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 |
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 | 2NT | pass | 3 | pass | KQ73 |
| J763 | 4 | pass | pass | pass | 8 |
 - | A109863 |
was a splinter), but when the deal was posed as a problem in the February 2005 Bridge Magazine, West had a much tougher call, because the bidding had started (1) 2 (pass). Most of the panel wavered between pass and 2, neither of which is going to bring home the bacon.In a reversal of normal practice, we stick to our guns – more or less – with our 1NT overcall; we extend it slightly to show 12 to 15, but we bid it even when we have no stop in their suit, and like the opening, it denies any biddable major suit (although over 1 we might have a concealed heart suit). Again, if this seems dangerous, it doesn't seem to work out that way, and it has the huge advantage of getting into the auction early with hands that will otherwise only see the light of day when and if partner protects.
Double as our first bid over their one of a suit is used in two ways. Over one of a major, it is a disturbing takeout double – the details are here. Over one of a minor, we use the double as a substitute for a strong opening; the details are here.