OK. Your partner made an overcall. Now what?
Remember the definition of an overcall - a weak to average hand with a good suit or suits. With a good hand, your partner would have doubled.
Raise -- Don't Explore. Your partner wants to hear support for his suit, not new suits from you. We raise with 6 HCP and four trumps or a trump honor (Queen or better) plus two other trumps (or sometimes one plus an Ace or King.) . Otherwise, we pass and let the opponents finish their bidding. If they quit at a low level, perhaps you can come in later to raise partner and also tempt your opponents to take the push.Respect his judgment in making the bid. With a fit for his suit, a raise is almost a must as a preemptive tactic, regardless of points.· If partner has made a weak jump overcall, either raise it or pass.
With a fit in one or both of them, or with a fit in one and shortness in the other, make a preemptive call in one of your partner's suits, or pass and consider sacrificing later.N E S W
1§ 2ª Dbl* ??? West almost has to bid 3ª , 4ª , 5ª or 6ª .
· If partner made a Michaels or Unusual No Trump overcalls, he has bid two suits. Pick one.
Responses to an Overcall If Third Hand BidN E S W
1
© 2 © Dbl ??? West should bid 2ª or 3ª or 4ª if at all possible.1
© 2NT 3© ??? West, bid 4§ or 5§ or 6§ or Diamonds!
An important consideration is whether or not opener's partner - third hand - has bid.· If third hand raised the opener, it may be quite weak.
(That's how you should bid, too). Raise overcaller or bid a responsive double with appropriate cards.
N E S W
1 © 2§ 2 © ???
West can raise Clubs with Kx or better and 6+ points. East shouldn't count on more than this. South may have only 3-5 points for his raise in this situation.
· If third hand bid other than to raise, there's not enough HCP in the deck for you to bid independently.
(Count them: 13 + 9 + 9 + ??) Perhaps someone is overbidding ? Partner may be between two powerful hands, so bid only to preempt the opponents.
N E S W
1§ 1© 2§ ???
Both opponents are unlimited. East didn't promise much except Hearts because he didn't double or bid Notrump. West should raise Hearts or pass. (If East had Spades, he would have doubled for takeout.)
Responses to an Overcall If Third Hand Passed When the third hand has passed, it usually means the hand belongs our way, and the challenge is to find the right level and suit. With a two level overcall, there's no problem.
However, the one level overcall may be quite light - 8 to 15 points is our range, so we have a system to find the right level and still compete when it may not be our hand.
We call it our
Overcall Response System.