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Competitive Bidding-the Overcall of their suit-bid
P1.1 An overcall is defined as any bid by your side after the opposition have already entered the auction.
ie if North is the dealer in:-
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then the bid of 1S by East is an overcall. |
whereas in :-
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the bid of 1S by East is a normal opening bid. |
Even with both opponents bidding, it is still an overcall ie in:-
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West's 2C is still an overcall. |
A special case, but still an overcall would be east's 1NT bid in the sequence below:-
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East's 1NT is an overcall, and carries the higher point count of 15-17(see below P1.5) |
P1.2 A suit overcall can be very disruptive to the opponents bidding eg As North you hold:-
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South opens 1C and west overcalls 1S. What can you say ? There is no bid that fits your hand. |
Or, as North, you hold:-
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South opens 1S and West overcalls 2H. What bid gets anywhere near to expressing your hand? 2S is probably a poor best. |
P1.3 As overcalls can be so disruptive, the system tries to give us the freedom to make them without all the constraints of an opening bid. We thus lower the point-count requirement of a suit overcall, but we do seek a respectable suit.
P1.4 Specifications of an overcall in a suit
- Weak hand, say, 8-12 points.
- A respectable five-card suit ie containing two honours; a suit you would be happy for your partner to lead in defence.
Note that the vulnerability, and the need to overcall at the one or the two level will influence the bid. Note also that an overcall promises no rebid.
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A perfect hand for overcalling one heart after an opening bid of one club or one diamond. |
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Your extra strength entitles you to overcall two clubs even if you are vulnerable. |
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Not a hand to overcall one spade. Do you really want this suit led ? Pass ! |
P1.5 Specifications of an overcall in no-trumps
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An overcall in no-trumps requires a strong hand, normally 15-17 with two covers in the bid suit. Here we can overcall 1S with 1NT. |
P1.6 Specifications of a jump overcall in a suit
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The requirements in P1.4 above are increased. The point count would be 14-16 and the suit with two honours could have six cards in it. Here we would overcall one of anything with 2S. |
P1.7 Action by partner of the overcaller
Responding to an overcall of 1NT is pretty straightforward (see this page).
A jump overcall is not forcing and you would be looking for at least two cards in partner's suit, and 10+ points to be thinking of game. You might compete with less as a sacrifice.
If partner makes a suit overcall, then, unlike uncompetitive auctions, there is no obligation on partner of the overcaller to keep the auction open with 6+ points. Mostly, your decision to bid or not will be based on the number of cards in partner's suit, rather than your point count. With only two cards, you will most likely pass. With three or more cards, you will be happy to compete if you need to, bearing in mind that you are embarking on a sacrifice, rather than a contract you expect to make. Remember that partner has only 8-12 points. The side with the spade suit has a decided advantage here.
Deciding how far to go in a competitive auction is one of the most difficult decisions in the game. Experienced players tend to develop their own style. For further study on this difficult area, I would recommend Paul Mendleson's 'The Bidding Battle' or you can try here.
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If partner overcalls opponents 1H with 1S, be reluctant to compete. This could be a good hand to defend. |
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One more spade than the hand above, and you can happily compete with 2S if, say, the auction goes 1H-1S(pard)-2H-you. If 1S is passed to you, let it go and be prepared to come in later. |
P1.8 Sacrificing
Really competitive auctions often result in players bidding too high and going off. This may turn out to be a good sacrifice eg if the opponents have nine tricks in hearts, going one or two off in three spades could give a good result, depending on vulnerability and whether or not they double you. It's an exciting game !
See how well you've understood this topic by trying this quiz.
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