The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-11-08
By WIN. Z. MCKINNEY
Secretary, American Bridge League
RRUEE

When an opponent opens the bid
ding and your hand does not con-
tain the strength required to make an
informatory double, but does contain
a biddable suit, the vulnerable con-
ditions regulate what your overcall
may mean.
To Overcall all opponents bid with
a suit bid when your side is vulner-
able, your hand should contain 2-2la
high card tricks. and, except when
you can make an overcall with a one
bid. the suit must contain five cards;
e. g. opponent bids one heart and
you overcall with two diamonds.
That shows at least two high card
tricks and five card diamond suit
However, if the opponents opened
with one heart and you could over
call with a one bid. which in this
case would be one spade. this could
be done with a fOur-card suit head
ed by at least A @. The side strength
then required would be one high card
trick, and to be safe, the hand should
also contain some scattered honor
cards.
1t is very dangerous to overcail
when vulnerable, as the next player
may double and you can easily go
down 1000 points or more. which is
more than you can normally expect
to win in a rubber
When your opponents are vuIner-
able, you are Immediately confronted
with the problem of trying either to
stop their game or to arrive at a
good sacrifice bid. Therefore you
can make suit overcall with any
biddable suit and from liz high
card tricks.
If neither side is vulnerable bid
dable suit and from 1i.-2 high card
tricks are required to make an over
call.
These light overcalls are made, not
Vulnerable. either to put in a good
ad-directing bid. or to stop the OPP
ponents from arriving at the proper
contract. However, to re-bid after
making the overcall shows partner
that. you have strength as good as
that required for an original bid.
When the right-hand opponents
original declaration is no trump and
your hand contains a good five-card
suit with sufficient re-entries so that
the suit can be established, it is not
advisable to make a suit overcall.
x X X
To overcall an opponents suit bid
with bid of one no trump has gen.
orally been taken to mean that YOU
have the opponents suit stopped. and
this should be true if your side is
vulnerable.
However. many contract players to-
day use the 10 trump overcall, when
not vulnerable, to show a hand not
quite strong enough to double but
one with which they are asking part
! her to show his longest suit. In other
words, it is hand containing 2la
high card tricks and good distNbu-
ton so that any suit bid by partner
can be supported.
| A jump overcall &c. g. heart. 2
spades shows hand containing at
least a strong five-card suit and
about 3ls high card tricks. 1t in
forms partner that you can proba bly
go game If his hand contains IL
high card tricks. It differs from the
informatory double in that 1t shows
hand that wishes to be the de-
| clarer and one that is of little value
unless played at the suit named.
Copyright, 1882, NEA Service, Inc)
BY VIM. E. MCKINNEY
Secretary, American Bridge League
want to call your attention to
two forcing bids not previously men,
toned in this series.
LIST. The showing of two suits
natural force. For example: the
original bidder opens with one heart,
partner responds with one spade.
This is one over one force. II
the original bidder now bids two
clubs, this is the showing of a second
suit and Is treated as a natural force.
You can appreciate that partners,
whose hands can show three suits,
are In no danger in now endeavoring
to select the correct suit at which
to play the hand while bidding is
still low. It is also easy to under
stand that the original bidder, as
yet, has not had an opportunity to
| support his partners suit.
| Taking the same example. the orig
inal bidder bids one heart, partner
bids one Spade-now the original
bidder, even though he has spade
support, has second suit and it is
most important that this suit be
shown.
\ X X
Therefore this showing of a Sec
ond s. it must be treated as a force
SO that the original bidder may be