Responding to Pre-Empts "Neptune" by Marti Ronemus

So, while searching for factlets for today's essay, I ran into some intriguing (at least, to me) info about Neptune. I asked my husband if he thought Faithful Readers would be interested. He said, "Only if you introduce them to a Neptunian." Huh. Anyway, here goes.

Our only "visit" to Neptune was in 1989 when Voyager 2 zoomed by and sent back details. Neptune is the most gorgeous cobalt blue ever seen. It's 30 times further from the sun than we are, and 17 times our mass. It has six ugly lumpy rings (unlike Saturn). It has 14 moons, one of which spurts geysers.

It has a solid core, surrounded by ocean, the rest is a total mystery. The ocean, in case we had visions of a seaside vacation, is under such pressure that it is so hot the numbers are meaningless. Oh, and to further discourage vacationers, the average temp during the 16-hour days is -353 degrees.

As for meeting a Neptunian? You already deal with them every time you play bridge. It's the only explanation for some of those bids, right?

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.

Wonder if the Neptunians will be there for our hand. Let's find out.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Play this Hand

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

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Overall Results

Your results: out of Average:

What next? You may enjoy playing our prepared hands series.
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