mike777 Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 1d=p=1h=? vul vs nv how weak should 1s be here? at other vuls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Posted May 18, 2012 Report Share Posted May 18, 2012 A long time ago this showed some 'stuff'. Now I will do it on most hands that I would overcall 1♠ in the direct chair. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMoe Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 If they buy it in NT or ♦s you want ♠ partner can lead to. If you are on lead, then you want a hand with a good lead against ♥s. In the HCP race they already have 18 so this bid is not without risk. However most play support doubles so likelihood of a penalty at the 1 level is vanishingly small. A good 8 (HCP primarily in ♠s) is OK. they are a their respective minimums, then partner had an opening hand with wrong shape to bid/double. Likely means s/he holds ♦s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quantumcat Posted May 22, 2012 Report Share Posted May 22, 2012 Overcalls have a few purposes - making it harder for the opponents to share information, to help partner find a good lead, to compete for a partscore, to find a game. Since the opponents have already made an opening and a response, they have a very good idea about their shared assets. You won't be making it any harder for them to find the right contract - they have a good idea whether they should double you (if partner raises) or bid on. So don't overcall "just because you can". This is only useful if you can take up space and they haven't shared much information (e.g. a 1-minor opening, but not a 1NT opening). If you have a great suit with nothing much outside, you might help partner find the winning lead. Careful though, if you have say a king or a queen in another suit and a not-perfect suit of your own, and partner was about to lead from KJxx or QJxx, you might actually be preventing him from finding the right lead. If you have a great hand, you could be helping your partnership compete to a partscore or game. If you don't have a good suit OR a good hand - you could distract partner from the right lead, or land in a stupid contract that gets doubled (the opponents already have a good idea what their combined assets are, so they will know when it is right). If you land in a high contract when you have a good suit but not a good hand, it is hard for the opponents to double (nobody has trump tricks) and even if they do, more often than not the penalty isn't worth their while. If partner leads your suit when you have a bad suit and a good hand, you should have plenty of defence to make up for the trick that's been given up. So really nothing can go wrong if you have either a very good suit, or a decent hand. If you think about what you are trying to achive with your bids, then you will know when a hand is right to overcall and when it isn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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