[asbell]

Shall I open 4♠ third in hand on my 8-card suit, like any normal bridge player ever? No, better to wait and surprise the opponents once they know they have the values to double me

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[pescetom]

This is partly the fault of BBO writing T as 10, which makes the hand look semi-balanced to the robot.

I think your robot would have played doubled even if it opened 4S, unless cane is an Italian surname

[HardVector]

The purpose of preempts is to make the opponents guess what to do. They can overcall, pass or double. Even after the double, their partner now has to decide if passing it is correct. After you've given them time to communicate, a lot of the guesswork is gone and preempts are less effective.

[pescetom]

HardVector, on 2026-March-20, 10:48, said:

The purpose of preempts is to make the opponents guess what to do. They can overcall, pass or double. Even after the double, their partner now has to decide if passing it is correct. After you've given them time to communicate, a lot of the guesswork is gone and preempts are less effective.

Yes but in this case the preempt would have failed in its purpose and been doubled all the same, whether or not you think it was justified in the first place.
Of course it is still crazy to bid it after delay.

[johnu]

Good discovery play by robot East in playing ♣10 instead of the ace at trick 8. This lets the robot find out if declarer is 8=3=1=1 or 8=2=1=2.