Again, if they open we try to ignore their bidding as much as possible. In particular, our overcalls of their one of a suit have the same meaning as our opening bids. After we have made such an 'opening-style' overcall, we proceed as if we had opened.
| West | North | East | South | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 2 | |||
| dbl |
shows at least four spades and opening values, and the double is a replacement for the buried 2
, all as it would have been had North not opened the bidding.This style means that we frequently overcall with a four-card major, and when we do, we might hold a longer suit. Does this alarm you?
It shouldn't. In practice, it is not as dangerous as many writers maintain – the odds on who has the points have not changed that much after leftie has opened, for instance, and it is remarkably difficult for them to penalise us effectively at the one-level. The competitive loss of not knowing partner has five cards is at least cancelled out by the gain we make when we have a four-four fit.
This style often brings practical benefits: we sometimes steal their bid and distort the rest of their auction; and consider this type of hand:
| West | North | East | South | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K9875 | 1 | 1 | pass | Q6 | |
| AJ65 | 3 | pass | 3 | pass | KQ73 |
| J763 | 4 | pass | pass | pass | 8 |
| - | A109863 |
2 pass. Most of the panel wavered between pass and 2, neither of which is going to bring home the bacon.