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Overcall or Double?
In the following hands we show examples where the opponents open the bidding and where our choice is whether to overcall with a suit or make a Takeout Double. One of the central issues in this decision is the HCP range being used for a suit overcall. Some players always double with more than 16 HCP's, our own preference is to be prepared to overcall with somewhat stronger hands.
2nd December, 2009 N-S Vul
What is your HCP range for an overcall? A common choice is something like 8-16, but we think that’s a bit on the low side, we suggest a range such as 8-18 for overcalls. Does this mean that South should overcall with this 16-count? We don’t think so! There’s more to bidding than just HCP and this is a quite stupendous 16, wouldn’t you agree? A void in the enemy suit, a 6-card suit of our own, great intermediates in our long suit, and superb controls. To appreciate how good is this hand, picture North with an anemic hand like: ♠ 843, ♥ K842, ♦ 732, ♣ 652. Yes, opposite this miserable collection, 4♥ is ice-cold! So, Double it is!
4th March, 2009 None Vul
South has 13 HCP and support for the unbid suits, so this looks like a Takeout Double, eh? No doubt that will be the choice of many but is it really the right bid? As a general rule, when both majors are unbid, it is not a good idea to make a Takeout Double with 5 cards in one major and only 3 in the other (unless the hand is really strong). With such a disparity in the majors, it usually works better to bid the 5-bagger. If you are wondering about the relevance of this statement, then consider the difference between ♠AKQ3 and ♥743! That looks like a two-card disparity to us! And, anyway, surely South would like to tip off Partner to a Spade lead. Our suggestion therefore is to overcall the hand 1♠ and not to make a Takeout Double.
Overcalling 1♠ also has preemptive value, as evidenced by the actual hand. West must now bid 2♥ to show his suit, the E-W auction becomes crowded, and they will end up getting too high.
4th June, 2008 Board 11 None Vul
As a general rule, when
we hold a 5-card Spade suit we refrain from making a Takeout Double
unless we have substantial extra values (doubling and introducing a new
suit shows a very good hand, let’s say 18+ HCP’s). But Partner is odds
on to have a Heart stack, considering our void, and the absence of a
Heart raise from North. So, East should double, catering for the
possibility of a penalty pass from West. 17th May, 2006 Board 1 None Vul
Let’s start by eliminating 2♣ as a possibility, there’s no reason to introduce such a moderate suit into the auction when we have two more descriptive possibilities, namely 1NT and Double. Not that those two bids are perfect, either. In the case of 1NT, the major flaw is the doubleton Diamond … and for the Double we’d prefer more in the majors.
Our own preference is for Double, but 1NT is not that far behind. Of course, if you do double, Partner may well end up playing in a 4-3 major fit, but there’s nothing so terrible about that.
28th June, 2006 Board 9 E-W Vul
After South’s opening 1♣, West is stuck for a bid: Dbl: Not a good idea with only 2 cards in an unbid major. Pass: Better than doubling, but with 17 HCP’s it would be nice to bid something. 1NT: Right on values, but no Club stop. 1♥: Yes, that would be our choice, a nice chunky 4-card overcall.
We don’t suppose that everyone will agree with a 1♥ bid here, but to us it seems like the best choice in an awkward situation.
23rd August, 2006 Board 13 Both Vul
An awkward hand for West … 15 HCPs but no convenient way into the auction. If you don’t care for Pass (neither do we!) it comes down to a choice between Double and 2♣. We don’t like 2♣ because the suit is not very good and because it runs the very real risk of losing our Heart fit.
How about Double? That certainly keeps Hearts in the picture but runs the risk that Partner’s shape is something like 3-3-4-3, in which case we’ll be in a 4-2 Diamond fit. Nonetheless, we would make a takeout Double anyway, primarily to keep Hearts in the picture. Having said that, 2♣ would hardly be wrong, and will no doubt work out better on some hands.
It’s a no-no to make a take-out Double with only 2 cards in an unbid major (unless the hand is really strong, say 18+), but it’s merely undesirable (but sometimes we do it anyway) with only 2 cards in an unbid minor.
30th August, 2006 Board 21 N-S Vul
There have been a few hands in this set where we would be “bidding for the lead”. Is this another one, a hand where we should overcall our strong 4-card Spade suit? Perhaps not! If we end up defending, it’s most likely to be a Heart contract, and, of course, we shall be on lead for that. No, lead direction is not required here, better to double and give our side the best chance of competing effectively.
On the actual deal, the opponents will indeed be playing in Hearts, unless we Double, allowing Partner to compete effectively in Clubs.
