Module: Overcalls

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Overcalls

Single-suited Overcalls

When one of your opponents opens the bidding, and you decide that you also want to bid, you are doing what we call ‘overcalling’. When you move on to advanced bidding, we will introduce you to ways of overcalling hands with two long suits but for now, just overcall your longer suit, or if you have two equal-length suits of 5+ cards, start with an overcall of the higher ranking suit.

Try some hands

Hand 1

Your right hand opponent is the dealer, and they open the bidding. You choose your overcall, and your partner will raise your suit by one level, showing a fit, but a weak hand. You can see that you don’t have enough points for game, so you should pass on your next bid.

 Hand 2

Your right hand opponent is the dealer, and they open the bidding. You choose your overcall, and your partner will raise your suit by one level, showing a fit. Just like with pre-emptive openings, you should not bid again after a pre-emptive overcall. See if you can ruff away a heart loser quickly, even when the suit is blocked.

 Hand 3

As with the first two hands, you choose your overcall after East’s opening bid. This time, your partner is very enthusiastic about your choice of suit and they put you in game, despite not having very many high card points. See if you can figure out how to make twelve tricks!

 Hand 4

You just need to make your overcall at the right level, and you will silence your opponents, depriving them of a nice game contract. Think carefully before you play to the third trick!
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Single-suited Overcalls

Discover how bidding your suit at different levels describes both the length of your suit and strength of your hand – just like with opening bids.

Question 1/7

Penelope has opened 1♣ and Boris has a nice 14 point hand. What should he bid?

Even though he has more than enough points to have opened the bidding, Boris is in a tricky position here. He needs a five card suit to overcall and his longest suit is four cards. He has to pass and see what happens. Maybe he will get a chance to bid later in the auction.

Same start to the auction, but this time Boris only has 11 points. What should he bid?

The important difference here is that Boris has a five card suit. Because there is room to bid hearts at the one level, Boris can do that with as few as 9 points. So here, he can go ahead and bid 1♥, showing 5+ hearts and 9+ points.

This time, Penelope's opening bid is 1♠. What should Boris bid now?

Boris does have a nice five card heart suit, and if he had room to bid at the one level he would certainly show it. However, Penelope's 1♠ opening means that if he wanted to bid hearts Boris would have to go to the 2 level. This would show at least 12 points, so he is not strong enough. He must pass for now to avoid misleading his partner.

Penelope has gone back to her old ways and opened 1♣ . What should Boris bid?

Boris does not have many points, but he has a nice, shapely hand, with a six card heart suit and a singleton. By jumping to the two level when he had a 1♥ bid available, Boris shows a weak hand with a six card suit. Perfect! This is called a weak jump overcall.

Boris has picked up a magnificent 20 points! Penelope was the dealer though, and she has got in first with her 1♣ bid. What should Boris bid here?

Remember that important thing from the video? Hands in an overcall position with 18 or more points start with double. If Walter, as the next player to bid, passes, Ophelia will be forced to bid (we will learn more about this in the module on takeout doubles) and then Boris will show his very strong hand with his next bid.

Another really interesting hand for Boris, but in a different way. What should he do this time?

This is another case of the weak jump overcall. Like pre-emptive openings, these bids are great for making things difficult for your opponents. Because he has a seven card suit this time, Boris can jump to the three level. Now his partner will know he has a weak hand, because he jumped to a higher level than necessary to bid his suit, and she will know that he has a seven card suit because he went to 3♠, rather than 2♠.

Another 1♣ opening, another decision for Boris, who has quite a whacky hand this time. How many diamonds should he bid?

Boris has an eight card suit! You don't see many of those. Because his hand is weak, he should make a jump overcall to give his partner the true picture, and because he has eight of them, he should jump to the four level.

The links below will take you to BridgeTraining.com, where you can practice choosing overcalls before playing the hands. As always, we will give you some notes on each hand to help you get to the best contract. If you don’t manage to make the right number of tricks first time, you can have as many goes as you like.

