Saturday, August-02-08

Hand Evaluation – Overcalls & the 4^th Trump

PITBULLS:

        Tom Gandolfo brings up a point of how to show the 4th trump for partners major after a major overcall. There are two scenarios . One , when you are a passed hand & the other when you are not. I will ask you an honest question so we expect an honest answer. When was the last time you responded 2NT to partner's major overcall as natural ?  With flat NT hands , I always just bid a suit as a one round force followed by bidding  NT at my first opportunity. This has worked well for me over the decades. I just needed to train partner to always Western Q bid instead of raising my minor past 3NT.

        In my opinion , 2NT is idle when partner overcalls a major. Why not define the bid as a Jacoby 2NT limit raise or better ? Therefore, a Q bid must show only 3 trump. This will help partner evaluate her hand whether to bid game or choose a NT contract. Most experts play their major forcing raise as limit raise or better  after an opening bid , so this treatment fits in with major suit bidding not in competition. You are not wrong siding the NT because with your 3 trump , you are Q bidding so partner can play the NT . When you bid the NT , you have 4 or more trump so a NT contract is usually out of the question . Even in that case, if  partner wishes 3NT to be the final spot , she is sitting over their suit so there is no wrong siding the 3NT.

        I held ♠Jxxx ♥Kx ♦AQxxx ♣xx & Vinnie opened a club after I had passed . Tom overcalls 1♠ so I bid 2NT as a passed hand to show a limit raise with 4 trump. Change my hand slightly ♠Jxx ♥Kxx ♦AQxxx ♣xx ( real hand ) so I bid 2♣ saying I have a limit raise with 3 trump. Tom can go aggressive with 2NT but he will probably bid 2♠ ending the auction. With the 2NT bid , you can play the same structure as you do with a Jacoby 2NT keeping the bid consistent throughout your system. This structure also helps with players who overcall a 4 card major. This is usually done with a good 4 card suit but responder announcing 4 trump immediately certainly helps in determining the final resting spot.

       This concept should be continued after the opponents negative doubles also. Bidding 2NT as natural after a negative double by the opponents is ludicrous . You want to punish them if you do not fit partner's major & you have the HCP's to bid 2NT naturally. Therefore , a Q bid shows limit raise or better with 3 card support & 2NT shows a limit raise or better with 4 card support. If I bid one of the negative doublers suits , I am showing where I live with a simple raise in partners major.

       2NT is limit raise or better with 4 trump after an opponents T/O double. With 3 trump & a balanced hand you would tend to redouble. Most of us play transfer toys after a T/O double over partner's major , so we would prefer using that bid with 3 card support  anyway. Transfers work really well as a fit showing bid. I think the 2NT bid should promise 4 trump after a T/O double , especially when you play transfers after partners major opening & a T/O double.

In the old days,  when partner overcalls a major & RHO introduces a 3rd suit , you had a choice of Q bids to show a limit raise or better. We would pick one to mean a 3 card raise & the other a 4 card raise . No more , since we have 2NT to do the job with 4 trump. Since we have a choice of Q bids to show a 3 card limit raise, we would pick the Q bid in which we held the control.

There is an auction that only occurs once. They open 1♠ & partner overcalls  2♥. The ranks of the suits makes the 2♠ Q bid the 3 card support & the 2NT bid the 4 card support . This is more awkward , because 2NT as natural & invitational would be nice. However , you cannot have everything so you must bid a Meckwell game with those hands. You bravely bid a minor at the 3 level & plow the hand to 3NT when partner makes a noise. Partner must be careful not to raise your minor past 3NT though ,  so western Q bids to show minor support would be nice. This sequence is the only fly in the ointment as I see it anyway.

      For completeness , we could go "whole hog" with this concept. If they Michaels over our major , 1♠-2♠-2NT is limit raise or better with 4 card spade support. A double of 2♠ would normally mean "let me at their suit" but if we now support partner or Q bid , we show 3 card support. Tom & I go a further step . We play 2NT to a major opener as a passed hand as Drury with 4 trump. Now in our entire bidding stucture , 2NT to partners major shows 4 trump. Even we "old guys " can remember that !!