<p>I've always understood the general rule to be: open with a weaker hand than usual in third seat, but with a stronger hand than usual in fourth seat.  As such, no, it seems like probably a bad idea to pre-empt in the fourth seat, for a couple of reasons.</p>

<ul>
<li><p>It seems to miss the point of pre-empting entirely.  Usually, a pre-emptive bid is meant to deprive the opponents of bidding space, in a semi-sacrificial (or possibly fully sacrificial!) way.  If the opponents have shown no interest in bidding... what do you think you're doing?</p></li>
<li><p>If you're not pre-empting to get in the opponents' way... what ARE you doing?  Your partner has passed and thus has about 10-11 points at best.  What contract are you hoping to make with  about, or slightly less than, half the points of the deal?</p></li>
</ul>

<p>Having said that - it could be a good idea to bid on a pre-empt hand in fourth if, for instance, you had 90 points below the line in a game of rubber bridge.  But make sure you are doing it for the right reason.  If your partner has a dogmatic belief that pre-empt hands require a pre-empt bid, without any seeming understanding of what a pre-empt is <em>for</em>, then perhaps he needs to be send back to Bridge school for a refresher course!</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-12T05:42:27.627Z
+1: The question is backwards.

It should be: "Does it make sense to preempt in 4th seat", rather than "NOT preempt".
Aryabhata
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-12T21:31:22.607Z
@Aryabhata: Edited title per your suggestion.
Tom Au
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-10-11T20:20:30.560Z
2016-01-27T15:05:05.583Z
2016-01-27T15:05:05.583Z
thesunneversets
<p>In one of my games, there were three passes. Fourth seat elected to "pre-empt," three hearts with something like the following:</p>

<p>♠xx ♥KQJxxxx ♦Jxx ♣x</p>

<p>One of the opponents doubled (for penalties), after having passed, with something like:</p>

<p>♠Axx ♥ATxx ♦Kxx ♣xxx</p>

<p>The result was down two (doubled, not vulnerable). The three non pre-empters had about 11 points each, hence no bids. </p>

<p>I asked, "Why did you do that? You could have broken even by passing out the hand."</p>

<p>Bidder responded, "I bid my cards, that's what you're supposed to do with seven of a suit."</p>

<p>Did he overlook the issue of "position"? That is, if the bidder had been THIRD seat. after two passes, would pre-empting have made much more sense, to presume that (barring a freak distribution) that fourth seat might have had all the cards and that the pre-empt might then have saved a game?</p>

<p>Did it make sense to pre-empt in fourth seat with the cards that the bidder held? If his hand had been somewhat stronger (say a king of diamonds in place of the jack), could he have had a positive "expectation" with a different bid, such as a "weak" two hearts, or even one heart?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2014-02-23T14:59:17.477Z
This hand should surely pass. It does make sense to open at the 2 or 3 level in 4th seat occasionally, though; see: http://larryco.com/BridgeArticles/ArticleDetails.aspx?articleID=315
hunter
<bridge><bidding>
In Bridge, Does It Make Sense to Pre-empt in Fourth Seat?
Tom Au
# In Bridge, Does It Make Sense to Pre-empt in Fourth Seat?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-10-11)

In one of my games, there were three passes. Fourth seat elected to "pre-empt," three hearts with something like the following:

♠xx ♥KQJxxxx ♦Jxx ♣x

One of the opponents doubled (for penalties), after having passed, with something like:

♠Axx ♥ATxx ♦Kxx ♣xxx

The result was down two (doubled, not vulnerable). The three non pre-empters had about 11 points each, hence no bids.

I asked, "Why did you do that? You could have broken even by passing out the hand."

Bidder responded, "I bid my cards, that's what you're supposed to do with seven of a suit."

Did he overlook the issue of "position"? That is, if the bidder had been THIRD seat. after two passes, would pre-empting have made much more sense, to presume that (barring a freak distribution) that fourth seat might have had all the cards and that the pre-empt might then have saved a game?

Did it make sense to pre-empt in fourth seat with the cards that the bidder held? If his hand had been somewhat stronger (say a king of diamonds in place of the jack), could he have had a positive "expectation" with a different bid, such as a "weak" two hearts, or even one heart?

**Tags:** bridge, bidding

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: This hand should surely pass. It does make sense to open at the 2 or 3 level in 4th seat occasionally, though; see: http://larryco.com/BridgeArticles/ArticleDetails.aspx?articleID=315  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2011-10-11. Score: 10 | Accepted answer

I've always understood the general rule to be: open with a weaker hand than usual in third seat, but with a stronger hand than usual in fourth seat. As such, no, it seems like probably a bad idea to pre-empt in the fourth seat, for a couple of reasons.

* It seems to miss the point of pre-empting entirely. Usually, a pre-emptive bid is meant to deprive the opponents of bidding space, in a semi-sacrificial (or possibly fully sacrificial!) way. If the opponents have shown no interest in bidding... what do you think you're doing?
* If you're not pre-empting to get in the opponents' way... what ARE you doing? Your partner has passed and thus has about 10-11 points at best. What contract are you hoping to make with about, or slightly less than, half the points of the deal?

Having said that - it could be a good idea to bid on a pre-empt hand in fourth if, for instance, you had 90 points below the line in a game of rubber bridge. But make sure you are doing it for the right reason. If your partner has a dogmatic belief that pre-empt hands require a pre-empt bid, without any seeming understanding of what a pre-empt is *for*, then perhaps he needs to be send back to Bridge school for a refresher course!

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: +1: The question is backwards.  It should be: "Does it make sense to preempt in 4th seat", rather than "NOT preempt".  
> **username_0**: @username_3: Edited title per your suggestion.  

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