Play of the Hand
Avoiding a trump promotion
This deal from Bridge Master, a free, interactive declarer-play program on Bridge Base Online, shows how managing your trumps and losers can be the difference between making your contract and down one.
West starts with three rounds of hearts, the ♥A K Q. On the third round, East makes a fine play – he ruffs with the ♦10. What should you do?
First, count your losers. You have lost two hearts, and you have three low club losers. You have one discard available on the ♠K, leaving you with two losers in that suit. You must not lose a trump.
Suppose you overruff with the ♦A or K. Now, unless the diamonds were 3–2 with East having three, you have promoted a trump trick for West.
You can guard against this by discarding a club loser instead of overruffing. East now plays the ♣K. Win with the ♣A, cross to dummy’s ♦Q, then play a diamond to your A–K, drawing West’s three trumps. Now you can play your ♠A K, discarding a club and taking nine tricks.
The full deal:
Best Bidding
Overcalls
An “overcall” is a bid made after an opponent has opened the bidding or responded.
What do you need to make an overcall? Making a simple overcall depends on many factors:
- • Suit length and quality = A five-card or longer suit is expected, or a very good four-card suit with more overall hand strength.
- • Hand strength = Could be limited if the suit quality is lead-directing.
- • The level of the bidding = One-level overcalls do not promise opening-hand strength. Two-level overcalls do (unless they are a preemptive/weak jump overcall).
- • The vulnerability = Nonvulnerable vs. vulnerable, overcalls can be friskier. Opponents are less likely to double you at a low level. Your overcalls should be solid if your side is vulnerable, especially at unfavorable (you are vul, they are not).
An overcall does not promise (or deny) an opening hand. It’s good to discuss with your partners the minimum strength they can count on from you when you overcall. Some might overcall with as few as 6–7 HCP. At favorable vulnerability, in auction No. 1, you might overcall 1♠ with these hands:
♠A Q J 8 7 ♥5 ♦9 5 3 ♣9 8 4 2
♠A K 9 6 5 ♥6 3 ♦10 9 8 6 ♣4 3
The suit quality is very good; these are minimum overcalls.
Sometimes you might have more high-card points but a suit you are not very proud of:
♠10 7 6 5 3 ♥8 7 ♦K Q 3 ♣A 6 2
♠J 9 7 5 3 ♥8 7 ♦K Q 3 ♣A Q 5
With the first hand, you should pass. With the second hand, you should find a style that feels right for you and agree with your partner that you will either have a suit you want led or extra values (more than the minimum 6–7 HCP) for an overcall.
In auction No. 2, both of your opponents have bid, although your right-hand opponent only promises enough to respond. However, your LHO (sitting behind you), has an opening hand. Take that into consideration when deciding what to do.
♠K J 6 4 2 ♥K 4 2 ♦5 ♣K 6 5 3
♠K Q 10 9 8 ♥A 9 2 ♦J 3 2 ♣5 2
The first hand’s spade suit is not great and the ♣K might not be in the best place. The second hand has a much better quality suit and less dubious outside values.
Overcalling at the two level is different. To overcall at the two level, you should have an opening hand or better and at least a five-card suit.
♠K 8 ♥A 4 ♦K Q J 10 5 3 ♣8 3 2
♠9 2 ♥K 9 5 ♦A Q J 7 3 ♣Q 10 8
These hands could overcall 2♦.
♠K J 2 ♥A Q ♦J 9 6 3 2 ♣K Q 9
Overcalling 1NT looks better than 2♦ with this hand; the suit is terrible.
♠9 2 ♥A Q 8 ♦J 9 6 3 2 ♣K Q 9
Making a takeout double of 1♠ would be better than overcalling 2♦ with this poor suit.
The ACBL website offers a treasure trove of resources. Some are kept in a members-only section of the website called MyACBL. It’s via this portal where you can find the online Bridge Bulletin, with all issues going back to 2005 available. There is also a lot of personalized data.
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