Some values.  7-10 HCP
	3	Some values.  7-10 suit points.
	2NT, then 3 , 3	0-6 HCP.
	3	Game force.  Do not bid 3-card major in response.
	2NT, then 3 .	Game force with stopper.  Do not bid 3-card major in response to cue.  Do not sweat the distinction between these two auctions.
	2NT, then 4 , 4	Game force.
	4 , 4	Invitational.
2 — Double — Pass	2	0-8, 9 suit points.
	3	8, 9-11 suit points.  Invitational.
	2NT, then 3	Same as jump to 3 .  Stopper.
2 — Double — Pass	2 , 2	0-8, 9 suit points.
	3	0-10 HCP.
	2NT	Values (8-10, 11) HCP.
	3	Pick a major.  Not forcing
	3 , 3 , 4	Invitational.

A minimum notrump overcall, 2NT or 3NT, shows a hand in the 15-18 HCP range.  Responses, except for the cue, are natural and not forcing.  4NT, usually over 4-major, is a good two- or three-suiter.

Possibilities are:

1. Jump one level (not forcing), or to game.
2. Cue.  We can either follow Robinson's ideas and use cue to ask specifically for notrump, and leaping Michael's on some 5-5 hands, or use the cue for whatever suits the user.  Ed Barlow and I favor the cue as multi-purpose.  No matter what, these treatments are not toys that must be used because they are there.  A cue does not guarantee game, but momentum will usually get us to game.  Two-suiters are several times more common than one-suiters.
3. Double, and then follow with some action that shows extra strength, such as: 
   • Raise partner, or
   • Conversion of takeout to a higher level, or
   • A bid other than 3 or 3 over advancer's 2NT, or
   • Cue or jump. 
   The extra strength after a double is not necessarily as strong as the immediate jump or cue.  I hate to double 2 without support for both majors, but a good hand with 4-major and 6-minor is possible.

You and I recognize good hands when we see them.  I use 22 suit points in the definition, but if 19 suit points look good enough, then do it.  Here are some guides for advancer.

• Treat the jump or cue as showing 22 suit points.  With 3 suit points get to (a major) game.  With 10 suit points, think slam.  (Treat the simple overcall as 15 suit points; with 10 suit points bid game.) 
• Treat the cue as denying exactly four cards in any suit.  The cue-er either has two five-card or longer suits (not both majors), or a running minor and is asking for notrump.  Advance as follows:
  • If thinking slam, then cue (or bid cheapest 3-card major at 3-level.)  3-card means 3-card or longer; else
  • Bid 3NT with a stopper (priority is notrump) (this is the only route to 3NT); else
  • Bid cheapest 3-card major (yes 4 over 3 ); else
  • Bid 4 with a poor hand, and 4 with enough to force game.  (The assumption is you have three-cards in both minors.  If this is not true, bid 3-major with only two cards, etc.)  ; and maybe
  • Advancer cannot insist on clubs. 

The cue-er usually needs one more bid to describe his hand.  If the advance was 3NT:

• With the ask-for-notrump one-suiter, pass.
• With the 5-5 hand bid one of your two suits, except with the minors, bid 4NT. 

If the advance was 3-major:

• With a one-suiter, bid and then rebid your suit, or jump to game.
• With a major-minor, bid one of your suits — your choice.
• With the minors, bid 3NT. 

If the advance was 4-suit:  Treat 4 as forcing, and 4 passable.

• Same rules.  4NT asks for minors, and 5-minor is one-suiter. 

What is 4NT in a preempt auction after one of you has bid?  It means think about and "Do the right thing."  See next section.

The defense against 3NT as a minor suit preempt is:  Double = points; 4 takeout; other bids natural.

The defense against 4 and 4 Namyats is:  Double = takeout of their major.  If fourth seat uses Namyats, double is lead.

The "through the four-level for Blackwood" rule includes the words "except after a preemptive opening."  Therefore, when we open a weak-two, a three-bid, or a four-bid, 4NT is Blackwood.

When they preempt, and partner bids 4NT, his intent could be

• Pick a suit or pick another suit. 
• Cue.  I am bidding at the five-level and have a maximum.  You can answer aces, but don't go beyond your suit if you do not have extras, and do not bid five of your suit if you want to bid slam. 
• Blackwood. 
• Quantitative. 

