Your right-hand opponent (RHO) has just opened the bidding
with one of a suit. Let’s say she bid 1 heart. You may have had an opening bid
in mind for yourself before she put in her oar, but now you need to re-evaluate
your options. The situation has changed considerably. Your left-hand opponent
knows that his partner has a better-than-average hand. That’s not good for you.
Also, given that one opponent has advertised a better-than-average hand, it
leaves less strength potential for your partner.
So, are you just going to throw in the towel, now? No, but
you have a different set of tools to work with. There are some hands that you
could have opened with, but you must pass with after the opponents open. There
are also some hands that you can make an overcall with that you couldn’t open.
Then, there are some special bids. Let’s get started.
After your RHO opens the bidding you have these choices:
Simple overcall
Jump overcall
Double
No Trump overcall
Pass
Simple Overcall
Bidding your best suit at the minimum level is the most
common defensive bid. An overcall requires a good 5-card suit whether it is a
minor or a major suit. You want your partner to have a good reason to take you
out of this suit. You can make an
overcall at the one level with less than an opening hand if your suit is good
enough. You should probably have 10 points, but you might shade it a bit weaker
if your partner has already passed. You aren’t likely to get into too much
trouble at the one level, and opposite a passed hand, your side is almost certain
to stop bidding soon.
An overcall at the two level should probably have opening
strength.
Here are some examples:
This hand is strong enough to open the bidding. The diamond
suit isn’t terribly strong, but this hand can make a 1 diamond overcall over a
1 club opener, or a 2 diamond overcall over a major suit opener.
This hand is not strong enough to open the bidding. It has
only 11 points with distribution, but the good spade suit makes it a good hand
for a 1 spade overcall over any one-level opening bid in a suit unless that
suit other than spades.
Here, we have a hand that is strong enough to open the
bidding, but does not have a 5-card suit. It is disappointing, but you need to
pass this hand if the opponents open the bidding.
Jump overcall
A second option is the jump overcall. A jump overcall is a
bid in a new suit at one level higher than is necessary. The bid shows a good
6-card suit and definitely less than opening strength. It is similar to a weak
two opening bid.
This hand would open with a weak 2 diamonds if first to bid.
However, if your RHO opens 1 club, you can make a jump overcall to 2 diamonds.
If your RHO opens with one in a major, bid 3 diamonds.
There are hands that warrant double jumps or even triple
jumps. Those hands tend to be weaker in high cards and longer in suit length. Save
those ideas for a future post.
Double
If your RHO opens with a suit bid and you double, this is a “takeout
double.” I’ll elaborate on takeout doubles in a future post. Ideally, your
takeout double shows opening strength and 4-card support for all unbid suits.
That would usually mean 4-4-4-1 distribution or 5-4-4-0. Those ideal hands don’t
come up too often. You can stretch the distribution requirements and make a
takeout double with just 3 cards in one unbid minor, but be sure to have 4 cards
in any unbid major. You don’t intend to play the doubled contract. Your partner
is forced to bid. Here are some good takeout double hands:
If your RHO opens 1 spade, you can make a takeout double
with this hand. You have 4-card support for the unbid major, and are 4-3 in the
unbid minors. You’ve got 16 high-card points. If your RHO opens with one of the
other suits, you can overcall with 1 no trump. We’ll cover that in the next
section.
With this hand, you can make a takeout double over a 1 club
opener, but over any other opening bid, you must pass. You could have opened
the bidding with 1 diamond if everyone passed to you, but after an opening bid
of anything except 1 club, you have no good bid. You don’t have a 5-card suit
for an overcall, and you aren’t strong enough to bid 1 no trump. You have to
pass. It sucks, doesn’t it?
