If the opposing pair have opened the bidding you have to decide whether to pass and let them continue to make the contract or whether to overcall.
Why would you want to overcall?
- You might have a good hand and want to make the contract for yourself and partner
- You might want to interfere with the opponents’ bidding
- You might want to suggest a lead to your partner
Overcalling with 1 of a suit.
In order to make a suit overcall you should have 5+ cards in the suit and usually at least two honour cards.
If you want to overcall at the one level (for example 1 heart) you need 8 – 15 points.
If you need to bid at the 2 level you should hold 11- 15 points.
Suit Quality Test
If you hold minimum points for overcalling (8 – 10 at the one level or 11 – 13 at the two level) you need to decide if your hand is suitable for an overcall. You can do this by using the “Suit Quality Test”.
Add the number of cards in the suit you want to bid to the number of honour cards held in that suit. If the number is at least equal to the number of tricks you want to bid then you can overcall.
If you do not have sufficient suit quality do not overcall.
For example:
If you wish to bid at the one level that means you are bidding for 7 tricks (6 + 1). A hand that has 5 cards in the suit plus 2 honours card would score 7 in the suit quality test and therefore be suitable for overcalling at the one level.
If you wish to overcall at the two level you are bidding for 8 tricks (6 + 2). A hand that has 5 cards in a suit plus 3 honours, or 6 cards plus 2 honours would score 8 in the suit quality test and therefore be suitable for overcalling at the two level.
Jump Overcall
If you have 12 -15 points AND a 6+ suit card you can make a jump overcall. For example if the bidding has opened with 1 diamond and you have good points and cards in hearts a bid of 1 heart would be available – but if you have enough points and cards you can jump to a bid of 2 hearts.
Pre-emptive Overcall
If you have 6-9 points AND 7+ cards in a suit you can make a pre-emptive overcall. This is a “double jump”. Do this if the points in your hand are mostly contained in the 7 + card suit. If you have aces and/or kings in other suits you might be better of defending rather than overcalling.
NOTE
If you have 16+ points don’t make a suit overcall. Depending on the make-up of your hand you should either make a 1NT overcall or double.
