Overcalls

Overcalls require a five-card or longer suit.  We sometimes do overcall at the one-level with a four-card suit and 14 or more high-card points.  Without a five-card suit and less than 14, we either pass, or, with an opening bid and the right distribution, we double.

John and I list the overcall range as 6 to 21.  When I play with a new partner, I ask for a minimum high-card count for an overcall.  If the hand satisfies my Chapter 23 rules and this number, I overcall.  Once I become a passed hand, I use the Chapter 23 rules.

I do not make weak jump overcalls, because I have always gotten poor results with them.  Long ago, ethics were poor, and weak jump overcalls were handled that way.  If you and I play, you can check it.  If your charm overcomes my rotten luck, you can make one.

Let us say you try light overcalls.  Keep a record of your matchpoint scores.  If, after you go through the learning curve, your scores are poorer than your average matchpoint score, you should give them up.  No one, and that includes me, does this careful tracking.

Dick Walsh, who got 2/1 going on the West Coast, required 12 HCP for a non-jump overcall.  If the opponents had no momentum, he would balance.

Robinson's rule is eight points and a five-card suit for a one-level overcall.  His example:

K x

x x x x x

Q J x x

K x

The play deals:  Practice continuations after an overcall or no overcall.  If you overcall light, you have to be more careful in the continuations.  I have looked at an earlier sample of second-seat hands, and they are not all automatic overcalls.

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