Friday, April-10-09 

Hand Evaluation – Overcalls ( Lead Directing )

PITBULLS:

      We have said in many articles that an opening bid should not be a competitive tool to disrupt the opponents or compete for partials better. An opening bid should serve some purpose & show a suit or quick tricks for defense. You do not open a flat 12 vul vrs not with 1 1/2 quick tricks to make the opponent's guess to eventually win or a partial or confuse them. The reason should be obvious as you make partner guess also & there goes the partnership aspect of Bridge. Partner does not trust your opening bids anymore & is constantly giving you leeway in case you do not have an opening bid. The dreaded semi-pysche with the sole purpose of making the "opponents guess" in a competitive situation if that materializes.

       What about overcalls ? Years ago before the Bergen/Cohen doctrine surfacing in the 1990's , an overcall was equated to a decent suit. If you had a decent suit , you could overcall with values well under an opening bid. If your suit was not too good even at the one level , you needed extra HCP's to justify your overcall. A weak hand with a weak suit was not an overcall with any vulnerability or any situation. The bid had no purpose .  Competing for partials was not even a consideration in IMPs ( matchpoints different story though ) .  A partial is equivalent to a grand slam in matchpoints.  The reason again was back to the adage that Bridge is a partnership game. Partner could trust your overcalls for leads rather than trying one of her suits. Lead direct doubles revolved around the suit discipline for overcalls. At the two level overcalling with bad suits is not done even with compensating HCP's. Partners expectation was that you have a decent suit when you overcall. Simple concept to live by. An overcall or an opening bid was not considered as primarily designed for competing for partials.

        Bergen/Cohen do not agree with the above as they feel competing for partials is the be all & end all of Bridge. Your overcall is redefined from showing a decent suit to just a competitive tool. They feel that ♠Kxxxx ♥Kx ♦Kxx ♣xxx is a vulnerable vrs not overcall. Their reasoning is to ignore the vulnerability & suit quality as competing for partials is of the utmost importance relative to discipline , lead direction & safety in the game of Bridge. If ♠AQJ10 is behind you , that is the cost for competing for partials. Nothing is more important than competing for partials , not leads , not sets & not constructive bidding. All these other Bridge elements must take a back seat to competing for a partial in their minds. They do not worry about sets & even brag that they go for -1100 once in a while like it is some badge of honour. All well & good ,  but what about poor partner. She does not trust your overcalls for leads so tries her own on a hit & miss basis. She may not trust your overcalls period !  Can I compete with my doubleton honour opposite partner's vul overcall ?. Of course not ,  as you may go for your life competing for a partial. Partners overcall does not promise a suit even vul against not. You introduce ambiguity & guessing to your overcalls. Does she have a suit this time ? Your guess . Leeway must be routinely given so possibly games & slams may be missed when partner does have the goods. The psychic lack of discipline backlash.

        What about overcalls in the sandwich position when both the opponents have bid ? No , lead directing overcalls do not apply there also as competing is paramount. ♠AJ9xx ♥Kx ♦J10xx ♣Qx is a hand where you cannot use your hand evaluation skills. 1♣-P-1♦-?    Partner is a passed hand & 3 of your HCP's are in their suit giving you an effective 8 HCP's. Balancing can come later if they find a fit. What if it is their hand for 3NT ? Should a spade lead be demanded by overcalling "for a lead" . If they bid ♥'s , partner can figure out a spade lead. If they rebid some number of NT , partner may be able to devine a spade lead. What if partner has ♦KQxx or ♥Q109xx why is it important to throw her off her natural lead when ♠KQ10x could be behind you ? You only have a 50 % change that you have an entry with your ♥K  even when your spades are established. Partner with a spade honour , may find a spade lead on her own. In order to compete  for partials vigoursly something has to give. However , I feel partnership discipline & leads are just too important to give up. Partner can place cards ( HCP's )  in NT contracts based on the fact that I did or did not overcall. If I did not overcall , I do not have a suit that can withstand the lead. Pretty simple stuff. In short , I do not agree with Bergen/Cohen. You do not have to compete their way in the game of Bridge.