There is a situation when a “fake” takeout double is
appropriate. Remember that a simple overcall can sometimes be made with less
than an opening hand. If you have a strong hand, you want to let your partner
know. There is a bid for that. With a 16+ point hand that would be appropriate
for a simple overcall, you should double first. Your partner will think that
you are making a takeout double and bid his best suit. At your next turn, you
correct to your suit. If your partner is paying attention he will recognize
that there must be a reason that you aren’t staying in his suit. After all,
your takeout double implied that you could support all the unbid suits. Your double
followed by a suit change shows your 16+ point overcall. Here is an example:
You hold this hand. Your RHO opens 1 club. You could make a
simple overcall of 1 heart, but you would like to show your strength. Double
instead. Let’s say your LHO passes, and your partner shows his best suit by
bidding 1 spade. The opener passes. Now, you correct to 2 hearts. Partner recognizes
a few suspicious things about your bidding. His thinking might go like this:
“Weren’t you supposed to have spade support
with your takeout double?”
“Didn’t I deny hearts with my spade bid?”
“Aha! That wasn’t a real takeout double. My
partner has a strong hand with 5 hearts.”
Important side note
A double of a 1 no trump opening bid is NOT a takeout
double. It is meant to defend 1 no trump for penalties. It shows the same sort
of hand that would open 1 no trump. Your partner might still take out your
double if he doesn’t want to defend against 1 no trump, doubled. He would do
that with a weak hand and a long suit.
No Trump overcall
If you have a hand that would have opened 1 no trump, but
your RHO opens with 1 of a suit, you can usually make a 1 no trump overcall.
The point requirements are stretched to 15-18 and you should have a stopper in
the opener’s suit. This hand from above is a good example:
You wouldn’t want to bid 1 no trump over a spade opener
because of the spade weakness, but versus any other opening bid 1 no trump is a
good choice.
You can also overcall 2 no trump over a weak two opening
bid, but you should have two stoppers in the opener’s suit.
Should you have a hand that you would have opened 2 no trump (20-21 HCP), double and jump in NT at your next turn. The immediate jump
to 2NT over a one bid has a special meaning. Don't expect this situation to come up very often.
Some Special Bids
There are a couple of bids that have special meaning when
the opponents open the bidding. One of them is called “unusual no trump.” That
is a jump to 2NT over an opening 1 bid. Notice the difference from a 2NT
overcall after an opening weak 2 bid. The unusual no trump bid requires a jump
in no trump.
The other is called “Michael’s cue bid” where you bid 2 of the suit
that the opener just bid.
Let’s just leave these alone for now. Just remember not to
make these bids.
What if the opening bid is 1 no trump?
If your RHO opens 1NT, you are really sticking your neck out
if you make an overcall. She is promising a strong hand and you could get into
big trouble. You can still make an overcall, but both your hand and your suit
should be stronger than the minimum requirements for a normal overcall.
You can still make a jump overcall, but it might be better
to try to defend against no trump with your long, strong suit. If you are very
weak, but have an extra long suit (7+ cards), you can try a jump overcall, but
remember that this takes you to the 3 level, and you might get doubled for
penalties.
What if the opening bid is a preempt?
If the opening bid is a weak two, or a preempt at the 3 level,
you can still make an overcall, and a double is still for takeout. You just
need to be stronger than usual because of the bidding level.
Forget about jump overcalls. You opponent has just advertised
a weak hand and tried to obstruct the bidding. You don’t need to give her any
help with obstructing the bidding, and if you are also weak, leave the bidding
up to the partners. They are marked with some strength.
What if the opener just bid my suit?
Short answer: Pass.
If the opening bid was a major, the opener has 5 cards in
that suit. If you have 5 cards in that suit, would you rather defend or be
declarer against a 5-0 trump break? I thought so.
If the opening bid was a minor, it might have been from a
3-card suit, but maybe not. You might be able to back into your suit later in
the bidding, but you don’t want to get involved now.
There is one other issue. What would you bid, anyway? You
can’t bid 2 of that suit, because that is the Michael’s cue bid. It shows something
completely different from what you have. You can’t double, because that is for
takeout. Again, it shows something completely different from what you have.
Pass.
Reopening the bidding
There is one more situation worth mentioning. If you are in
the South seat and the auction goes like this:
West: 1 heart
North: pass
East: pass
South: ?
In this situation, your partner is marked with some strength.
Your RHO doesn’t even have 6 points to respond to the opener. You can lighten
your requirements for all of the above bids, except for 1 no trump.
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