Responding to Pre-Empts "HOW Big?!" by Marti Ronemus

Today we celebrate the completion of Hoover Dam. Over 5000 workers toiled from 1931 to 1936, often working in heat over 119 degrees. Over 4,000,000 cubic yards of concrete were used, and it must have been very exciting, because a lot of the technology used was brand new and had never been used before.

Now, get this: It came in UNDER budget of $49 million, and 2 YEARS ahead of schedule. Can you imagine if it were done today? And we understand that it is one of the two man-made objects that can be seen from space (the other being the Great Wall).

All this gigantic-ness inspires our lesson today... Dealing with giant suits, dealing with pre-empts.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ 3 2
♥ A K 10 5
♦ A 10 8
♣ A J 10 8

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	2♠	p
?

A: 4♠: Bridge is not a game of points, it is a game of tricks. If Pard is playing disciplined Weak Twos (and he better be! He is promising a very good suit!), he is bringing 5-1/2 tricks to the table. We've got four quick tricks, plus at least another half with all those honorettes.
We can scrape up a game. It won't be set in concrete, but what is?

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ 4 3 2
♥ K Q 10 9 8 4
♦ K 10 2
♣ 8

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
2♥	p	2 No-trump*	p
?

*Pard, do you have an outside feature? An Ace or King outside of your big suit?

A: 3♦: Pard is asking if we have an outside entry, and we do. We tell him about our ♦K. Now it's his problem.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ J
♥ Q 10 9 3
♦ A K 10 7 4 3 2
♣ 2

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
?	-	-

A: 1♦: This hand shouldn't be opened 3♦. Why? Firstly, we're holding an outside four-card major. Secondly, the hand is just too darn nice. We've got an outstanding shape and an outstanding hand. If you are a point-counter and can't bear the thought of opening at the one level with only 9-10 HCP, add some points for that long suit. You'll easily reach 11. Plus you can use the Rule of 20 with two quick tricks. Don't downgrade this hand.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

Your Hand
♠ A K 8
♥ K Q J 10 7 6 5
♦ A
♣ 8 4

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	3♣	p
?

A: 4♥: We have 9-ish tricks in our hand. We could go to 5♣, but we can make more money for fewer tricks in Hearts.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ K 9
♥ 10 9 8
♦ A Q 10 8 7 6
♣ 9 8

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
2♦	p	2♠	p
?

A: 3♠: A new suit over a pre-empt is forcing for one round. There's no point rebidding our Diamonds if we have an option. We already told that story. We expect Pard to be holding a six-card suit of his own. Let's tell him about our lovely honor.

And, now that the concrete is almost set, let's play a hand.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

Now that you've bid five hands, let's see how your play goes.

Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
More informations on our website: www.VuBridge.com

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