One advantage of a "pre-empt" is quite clear: You take two levels of bidding away from your opponents with a "three" bid. But could that be cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Recently, I had something like KQxxxxx, and a side queen (I forget how the other suits were distributed but was told it didn't matter). My partner was disappointed I didn't "preempt" (in "third" seat). My response was "with seven points?"

My understanding is that people often bid three of a suit with seven cards and this little. Sometimes even less, particularly when non-vulnerable vs. vulnerable. In its extreme version, the mantra is "with any seven (suited) cards."

Isn't this risky? What if we're doubled and only make three or four tricks?


Question: Lead Free Soldering and bad looking joints
Answer: The simple answer is get good old lead based solder wire and some flux and most chances it will be easy to get shiny looking solder joints. I have worked with many lead free solder wires at work and although they are all different, the end result is always a dull looking solder joint. Having that said - a shiny solder joint is on itself not an indication of a good bond. The shape of the solder in respect with the hole size and other geometrical parameters is (look up NASA soldering standards). The appearance of your solder joints also got to do with the cooling of the joint, how fast it cools etc. This will cause different looks and textures, not indicating anything about the electrical properties of the bond.

If you absolutely must have shiny joints try looking into solder pasts.