[ArtK78]

In the third match (of six) of a Sectional Swiss Team, having won your first two matches, you hold:

AQxx
KJ9
Jx
KJ9x

All vul. Partner passes in first seat and RHO opens 1♥. Your call?

[mcphee]

Color ,me yellow, I pass

[the_dude]

I seem to get very poor results passing these hands. The likely second heart stopper makes me not even hesitate to bid 1NT.

[ahydra]

Oh go on then. 1NT.

ahydra

[billw55]

I would bid 1NT, but sometimes people tell me I do that too readily.

[ArtK78]

I am also becoming gun shy when it comes to 1NT overcalls. Especially when vulnerable and facing a passed partner. But I am not as yellow as mcphee.

I doubled. I figured that I had too much not to act, and that if partner did respond 2♦, he was likely to have 5 and it was not likely that we had a game. If partner jumped in a minor, I could bid 3NT. If partner had spades, that would be easy.

If I remember correctly, LHO bid 2NT showing a limit raise or better in hearts, and eventually the opps settled in 3♥. Unfortunately, I didn't find a safe lead, and gave up a trick on the opening lead (extra credit if you can figure out which lead does NOT blow a trick). So the opps scored 140. This was a gain of 8 IMPs, as my counterpart at the other table bid 1NT and was doubled for 500.

I was wondering if others were becoming reluctant to overcall 1NT, especially at these conditions. It is a textbook 1NT overcall (although clearly a minimum) but I am becoming convinced that it is losing bridge to overcall 1NT here.

[chasetb]

I detest having to overcall 1NT here, especially in 3rd or 4th seat (the people I usually play against don't open light in 3rd seat). Larry Cohen did a study awhile ago, and it said that a 1NT overcall usually worked out poorly. While I am sure some of that is due to people incorrectly ovecalling 1NT, my experience is also that it never seems to work out in 3rd seat.

[gnasher]

chasetb, on 2014-February-10, 12:08, said:

I detest having to overcall 1NT here, especially in 3rd or 4th seat (the people I usually play against don't open light in 3rd seat). Larry Cohen did a study awhile ago, and it said that a 1NT overcall usually worked out poorly.

It doesn't say that. It says that when the 1NT overcall was passed out, on average it led to 45% at matchpoints and slightly negative at IMPs. That doesn't tell us much about how well a 1NT overcall worked out on average, because:
- We don't know what the matchpoint or IMP expectation was if the player passed instead of overcalling 1NT.
- We don't know what happened on the deals where the 1NT overcall wasn't passed out.

[mfa1010]

Auto 1N for me.

[mycroft]

I play "good 15 to 18", and this isn't a good 15. My teacher (co-)invented Raptor NT overcalls simply because they kept having it go 1x-1NT-X and the world ended, no matter how strong they pushed the lower end of the overcall (until it got to the point where they weren't overcalling it at all).

I agree with those who think that it's too good a weapon to pitch completely (although if partner wanted to play Raptor, I'd probably do it), but facing a passed hand vul at IMPs is exactly the time I don't feel like sticking my neck out - especially if partner has the not-quite-broke hand which means "we're going to get doubled, and they don't have enough for game".

[MrAce]

Also auto 1 NT for me.

If it was not this topic, i would probably bet a lot of money that even BBF members would bid 1 NT unanimously with this, obviously i was wrong about unanimous part about BBF, again.

[mcphee]

I like to have 2 aces with marginal NT overcalls.

[cherdano]

I like to have positional values for marginal 1NT overcalls.

[SteveMoe]

Yes

[MrAce]

I like to have a balanced hand in my agreed range with a stopper or more for my NT overcalls.

[johnu]

mcphee, on 2014-February-10, 16:03, said:

I like to have 2 aces with marginal NT overcalls.

I like to have a good play for 7 tricks.

When I don't have any play for 7 tricks, I like not getting doubled.

When I have no play for 7 tricks and am doubled, I like not playing rubber bridge for money.

[Fluffy]

If RHO has ♥AQ this hand is worth around 19. If we can guess RHO has ♥Q10 it will be as well. Sadly it was LHO who had ♥Qxx(x) on this hand.

Another way of saying the same is that if you switch West and North, 3NT is a make.

I would lead ♥J against 3♥, don't like it much though.

[Zelandakh]

MrAce, on 2014-February-10, 17:27, said:

I like to have a balanced hand in my agreed range with a stopper or more for my NT overcalls.

I thought you played the stopper as optional Timo.

[rhm]

MrAce, on 2014-February-10, 14:48, said:

Also auto 1 NT for me.

If it was not this topic, i would probably bet a lot of money that even BBF members would bid 1 NT unanimously with this, obviously i was wrong about unanimous part about BBF, again.

MrAce, on 2014-February-10, 17:27, said:

I like to have a balanced hand in my agreed range with a stopper or more for my NT overcalls.

Maybe you should change your agreed range for an 1NT overcall when

1) Partner has passed already and
2) you are vulnerable and
3) you play IMPs not MP

Those conditions matter

Rainer Herrmann

[whereagles]

1NT seems canonical, but if pard is a sensible bidder dbl also comes to mind.

why? because you're in excellent shape whatever the reply except 2D. And even if pard bids 2D, you might get away with making it.