Spike Milligan, an English comedian, said, "A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree." Unless, I suppose, the arbor is on a ship pitching and tossing on the high seas.

This week's theme is: When the opponents push you around (pre-empt), push back. You have to be sensible, though. First, look at the West hand. South deals and opens two diamonds. What should West do?

Now let's assume West passes and North jumps to four diamonds, which is pre-emptive, not inviting game. What should East do?

Over two diamonds, West cannot double with only one spade, or overcall two hearts with only a four-card suit. He might bid three clubs, although that is hardly delectable.

At the table, East passed and four diamonds became the final contract. West led the spade ace and shifted to a heart. East won with the ace and gave his partner a spade ruff. The defenders took another heart and two clubs for down three, but 300 was poor compensation for game in spades or slam in hearts.

East should not have passed over four diamonds. He should have overcalled four spades. Yes, that would probably have ended the auction, but at least they would have scored 650.

If East doubles over four diamonds, West would probably drive to a slam. However, with two more spades than hearts, double is not recommended. Also, against aggressive pre-emptive bidding, it pays to be cautious about bidding a slam, because suits often break badly. Here, everything is docile, but if North has, say, queen-jack-four of hearts, six hearts would fail.

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