What does 4NT mean had not come up for thirty years, and then there were two examples in one weekend.  Mark the following auctions, and we will discuss the results to see if we are on the same page.

A. 

2	Dbl	Pass	3NT
Pass	4NT

B. 

2

Dbl

Pass

4NT

C. 

2

Dbl

4

4NT

D. 

2	Dbl	Pass	3
Pass	4	Pass	4NT

E. 

2

2

Pass

4NT

F. 

2

4

Pass

4NT

G. 

3

4

4

4NT

H. 

3

4

4

4NT

I. 

			Pass
3	4	4	4NT

J. 

4

Dbl

Pass

4NT

My bias is that 4NT to play is almost off the page.  An experiment showed that the frequency of "pick" is rare when partner has bid a suit.  For this, he has to be 5-5 in the other two suits and an opening bid or better.  I think 4NT should be "cue" if partner cannot cue-bid below 4NT.  In cramped auctions do not willy-nilly respond Blackwood.  Partner seldom knows enough to take charge based on the number of controls.

My answers:  A - Quantitative.  B -?  C - Pick.  D, E, F, G - Blackwood.  H, I - Cue.  J - Pick a minor.

Robinson's defense against preempts (Chapters 22-24)

22.1	Takeout doubles through 4 .  Okay.
22.2	Over 2-major (but also 2 and Precision 2 ), the cue asks for stopper.  Without a stopper, system is pass or correct.  4-minor shows minor and other major.  4-cue (4 over 2 ) is two-suiter, and again system is pass or correct.  Stansby says leaping Michaels is one of his least favorite conventions.  Woolsey was asked if he ever got a good result from the convention, and said "No."  These hand types are rare.  No sale.  (An aside is that Ed Barlow says that the Bay Area is playing 1 - 3 and 1 - 3 as natural.  I have always done this.)  An experiment on cue asking for notrump:  Needed seven or more in the minor headed by A-K-Q and at least 15 HCP.  No stopper in the bid suit, and no side four-card major.  Required 300000 to 500000 deals for 48 possibilities, and on half of those deals they get the cue.  Advancer had a 3NT bid about 1/3 of the time.  Of course there are cases where you will cue for notrump with a six-card suit, and should not with an A-K-Q-x-x-x-x suit.  The 5-5 major-minor hand occurs about five times more often, and with these you might treat an A-K-Q-J-x major as a one-suited major.
22.3	lebensohl over 2-anything — Double.  With us, 2NT over a major is do the right thing, which is tell me your better minor.  Over 2 — Double:  2NT is natural.
22.4	Cue-bid over double is choice of games.  Okay.
23.1	2NT over weak two shows 15-18 HCP.  I seldom have four cards in the other major.  We play suit bids not forcing, and a cue is usually Stayman but can be a very good hand.
24.1 and 24.2	Requirements for 3NT after two-bids and three-bids are reasonable.  Again, no systemic advances except for cue.

The next chapter are sheets I use at nationals.  We did a multi 2 exercise on a Tuesday night.  We began with the ACBL pamphlet defense.  The preempting side was limited to 20 high card points for the exercise.  Therefore the senorita had that partnership bid (overbid) to the Larry Cohen limit.

Summary of Multi-2 Defense

Immediate double = 13 + points. Takeout and responsive doubles at 2- and 3-level. Penalty and/or card doubles at 4-level and higher. All suit bids natural, except other major is cue in support of partner's bid major.

	x		Q J
	A K x		Q J 7 x x
	A J T x x x		Q x x
	A K x		T x x
2	Dbl	4	Dbl
4	5	All Pass

Although it didn't matter, it took a second try to get the double of 4 .  The pamphlet says doubles of 3 and higher after the double are business (page 12.)  The senorita's overbid rule says responder has at least four cards in each major.  Since hearts are breaking 4-1 or 5-0, 5 is a good contract.

	J T x		Q x x x x
	—		Q J 9
	A K Q J x		x x x
	Q J 9 x x		A x
2	3	3	3NT
4	5	Pass	5

That is what we did.  Once I bid 3 , we are away from the pamphlet.  I think maybe I should have doubled with a two-suiter.  Since, a double of 3 responsive, John had to either pass or volunteer 3NT.  The auction says spades are 3-2.  You can decide whether 4 or 5 is the better contract.

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