Responding to Weak-Two Bids

When your partner preempts with a weak-two bid in the first or second seat there are many types of hands you can hold. You should determine into which of these categories your hand fits before decided how to respond. You will also determine what your goal is on the hand. Sometimes you will be looking to make game, sometimes you will be looking to get the opponents into trouble, sometimes you will be trying to get your best score in a competitive auction, sometime you will be hoping for any positive score, while other times you will just be hoping to get out of the auction alive and let the opponents play the hand.
Also, remember that partner will not bid again unless you ask them to, so you are responsible for "driving" the auction.  Raising partners suit does not ask partner to bid again, it is just a raise and extends the preempt or ends the auction. When you want to know more about partners hand you bid 2N. This "2N Asking Bid" asks partner if they have a feature outside their suit. A feature is usually an outside Ace or King, but some partnerships allow a singleton or void. (Discuss this with your partner.)  Without a feature, partner will rebid their suit. After you have asked partner for a feature you must place the contract. Your next bid will usually end the auction.

Note: Other conventional bids are available for finding out more about partners hand. Ogust is a commonly used convention in place of the traditional "2N Asking Bid."

Hand Types
Weak Hand w/o Fit - Get out of the way as quickly as you can. Don't try to rescue partner. Remember that if you bid a new suit it will be forcing and partner will have to bid again. You will just be pushing the auction higher. Pass is usually the correct call.

Weak Hand w/ Fit - Extend partners preempt by raising to the appropriate level. The vulnerability and number of card support you have for partner will determine how high you bid.
Ex. 2H-P-3H- ... This is not an invitational bid, partner may not bid again!!
This is effective because you make life difficult on the opponents by forcing them to start bidding at a high level.

Intermediate Hand - When you hold an intermediate hand that has little or no interest in game, but has a good amount of defensive cards should the opponents enter the auction, you must make a strategic decision. Your first goal is a positive score for the hand, so you want to be careful not to bid too high, but you would also like the opponents to end up in a contract at a high enough level that you can double and get a good score. Sometimes you will pass, planning to double the opponents if they bid at the two level and sometimes you will raise, hoping the opponents will bid at the three or four level, so you can double them there. One other option is the delayed raise, passing originally and then competing if the opponents enter the auction. You want to be careful bidding this way, the opponents will often double this bidding sequence...
Ex. 2H-P-P-2S--P-P-3H-P--P-X

Good Offensive Hand - If your hand is good enough to bid game on your own just bid it, but remember partner could have as little as 5 HCP, so you need 18+ Balanced HCP, lots of controls and a source of tricks, or hand that you evaluate to be the equivalent.  If your hand is good enough to have interest in game, but not good enough to bid it on your own you will need to find out more information about partners hand. Your tool for doing this is 2N. (See top for 2N Asking Bid!) Ask partner for a feature of their hand and then determine if that will help you make game. Remember you are trying to count tricks: 9 if you are planning to bid 3N and 10 if you are planning to bid 4 of a major.