Oceanss, on 2016-June-21, 15:20, said:
Assume you play IMP challenge aga friend, or an IMP team game, no barometer or alike. Your side is white and opps are red and you get this as a dealer:
♠-- ♥QJx ♦Jxxx ♣KJT8xx
.
Question one: what is your bid?? Do you preempt? If you play preempts rule 2 and 3 can you afford a "little lie"?
The suit is one card short but with 3/5 top honors it is not that bad and we are not vulnerable. Yes, I can afford a little lie.
Why I really want to preempt here:
I have a void in spades, that is 13 cards out, an average of 4.3 going to my partner, that is, the opponents probably have a 9-card fit in spades.
I have three cards in heards, 10 cards out, an average of 3.3 going to my partner, that is, the opponents more likely have a good fit in hearts than we.
-> Definitely preepmpt here, this is what preempts are for.
And I don't share the view that a preempt is making life difficult for my partner. The opposite is true. A preempt shows a very narrow choice of distributions. Partner usually can make not only a good guess of what we can play but also a good guess of what the opponents can play. A better guess than the opponents can make themselves, at least initially. So partner is often in a position to try to make sure opps don't get where they want to be.
Okay, so partner is strong and may want to check out a 5-3 fit in hearts? 3
♣ - 3
♥(forcing) - 4
♥. Done.
Oceanss, on 2016-June-21, 15:20, said:
Question two: If opener passed, how bidding should go? Pard was dealt: AT9 AK98x AKx Ax
.
I ask this is because I'd have no clue how to bid this hand if I as opener passed and pard shows balanced 22-24 HCP.
I would probably bid 3
♣ over 2
♣ but anyway. If the bidding started 2
♣ - 2
♦ - 2NT for some reason, I would jump to 6
♣ with most partners right away due to a lack of more scientific means. We have a total of 30 - 32 HCPs and a long suit and a void, this is probably the right spot.
With one partner, if the bidding started as above, we have defined a special sequence using voidwood, it would go
2
♣ - 2
♦ -
2NT - 3
♠* -
4
♦** - 4
♠# -
5
♣## - 5
♥& -
5
♠&& - 6
♣ -
- -
* one or two minor suits
** preference
# Voidwood for
both minors
## 1 or 4 keycards, that is,
♥A,
♦AK,
♣A.
& asking for the
♦♣Qs
&& none
Actually we have never used this but here it would help us to reach more scientifically a place where a good guess would have led us also, if you see the point.