Preemptive openings

Preemptive bids are bids higher than usual to aggressively reach a contract, avoiding defending. A preemptive opening shows < 12 HCP, which encourages reaching a suit contract and discourages reaching a notrump contract or defending.

Preemptive openings are available to the first three seats only, where there is still an opponent to block. The 3rd seat can make the most aggressive openings because the partner has passed.

Weak 2s

The weak 2s require 6+ cards in general, but 5 cards is accepted for the 3rd seat unless vulnerability is unfavorable. If non-vulnerable, the first two seats can also open a weak 2 with AKxxx or AQJxx in a 5-3-3-2 hand. The strength requirements are as follows.

In the first 2 seats, pass with 4+ cards in the other major. This prevents losing a 4-4 fit if partner has an opening hand.

• Vulnerable: 9+
• Not vulnerable: 7+

Probing Wbridge5 5.12 shows that the 1st and 2nd seats open alike: 300 hands with 5–7 hearts drew the same calls in both seats at all four vulnerabilities, as did 300 hands with 6–8 clubs at none and unfavorable. Mostly only Wbridge5’s own vulnerability counts. On 300 random hands with 4–11 HCP, favorable vulnerability opened exactly as none vulnerable, and both vulnerable exactly as unfavorable. With 5–7 hearts and 3–11 HCP, though, 5 of 300 hands opened a step higher at favorable than at none, and 7 of 300 at both vulnerable than at unfavorable. For example, ♠J9 ♥Q98653 ♦K76 ♣72 passes at none but opens 2♥ at favorable. With 6 hearts and 3–10 HCP, Wbridge5 opened 2♥ on 51 of 75 hands from 4 HCP when not vulnerable, but on 32 from 6 HCP when vulnerable. The 5-card weak 2s, e.g. ♠54 ♥KQJ97 ♦Q87 ♣1042 and ♠92 ♥AK872 ♦843 ♣976, all became passes when vulnerable. Spades behave the same: all nine 5-card 2♠ openings among 300 hands with 5–7 spades became passes when vulnerable, and the 6-card 2♠ fell from 41 of 58 hands to 31.

Weak 2s in the 3rd seat

In the 3rd seat both sides’ vulnerability counts. With 5–7 hearts and 3–11 HCP, 300 boards per vulnerability:

At unfavorable vulnerability, the 3rd seat also passes most of the light 1-level openings: with 5 hearts and 10–11 HCP, it opened 1♥ on 20 of 62 hands and passed the rest, where none vulnerable opened 1♥ or 2♥ on all but 4. At favorable vulnerability, those hands opened 2♥ on 38 boards and 1♥ on 23.

Preemptive 3s

Opening 3 of a suit promises 6+ cards with further requirements.

First 2 seats

If there are only 6 cards in the suit, it shall be no weaker than KJ10xxx if minor or KQ10xxx if major. The required strength is 2 more points than weak 2.

• Vulnerable: 11+, 8+ HCP
• Not vulnerable: 9+

As with weak 2s, favorable vulnerability opens as none vulnerable in the 1st seat. With 6 clubs and 3–10 HCP, Wbridge5 opened 3♣ on 46 of 200 hands (7–10 HCP) when not vulnerable and on 17 (8–10 HCP) when vulnerable. With 7–8 clubs it opened 3♣ on 49 of 62 hands from 5 HCP, and on 37 when vulnerable. A 7-card major drops a level when vulnerable: 4♥ needed 10+ HCP instead of 7+, and 5–6 HCP opened 2♥ instead of 3♥. Diamonds behave as clubs: with 6 diamonds and 3–10 HCP, 3♦ came on 50 of 193 hands (7–10 HCP) when not vulnerable and on 17 (8–10 HCP) when vulnerable. With 7 diamonds it came on 47 of 58 hands from 5 HCP, and on 36 from 6 HCP when vulnerable.

The 3rd seat

Quality of a 6-card minor can be as weak as KJxxxx in the 3rd seat, but no weaker for a major because a rubbish major opens a weak 2 instead. There are no more requirements on defensive values because the partnership will seldom have enough values for 3NT.

• Unfavorable: 9+
• Both vulnerable: 8+
• None vulnerable: 7+
• Favorable: 6+. A 6-card rubbish minor is acceptable here.

Probing Wbridge5 5.12 confirms the order. With 6 clubs and 3–10 HCP, the 3rd seat opened 3♣ on 154 of 206 hands at favorable vulnerability (from 4 HCP), 86 at none vulnerable (from 4 HCP), 66 at both vulnerable (from 5 HCP) and 17 at unfavorable (from 8 HCP). With 7 clubs, it opened 3♣ or 4♣ on 54 of 60 hands at favorable, 46 at none, 39 at both vulnerable and 31 at unfavorable. The 4♣ opening is natural here, with 7 clubs and 6–9 HCP, e.g. ♠Q2 ♥54 ♦86 ♣KQ109873 at favorable vulnerability.

Preemptive 4♥♠

Opening 4♥♠ promises 7+ cards. Only Wbridge5’s own vulnerability counts, and 4♥ opens alike in the first three seats. With 5–7 hearts and 3–11 HCP, 300 boards per vulnerability, the 2nd seat opened 4♥ on exactly the same hands as the 1st, and so did the 3rd seat but for ♠6 ♥KQJ10762 ♦- ♣A8653, which opened Namyats 4♣ in the first two seats, and ♠5 ♥AKJ652 ♦Q94 ♣J63, a 6-card 4♥ when not vulnerable. The 7-card 4♥♠ came on these hands:

As with weak 2s, favorable and both vulnerable each opened one hand a step higher than none and unfavorable: ♠9 ♥AJ107653 ♦Q105 ♣93 opened 4♥ at favorable but 3♥ at none, and ♠- ♥AQ98765 ♦J1095 ♣86 opened 4♥ at both vulnerable but 3♥ at unfavorable. At the top, 300 hands with 7–8 hearts and 11–16 HCP opened 4♥ on 25, all 7-card hands with 11–13 HCP; spades opened 4♠ on 31 such hands and two 8-card hands with 11 HCP. The rest opened 1♥♠, 2♣, Namyats or 3♥♠. These ran at none vulnerable only.

Preemptive 5♣♦

Opening 5♣♦ promises 8+ cards.

Namyats

Namyats uses 4♣ and 4♦ for strong 4♥ and 4♠ openers respectively. Besides criteria from 4♥♠ openings, there are further requirements for a Namyats opening.

• Suit quality: KQ10 or stronger if there are only 7 cards
• Strength: At most 5 losers

Responses and later rounds are in their own chapter.

Not probed

• Spade and minor preempts in the 1st seat at favorable and both vulnerable, beyond 300 random hands with 4–11 HCP. Only hearts had targeted hands at all four vulnerabilities.
• Spade and diamond preempts in the 2nd seat beyond 600 random hands at none vulnerable, and clubs there at favorable and both vulnerable.
• Spade and diamond preempts in the 3rd seat at any vulnerability but none, where 600 random hands were dealt. Hearts and clubs had targeted hands at all four vulnerabilities.
• Namyats and 5♣♦ in the 2nd and 3rd seats: the 2nd seat opened 4♣ with one hand and 5♣♦ with two; the 3rd seat never opened 5♣♦, and its 4♣♦ openings all held a long minor. 5♣♦ when vulnerable came up on 5 boards in all.
• The pass with 4+ cards in the other major: the targeted hands held 0–3, and the random hands held one weak hand with a 6-card major and 4 cards in the other.