Weekly Hand Analysis - Vic Johnson - August 9, 2021- To pre-empt or not pre-empt

Question: How do you respond to a pre-empt opening when you have a strong hand?

Should responder gone straight to 4 S ? 

Vic:

No, Responder should not bid 4S.

 

Bid of a new suit by Responder over a pre-empt by Opener shows a strong hand & is normally played as forcing. Opener should NOT Pass. With three card support Opener should raise Responder's suit. Otherwise, Opener should rebid their suit. Following that guideline Opener in this example would bid 4C.

What happens next is up for grabs. Responder has a HUGE hand. Probably the most practical call they could make would be 5C which I assume would end the auction. The hand makes game in clubs. It also deserves to make a small slam in either clubs or no trump.

 The real problem with the bidding in this case is the opening pre-empt. Opener has 12 points & only 6 losers. They are too strong to open with a pre-empt. See what happened when they did? I rest my case.

A better idea would be to open 1C. As soon as Opener does that, Responder should be thinking slam. Maybe they will subsequently get there. At any rate they should at the very minimum get to game in either clubs or no trump.

Ain't bridge a great game?