Wednesday, July 13, 2005 2:08 AM

Hand Evaluation -  NT Overcall ( DONT )
 
PITBULLS:
 
            DONT stands for “disturbing opponents NT” which usually means  you are disturbing the opponents 1NT opener. Established partnerships have their own toys of choice to do the job when they open 1NT directly. You can also disturb the opponents NT overcall !!  Quite often when partner opens , you have a hand that a penalty double is risky but you want to compete & get them out of their NT contract. In other words, you want to disturb things. Bidding 2♣ or 2♦ naturally does not disturb anybody. Bid 3♣ or 3♦ with those hands ! QJ10xxx of clubs or KJ109xx of diamonds are pre-emptive bids at the 3 level. Single suited minor hands are shown by jumps even when partner opened the suit. This leaves 2♣ & 2♦ open for another interpretation. DONT & showing the majors come to mind..
 
            Many experts play DONT as the tool of choice for this task.  The basics of DONT will vary depending on the suit partner opened . An alternative to the above treatment is a very simple structure advocated by Kiz Fung. She suggests just play a treatment after partner opens a minor  & they overcall 1NT . A simple raise of the minor shows the majors. This treatment works quite well also.as showing the majors obviously allows you to compete better & in some instances reach a game.  I feel you need something to disturb their 1NT overcalls though. I have amalgamated some DONT sequences with the Kiz Fung idea below :
 

 

After A One Notrump Overcall by Opponents

 

1§       1N       2§                   both majors

                        2¨                   diamonds and higher

                        2©                   natural

                        2ª                   natural

 

1©       1N       2§                   clubs and a second suit, not hearts

                        2¨                   diamonds and spades

                        2©                   heart raise

                        2ª                   natural

 

1ª       1N       2§                   clubs and a second suit, not spades

                        2¨                   diamonds and hearts

                        2©                   natural

                        2ª                   spade raise

 

1♦        1N      2♣                   clubs and higher , not diamonds

                       2♦                    both majors

                       2♥                    natural
                  2♠                    natural

 
                Double is penalty and jumps are pre-emptive. It’s best to keep 2♥/♠ as natural.