18th October, 2006 Board 20 Both Vul
South has a pretty good hand here, and there are three plans which might come to mind: - Double and later introduce Diamonds … this sequence shows a really good hand, we’d say this hand does not qualify, just not enough HCP’s and altogether too many losers. - Double, and then when it gets back to us (assuming Partner inactivity), double again … this is about right on values, we have a take-out shape (well, sort of!), and we have sufficient extras to take another call. But it hardly does justice to our Diamond suit, does it? - Overcall 1♦ and then double next time around … yes, that’s the ticket, get our lovely suit into the auction and then show some extra values and tolerance for the unbid suits later
14th February, 2007 Board 22 E-W Vul
After 1♥, North has three or four ways to get her two-suiter into the auction, what would be your choice? - 1NT? For most players, this would not be an option, 1NT generally shows 15-18 and a balanced hand. But some partnerships play that 1NT in this situation shows the unbid suits, the so-called Sandwich No Trump. It’s not our favorite convention, but even if you play that, this is not the right hand for it, way too strong. - Dbl? Yes, we do have the unbid suits, but doubling with 5 Spades is generally a bad idea, unless we happen to have a very strong hand and a Spade one-suiter. We certainly have a strong hand, but it’s not one-suited. - 2NT? This is the so-called Unusual No Trump, showing the two lower unbid suits, and, in this case, the only two unbid suits. This bid is usually a preemptive maneuver, but, just as Michaels can be made with a weak or strong hand (but not an in-between hand), so can the Unusual No Trump. If that is your style, then we would say that this hand is really close to 2NT, followed by another call later in the auction (this call may well be a Double of their contract, not for penalties but to announce that we have a really good hand). - 1♠? Yes, a simple overcall is also an option!
Our own choice would be to overcall 1♠, but we would say that bidding 2NT (and planning to take another call) could also work out well … however, for that sequence we would prefer to be even stronger than the actual hand. But a Takeout Double would be plain bad in our view.
20th December, 2006 Board 11 None Vul
Here we look at the hands side-by-side, and step through the auction bid by bid.
West East ♠ AKQ973 ♠ T542 ♥ AJ6 ♥ T87 ♦ A ♦ 97 ♣ 942 ♣ KJT3
South West North East 1♦ Dbl 3♦ Pass Pass 3♠ Pass 4♠ Pass Pass Pass
West’s Dbl: What is your range for a simple overcall? We often see cards marked 9-16 HCP’s, but we’d suggest that an upper range of 16 is a bit on the low side, we prefer 18 or thereabouts. Having said that, we think that West’s 18-count is too strong for a mere overcall, look at that lovely 6-card suit and all those controls. So, West doubles.
East’s Pass: Clearly nothing to say at this point in the proceedings.
West’s 3♠: As already discussed, this shows a hand too good to make an immediate overcall, and, of course, just how good it has to be depends on the partnership’s overcall range.
East’s 4♠: If Partner is prone to making heavy overcalls (as we recommend above), then East has an easy 4♠ bid here. If Partner might have a somewhat weaker hand for his sequence of Double followed by a new suit, then 4♠ is not so clear (but we’d no doubt bid it anyway!).
11th September, 2007 Board 12 N-S Vul
What is your plan? - A craven Pass? Not our favorite, surely we can do better than that! - Bid 2♣ and later double if they agree Diamonds? We don’t think that our hand is nearly strong enough for that, this is not a viable plan. Well it might be if 2♦ came back to us, but our opponents are not usually that obliging, it’s more likely that they will get to the 3-level in a hurry. - Bid 2♣ and then remain silent? This could work. But we wish that our Clubs were stronger, and we cannot help but wonder if we have a major suit fit on this hand. - Double immediately? This would be our choice. Not ideal with only 3 cards in both majors, but at least we give Partner more options with this bid, and if she has a 5-card major we’ll have done well indeed. Also, a 4-3 major fit is likely to play well, the Diamond ruffs are coming in the short hand.
7th May, 2008 Board 7 Both Vul
East has a good hand and exemplary support for all the unbid suits, but nonetheless he should overcall 1♠ rather than make a take-out double. The basic rule is not to make a take-out double at the one-level when holding a 5-card Spade suit unless the hand is very strong. East’s hand is certainly strong, but is still an Ace or King short of being too strong to overcall. Of course, if the shape were 4=4=5=0 instead of 5=4=4=0 then we would double in a flash.
Anyway, having overcalled, East can always come back in later with a takeout double, as in this auction: East South West North Pass Pass 1♣ 1♠ 2♣ Pass Pass ?? Now a Double completes the description of the East hand: 5 Spades, good hand, support for the unbid suits.
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