Saturday, April 09, 2005
12:32 AM
Hand Evaluation -
Overcalls ( Jump Bids )
PITBULLS:
In the Goren days of Bridge , a jump bid was solely based on strength (
HCP’s ) . This way of bidding quite often pre-empted partner & used up valuable
bidding space , but Bridge bidding was not that
sophisticated in those days. In today’s game , there
are so many other ways to show
strength , that I think the jump bid in many cases should just show suits or playability rather than HCP
strength.
. In overcall situations , you
have so many other ways to describe a good hand . Q bidding or doubling
gets the job done nicely. In fact , I feel D.S.I.P. competitive
doubles in competition have made jumps to show HCP strength extinct. Doubles show “cards”
not jumps. Jumps after
overcalling originally should have a different meaning than HCP strength. When you
jump in your suit , the jump shows a good long suit
but not the worlds fair in HCP’s. When you jump in another suit ,
you have a distributional 6-5 but not necessarily great HCP strength. Maurice
had a hand in the CNTC zone finals where the vulnerability dictated a jump to
describe his hand so made it easy for his partner to bid a non vul sacrifice. Maurice held ♠AKQ107
♥x ♦J ♣Q109xxx with the opponents opened 1♦ vul . Maurice overcalled 2♣ which was passed to
the opener who bid 2♥ . This is a time for a jump bid so partner can get
an idea of the playing strength of your hand. You bid 3♠ so when they get to 4♥ partner has an easy sacrifice to 4♠ which happens to make . Partner had ♠xxx
♥Ax ♦xxxxx ♣Jxx and with partner only
bidding 2♠ thought there might be enough defense over
there to have a chance at beating 4♥ . Partner could have
held a strong 5-4 in the blacks and 4♥ would have no chance
. Wrong !
double game swing for a loss of 17 IMPS !
There are many situations where you can jump because partner had a negative inference
on what you did not do. When you did not redouble or double
the opponents NT contract for penalty , a jump cannot be a strong hand . You hold ♠x ♥AJxxx ♦KQ10x ♣J10x , partner opens a
diamond & RHO doubles. You bid 1♥ , partner bids 2♦ who RHO doubles again. You have an easy
redouble which describes your strength. What if you now jumped to 4♦ instead
? This has to be weak & pre-emptive as you did not
redouble. You are taking advantage of the situation.
Two very common situations with jump bidding take place around the takeout double. The auction goes 1 of a suit , partner doubles & they bid 1NT. A jump bid is now
pre-emptive as you would have doubled 1NT with your good hand. 1♠-x-1NT-3♦ is weak and distributional. Another common
occurrence around takeout doubles is when the opponents redouble your partners
takeout double. There are not enough HCP’s around for your jump to mean
strength. When you have the distribution , you can
make a nuisance of yourself by taking bidding space away from them.
Rump raises to 4 of a minor is never done on strength as you have passed 3NT and you have much better bids to describe HCP
strength. Even the old standby’s of opening a major and then jumping in a major , I am playing suit orientated rather than strength
orientated. 1♠-P-1NT-P 3♠ . I could
hold ♠AKQ109x ♥Axx ♦xx ♦xx
for that bid. If I were stronger , I would bid 3♣
and partner must relay to 3♦ and the 3♠ bid now shows a
stronger hand in HCP’s.
In a 2/1 or 4th suit forcing auctions ,
a jump is redundant as we are forced to game anyway. A jump in
these situations means I have a semi-solid or solid suit not necessarily
a huge hand. We just feel that the concept of jumping to show strength is
wrong. Jumps showing good suits or distribution is far
more useful in modern bidding.
Overcalls & competitive situations along with D.S.I.P. doubles
, should spell the end of the notion that jumps show HCP strength. You have other bids to show strength so define jump bids for something more
useful than totaling HCP’s. Tom Gandolfo uses jumps in competition to
show two suiters & distribution rather
than HCP”s. Maurice uses jumps after an overcall to show good long suits
rather than HCP’s. Adjust your thinking away from the standard Goren
notion that jumps show HCP’s. It is a waste of a good bid which can be
put to good use elsewhere in your bidding system..
Anyway , the moral of the
story is jumps for suits and distribution when there
are other means available to show strength.