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Overcalls

Overcalling the Opponents’ 1NT Opening

When your opponents open 1NT, you are forced to go to the two level in any suit that you would like to bid. So for diamonds, hearts and spades, overcalling in your suit is just like it is after a suit opening. The 2♣ bid, however, has a special meaning. Watch the video to find out more, then have a go at the quiz.

Try some hands

Hand 1

Do you think your hand is worth a bid after the opponents open 1NT? In the play, see if you can limit yourself to one diamond loser.

 Hand 2

How can you best show your hand over 1NT? In the play, see if you can limit your heart losers, but be careful of entries!

 Hand 3

After your partner bids Landy, you need to find the bid which best describes your hand.

 Hand 4

You definitely need to show your club suit, but how? More importantly, can you see a way to get an entry to all of dummy’s lovely diamonds?
Back

Overcalling the Opponents’ NT Opening

Some familiar stuff here from overcalling suit openings but we also introduce you to a really useful new piece of system.

Question 1/8

Penelope has opened 1NT. What should Boris bid with this hand?

Boris has 13 points and a nice, five card spade suit. He can make a natural overcall of 2♠ (the lowest level at which a spade bid is available) in just the same way as he would overcall 1♠ over a one level suit opening.

Same start to the auction, but this time Boris has a rather more shapely hand. What should he bid?

Boris has both major suits, so when his opponent opens 1NT he can show the two suits in one bid: The artificial bid of 2♣ (Landy) shows both majors, at least 5-4. Here Boris is even better placed because he is 5-5 in the majors.

Boris has a nice 14 points and was planning to open the bidding if Penelope passed. However, she has opened 1NT. What should he bid now?

Despite the fact that Boris has a nice hand, he has no valid bid to make here. Double would show a balanced 16+, 2♣ would show both majors, at least 5-4, and bidding any suit of his own would show five cards.

Another 14 point hand for Boris to bid after Penelope’s 1NT opening. What is his best choice this time?

This time Boris has both a hand that would be strong enough to open the bidding and a nice six card suit. Unfortunately, his suit is clubs, so he can't bid it at the 2 level because 2♣ would be Landy, showing both majors. Rather than pass though, he can bid 3♣ naturally because he has a good suit and well-positioned honour cards in spades. Note that while other three-level bids are weak, 3♣ is 12+ points because we still need a way to show good hands with clubs.

Looking at things from the other side of the table now, what should Ophelia do here?

Ophelia doesn't have a great hand but she is forced to bid when Boris shows both majors and Walter passes, otherwise Boris will be playing in 2♣, doubled, which would not be good. She must show her longer major if she has one, and here she has three spades and only two hearts, so she can bid 2♠, making a choice at the lowest level.

Just like in the previous question, Boris is showing a hand that is at least 5-4 in the majors. How should Ophelia respond with the hand she has here?

Again, Ophelia has longer spades, so she should definitely bid that suit. 2♠ would promise no points at all - just longer spades, and 3♠ would be invitational, asking Boris to bid game if he were not minimum for his bid. But with four good spades as well as three nice cards in partner's other suit and an opening hand herself, she should bid game.

Same set-up as before. What should Ophelia bid this time?

When Boris has shown at least 5-4 in the majors with his 2♣ bid, Ophelia is being asked to show her longer major if she has one. Strength doesn't come into it. So even though her spades are very good and her hearts weak, she has the same number of cards in each, so she must bid 2♦. This is important because when her partner is 5-4, they can now bid their five card suit and be guaranteed to play in the suit with the greater fit.

Back to Boris for the last question. Penelope has opened 1NT and he has a good hand, but no five card suit. What can he do here?

Despite having both majors, Boris should not bid 2♣ because he needs to be at least 5-4 for that. He has no suit that he can bid but he does have 16+ points, so he can just double to show his strong hand.

The links will take you to the Bridge Training website, where you can have a go at these overcalls. You will then be able to play the hands and see if you can make your contract. Have as many goes as you like if you don’t succeed the first time.

