Over Preempts "What in the World's Come Over You?" by Marti Ronemus

Jack Scott's opponents must have pre-empted to prompt him to warble "What in the World's Come Over You?". Poor guy. I'm not sure how we bridge players handled pre-empts back in 1959, but here are some thoughts for us today.

First, when They pre-empt, you should hear the sound of a car alarm going off in your head. They are trying to rob you. How dare they.

Second, when one hand is very distributional, others are likely to be also.

Third, we are going to try hard to enter the fray. Eddie Kantar says to use ESP... Expect Seven Points ... from your Pard. That will help you decide what to do. We have three choices: Pass, Overcall or Double.

Fourth, forgive yourself for bad decisions. Pre-empts are designed to kick you in the knees, and they work. They are like school-yard bullies. We are going to stand up to them.

Question 1

Your Hand
♠ A 4
♥ K J 9 7 6 5
♦ 6
♣ A 9 8 4

Q: 1 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	3♦
?

A: 3♥: We like our chances on this one. We are indeed forced to the three-level, but with our wonderful shape and fairly nice suit, we are not going to lie (lay?) down and cry "uncle." With East showing weakness, we're even more likely to catch Pard with some goodies.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 2

Your Hand
♠ A 10 9
♥ Q 8 5 4
♦ K Q 9 6
♣ J 4

Q: 2 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	3♣
?

A: Pass: This hand is just too ratty to bid. We can't overcall a four-card suit at the three-level (really, we shouldn't!). We cannot double because we just don't have enough to offer Pard, especially if he were to bid Spades. We have to let this one go, and hope Pard finds a way to enter the auction.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 3

Your Hand
♠ J 8 6 5 4
♥ Q 2
♦ A J 9
♣ A Q 9

Q: 3 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	2♥
?

A: Pass: We're on the fence with this one. We hate to be robbed and we do after all have 14 points. Or do we? West is rated to have points, which is bad news for our minor suit tenaces. Rats. Add to that the wretched quality of our Spades, and we teeter on the edge. What pushes into a pass is a brief look at the vulnerability.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 4

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

Q: 4 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	2♥
?

A: 2♠: If you pass this one, the whole table will be humming, wondering "What in the World's Come Over You?" Notice we have 14 points in this hand also, but our suit is something to be proud of. Also we like the location of our Heart honors, behind the Heart bidder. Cool beans.

Your result so far:

Open Question

Question 5

Your Hand
♠ Q J 9 4
♥ A J 8 5
♦ K J 10
♣ A J 9

Q: 5 - South:

South	West	North	East
-	-	-	2♦
?

A: 2 No-trump. This bid, over a two-level pre-empt says, "I would have opened 1 No-trump but am forced to the two-level." It also promises stopper(s) in the pre-emptor's suit. Could you double with this hand? Sure. We like 2 No-trump though because it shows the Diamond stopper(s). Over this bid, by the way, Stayman and Transfers are still on. Another plus for the bid.

And now it's time for our 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.
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