Bad Pre-empts
(Courtesy of Bob Crosby)
A tormentee held this hand vulnerable vs vulnerable in IMPs against me. 
QJ10xxxx 
Q10x 
Axx 
void. 1 to her right so what is your call? Most of the Thursday night crowd in their infinite wisdom chose a pre-empt of 3. This bid was opposite a non passed hand partner. What an atrocious bid! How can partner every read you for a void, 3 HCP in your suit and an Ace and a queen on the outside vulnerable. Welcome to the VLT and slot machines! Anyway these bidders all got appropriately punished and when LHO made a negative double, opener converted and they all went for 800 against a partial. Worse still the partial is your way in clubs!
Along the theme of making undisciplined bids that catch partner, you really get partner this time. Void J10xx xx AKJ10xxx who cannot even bid 4 forcing as that should imply spade tolerance. She is shut out of the auction and must helplessly view the carnage. Some more conservative players choose a bid of 2. This is slightly better in that it describes your outside cards a little better but still a bad bid in that this hand is not a pre-emptive type hand. This is an offensive type hand which is quite a difference. A void, an Ace and an outside Q10x makes it a nice playing hand if you let partner in on the decision. I would overcall 1 and that would get doubled. Partner would bid 2 and then 3 and if you buy it there you win 13 IMPS for +110!
The tormentee at our table chose a pass. Partner made a vulnerable 2 overcall with a hand that does qualify for a pre-empt opposite a passed hand partner. Bidding 2 hides your hand from partner who now comes alive by bidding 3 with the safety of a vulnerable bidding partner. This got passed out and we beat it 3 for +300 and we lost 9 IMPS! Of course, partner cannot bid 3 as that would describe your hand to partner who would now pass. I guess a 3 bid vulnerable must show a bad suit with outside cards!
This particular auction tells me what I already know. Nobody knows how to pre-empt! They bid 3 with a 1 bid and 2 with a 3 bid. Why because Bridge is not a partnership game when it comes to pre-empting. You paid your card fees so when you hold a 7 card suit you just do what you feel like! Partner is an unnecessary complication. Bridge is a bidders game is just an excuse for horrible undisciplined Bridge. As the song says when will they ever learn. Respect thy partner!