Preempts

What a preempt is for

You hold seven spades and 7 points. Your side is unlikely to make game. The opponents may well have one: they have most of the high cards and, given a normal auction, they'll find their fit and bid it accurately.

Opening 3♠ removes the entire one and two level from them. The player who would have opened 1♥ and heard a quiet 1♠ response now has to start at the three level with little room to describe their hand. Sometimes they'll get it wrong: miss a game, play the wrong strain, or double you when they should have bid. Sometimes they will double you and collect a penalty instead. The skill in preempting is judging how much you can afford to lose.

The rule of 2 and 3, with the arithmetic

The rule says: preempt to a level you can make within two tricks when vulnerable, and within three when not vulnerable. The numbers come from comparing the penalty with the game you stop.

Suppose the opponents can make a vulnerable game (say 4♥) worth 620 to them. If your preempt pushes them out of it, you've gained 620. If they double you instead:

• Not vulnerable, down three doubled: 500. Less than their 620, so the sacrifice was worth it.
• Not vulnerable, down four doubled: 800. More than 620, so a bad trade.
• Vulnerable, down three doubled: 800. Already too much.
• Vulnerable, down two doubled: 500. Acceptable.

The rule marks the point at which the penalty you concede exceeds the game you prevent. Penalties are bigger when you are vulnerable, so you preempt less high.

What makes a good preempt

• Suit quality matters more than point count. The points should be in the long suit. Honours outside it are defensive values, and a preempt tells partner you have little defence.
• Avoid four cards in the other major. If you hold seven diamonds and four spades, preempting may talk your side out of a spade fit.
• Avoid a void in most styles. A two-suited hand has better bids available, and partner can't judge a preempt that might be two-suited.
• Don't preempt with an opening hand. If you have 12 points, open one of the suit. Partner will pass a preempt on hands where you could have made game.

Seat position

• First and second seat: be disciplined. Partner is still unknown and may hold a strong hand; a wild preempt in front of them costs your own side.
• Third seat: be aggressive. Partner has passed, so your side is unlikely to have game and a loose preempt is less likely to mislead partner. A six-card suit at the three level is normal here.
• Fourth seat: there is no one left to shut out. If you don't want to play the hand, pass it out. A fourth-seat weak two shows a hand you expect to make.

Responding to a preempt

Responder can easily give back what a preempt gained. Partner has described their hand almost completely (a known suit, a known narrow strength), so you're the captain and make the decisions.

1. Don't raise on high cards. A raise of a preempt is itself preemptive: you raise on trump length to make life harder for the opponents, whether or not you expect to make it.
2. Count to the level of the fit. With three-card support opposite a seven-card preempt you hold ten trumps between you, and bidding to the four level is usually right regardless of your points.
3. A new suit is forcing and shows a real hand with a real suit.
4. 2NT asks. Over a weak two, it asks opener to describe. Two common schemes: Ogust, where opener shows suit quality and hand strength as a 2×2 grid, and feature, where opener names an outside honour. Agree one.
5. Bid game when you can count it. Partner's hand is already narrowly defined, so an invitation rarely helps.

Defending against a preempt

When the opponents preempt, you have little room to find your best contract, so bid on judgement:

• A double is takeout at the three level and below, showing an opening hand and support for the unbid suits.
• An overcall shows a real suit and real values, because you're at the three level with no help from partner.
• Don't pass a good hand out of caution. If you do, the preempt has done its job.