Monday, October 31, 2005 11:00 PM

Hand Evaluation – Tactics ( Overcalls )

PITBULLS:

Overcalls have been around since the beginning of Bridge. When you overcall a suit at the two level or the one level the basic assumption is a single suited hand. The takeout double was invented to describe the 3 unbid suits or intermediate two suiters with defense. In competitive bidding , overcalling with two suits with a good defensive hand is not a good idea. This poor practice gives partner the wrong impression of your hand which is why bidding theorists invented toys to describe two suiters. These two suited bids ( toys ) are either weak or strong though so partner assumes the weaker of the two until she hears differently. When partner doubles or Q bids later in the auction the strong hand is shown. Doubles & defense are very compatible. Overcalls & offense are even more compatible.

Overcalling with a good defensive hand with two suits is a very bad practice. Since it is in competition , you can get jammed out of describing your 2^nd suit & your overall defensive strength. Knowing that your overcalls can be strong with more suits , makes responder stretch to keep the bidding open as she is afraid that game may be missed. Not a good idea to stretch in misfit auctions after an overcall. Poor Bridge players make ambiguous bids with respect to their HCP’s & distribution. One of the most misleading bids is to make a simple overcall when a T/O double would be a more appropriate bid. ♠K ♥AKQxx ♦Axxx ♣Axx they open 2♠ so do you overcall or make a T/O double ? A T/O double stands out for two reasons . You are too strong to overcall 3♥ , you have good support for the other suits. With this defense , if partner converts for penalties they will not be very happy. A double is far more flexible & an overcall actually misrepresents your hand.

By overcalling instead of making a T/O double with more than one suit, you can bury the other 4 card major or suit. This is obvious because partner needs values to respond to a 2 level overcall so might not be strong enough to bid their major. They open 1♥ so what is your decision with this hand ? ♠K1098 ♥x ♦AJ ♣AKJxxx overcall or T/O double ? OK , let’s use our hand evaluation skills. You have a lot of defense measured in quick tricks ♣AK ♠K & ♦A which points to a T/O double. You have two suits rather than a single suited hand. The 2^nd suit is the unbid major & you have a stiff in their suit. Again , hand evaluation leads to a T/O double. Your overall hand is good enough to pull partners 2♦ bid to 3♣ which gives her a picture of your hand. A T/O double is obviously the correct bid as you risk missing your major suit game when partner has as little as ♠QJxxxx.

Equal level conversion is not a hard concept to grasp. When you double with two suits or a non shape takeout double , partner bids the suit you do not have , you simply convert to the other suit at the same level. Equal level conversion is not too tough a concept so you must overcall with strong defensive hands with two suits or mild support for both unbid suits . You will never lose your 5 card major with a double as a double of one major shows the other major in 99.9% of doubles. Who cares if you have one more card in your major ? Overcalling vrs doubling reduces your sides options. Once you have bid , there is no turning back with your options have been reduced to zero. You no longer can describe your hand properly. Buying into equal level conversion means overcalls are more narrowly defined as one suited hands or weaker , offensive oriented hands

Bridge bidding is describing your entire hand not just part of your hand , which is one suit. 5 card majoritis is a disease that affects mainly matchpoint players. They are so worried about their silly 5-3 major fit , they forget that they not describing their whole hand ! ♠AK10xx ♥QJ ♦AKQ10 ♣xx & the opponents open a weak 2♥. Overcalling 2♠ is silly as it describes a single suited hand. You have a 19 HCP hand with two suits & defense measured in quick tricks. 2♠ could be passed with a variety of hands that 6♦ could make or 3NT or 2♥x going for a horrible set. ♠xx ♥Axxx ♦xxxxxx ♣x 6♦ makes with a heart lead & 2♠ would be passed out ! A 2♠ overcall describes your suit but does not describe your hand. A double is the most flexible bid in Bridge & prevents ridiculous overbids by responder to get to your game or slam after a mere 2♠ overcall. 2♠ is ambiguous as ♠AK10xxx ♥x ♦KJx ♣xxx would be a 2♠ overcall not a 19 HCP with two suits. How is partner supposed to field the difference ? Why introduce ambiguity just to inform partner that you have a 5 card major at the expense of all the other attributes of your hand , defense (quick tricks) , HCP’s & a 2^nd suit ? Partner is allowed to pass an overcall so why take that risk ? .

Your hand is ♠AKxxx ♥Axxx ♦Axx ♣x everybody vul with the auction going 1♣-P-2♥-? . Match point players bid 2♠ in a flash while IMP players double. Which bid describes your hand better ? Ambiguity is the killer in Bridge bidding . Since the 2♥ bid is weak , a bid in the sandwich position can be a “pre-balance”. You do not have an offensive single suited hand which bidding a suit describes. You do not pre-empt over a pre-empt so 3♠ would describe a strong distributional one suiter. You are allowed to bid 2♠ with ♠KQJ10xx ♥x ♦Kxx ♣Jxx or similar hands on this auction. With the original hand you have a stiff in the opponents suit , defense measured in quick tricks & support for the unbid suit diamonds . Partner with ♠xx ♥x ♦Kxxxxxx ♣xxx & many similar hands would pass 2♠ cold for +1370 in diamonds. The correct contract could be 3NT or doubling the opponents when they interfere. A double gets the auction off to the best start possible. Do not be paranoid about your 5th spade in IMPS. Describe your whole hand with a double not just part of it with a 2♠ overcall. After a 2♠ bid , partner passed with ♠Qxxxx ♥x ♦xxx ♣xxxx & +620 was missed. Partner had no chance after you do not double with 4 quick tricks , shortness in the opponents 1^st bid suit & tolerance for both unbid suits. A stiff in the opponent’s suit is gold & the double implies shortness in their suit with defense.