“You should have told me they had opened the asylum while I was gone.”
That was the comment from an old partner who was playing his first session of bridge after a few decades away from the game. He hadn’t been a timid bidder back in his active years, but he was surprised and sometimes bewildered by how aggressive our opponents were in competitive auctions. He confessed that he was taken aback by a few of my bids, too.
This is a common reaction from players who are returning to bridge after a long layoff. Bidding theories, systems and styles are constantly evolving. Those who play fairly regularly adapt to these changes gradually, but if you’ve taken some time off, you may feel like you’ve come back to a different game.
Newer players have a similar experience when they move up from party bridge or novice games to more competitive fields. Dealing with unfamiliar conventions can be daunting at first, but at least they can be explained at the table. What’s more difficult is adjusting to modern bidding styles and "everybody-plays-it-this-way-now" methods that aren’t alertable.
Even simple overcalls have undergone changes. The old advice, now often ignored, was that you should have a good hand or a good suit or both. It may seem like bidding on air is the new standard, but the most successful players don’t do it without a good reason. Their strategy is not just to bid more often; it's to bid smarter.
One-level overcalls.
You’d like to have
constructive values and some high honors in your suit, but neither is a
dealbreaker. The common view now is that there are three justifications for an
overcall:
1) Your hand and suit are strong enough that you hope to buy the contract.
2) Your suit and the conditions suggest that you can safely interfere with
the opponents’ auction.
3) Your suit is strong enough that you want partner to lead it.
Two out of three is fine, but in some cases, just one will do.
Beginners need point-count rules, so they’re often taught that a one-level overcall shows 10+ points and a decent suit. After 1C on their right, they would pass with ♠AK1043 ♥64 ♦754 ♣843 . For more experienced players, a non-vulnerable 1S overcall is almost automatic (and not unreasonable even if vulnerable). You don’t expect to declare, but your bid uses up responder’s bidding space and helps partner if he's on opening lead.
Change the hand to ♠754 ♥64 ♦AK1043 ♣843 and many would overcall 1D. It’s not as effective as 1S in impeding the opponent's auction, but it might be the only way to get a diamond lead.
Two-level overcalls.
Compared to the average player, today’s experts tend to make more overcalls at the one-level, but fewer at the two-level. Even those who bid like madmen at the one-level play it safe and reserve the two-level for constructive overcalls. Over RHO’s 1S opener, they would pass with ♠J76 ♥AJ854 ♦Q5 ♣KQ3, even if not vulnerable. For a 2H overcall, they would want a 6-card suit or a very strong 5-carder and full opening-bid strength.
There are legions of players, though, who follow the “Woolworth 5&10” rule, which states that a two-level overcall can be made with just about any 5-card suit and 10+ points. They would bid 2H with this hand, hoping that partner has enough help to avoid a penalty, but won’t raise too high. I don’t know any bridge teachers who recommend this approach, but the practice persists.
There are, however, two situations where a 5&10 overcall may be justified. Not vulnerable, you can sometimes stretch when RHO opens a minor and you can make a two-level overcall in the other minor – [1D]-2C or [1C]-2D. This can be an effective wrench in their auction because they haven’t yet found a major-suit fit and negative doubles are harder to sort out at the two-level.
If RHO opens 1D, you may not be proud of a 2C overcall with ♠876 ♥54 ♦K62 ♣AQJ103, but it’s still a reasonable strategy. It takes away LHO’s one-level response and you want a club lead. That’s two out of three.
© 2022 Karen Walker