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Overcalls

Overcalling in NT

No trump overcalls are very similar to no trump openings, showing a balanced hand with 15 to 17 points, but there is one crucial difference. When your right hand opponent has opened with a suit bid, overcalling in NT also shows at least one stop in the suit they have bid. This applies even when they open 1♣ , which may not actually be showing clubs. Watch the video to see the types of hand that make this bid, then see if you can make the right overcalling choices in the quiz.

Try some hands

Hand 1

Partner will make a transfer to hearts and then show game forcing strength, so you must choose the best game contract. There’s a bit of work to do in order to make the contract, and partner’s long suit looks like a good source of potential tricks. Hint: when you know that you have to lose a trick in a suit to set it up, you normally want to lose that trick sooner rather than later to keep entries.

 Hand 2

This time, you are in the fourth seat in the auction (the protective, or pass-out, seat). Remember that you need fewer points for a 1NT overcall in this position. Again, you will need to lose a trick to establish your long suit, but think carefully about which opponent it’s better to lose to.

 Hand 3

Choose your overcall wisely. That’s all we’re saying on this one.

 Hand 4

In the bidding, remember that overcalling 2NT after a pre-emptive, two level opening is just the same as overcalling 1NT over a one level opening. The play on this hand is very challenging, so do have more than one go at it. Hint: Think about the heart suit, where you will need to deploy not just one, but two card play techniques to succeed.
Back

Overcalling in NT

A good option for when you have stronger hands without a five card suit to bid, and with good cards in the opponents’ suit.

Question 1/7

Penelope has opened 1♠. What should Boris bid with this hand?

Boris has the perfect 1NT overcall here. He has 17 points, no good suit of his own to bid, and two good stops in spades.

Same situation, different hand. What should Boris do here?

Boris does have a balanced hand and good cards in Penelope's suit, but he only has 14 points, so he's not strong enough to overcall 1NT. He has no five card suit so he can't bid a suit of his own. He just has to pass for now and hope that something good will happen.

Another 1♠ opening on his right, and another decision for Boris. What should he do this time?

Boris has enough points to overcall 1NT, and he has stops in Penelope's suit, but it's much better to show his own excellent five card major, hoping to find a fit with partner. It might sometimes be a good idea with a poor five card minor to overcall in NT if you have the strength and the stops but you should always show a 5 card major when you have one to overcall.

This time, Penelope has opened at the two level, showing about 6-10 points and 6 spades. What should Boris bid?

This is a tricky one, and you are not really wrong if you answered 2NT. His point count is right and he does have a spade stop. The problem here is that Penelope has a six card suit, so ideally, Boris should have slightly better stops in her suit. With only two cards, he is only going to be able to hold up the ace for one round, so if Penelope's partner has three spades he will still be able to lead one when he wins a trick and Boris will lose five spade tricks for sure. His spade stop will be gone after the second trick so if he can't take seven more tricks without losing the lead his contract will be beaten. His club suit is good, so it's better to show that.

Again, Penelope has opened 2♠, showing a weak hand with six spades. What should Boris bid?

This is a much better 2NT overcall. Boris has two sure-fire stops in spades and a nice 17 point hand, without a five card suit to bid. He can definitely show his strong, balanced hand by bidding 2NT here.

Penelope has opened 1♥, and both Boris and Walter have passed. What should Ophelia bid here?

Remember that in the 'pass out' seat, a 1NT overcall still shows a balanced hand with stops in the opponent's suit but you need less strength to make the bid here - 11 to 14 points is the range. Ophelia has nice spades, but only four of them, so she can't overcall that suit. Overcalling 1NT is the best description of her hand.

What should Ophelia bid here?

Ophelia does have a balanced hand, with a stop in opener’s suit and no clear suit of her own to bid. However, because a 1NT overcall in the pass out seat is weaker than in the direct seat (immediately after opener), showing only about 11 to 14 or 15 points, Ophelia would be misleading her partner if she were to overcall 1NT - her hand is too strong. She can start with double, and she may choose to bid NT after her partner’s next bid, depending on what that is.

The links will take you to the Bridge Training website, where you can bid and play the hands. You will need to have completed the module on responding to 1NT in order to interpret your partner’s responses in the bidding. Responses to 1NT overcalls work in just the same way as responses to 1NT opening bids.


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