awm, on Mar 15 2005, 04:50 PM, said:
I've played a similar structure from a book by Max Hardy for quite some time. Basically:
Cuebid = 4 cards in top suit, 5+ in bottom suit
Lowest minor/minor jump = 4 cards in hearts, 5+ in bottom suit
I've found that this works extremely well, except that the auction 1♦-3♣ can be a bit awkward. Four card major plus longer minor hands are extremely common and being able to deal with these is a big win. Losing michaels rarely seems to cost; we generally overcall in spades and rebid hearts later (level permitting) with those hands.
......
About the "overcall structure" suggested by Phil Clayton, I've never really understood this method. I've played against it many times and rarely received below average results. It seems to me that you lose a LOT, in exchange for very little... in particular:
Weak jump overcalls, especially over standard 1-minor openings (and precision diamond) can be very useful. Often opponents fail to compete in a minor suit fit to the proper level, or are forced to guess whether to play 3nt or 4-major, or overbid to a four-level contract when responder is stuck with an "in-between" hand of around 10-11 points and a suit of his own. Overcall structure seems to lose these.
Natural 1NT overcall frequently buys the contract. Most often it will be the case that points are fairly evenly divided, and opponents cannot find a 4-4 side-suit fit. Doubling loses this. Admittedly you are "safer" from being doubled in 1NT, but this is an infrequent result. The "ability" to double at the one level for penalty in a suit after the power double rarely profits. And opener's side is free to play transfers over the double, since the "business" redouble is of even rarer use.
It's rarely the case that doubling for penalty at the one level turns a profit, but at the two level it's a bit more frequent. The 1NT overcall starts our auction one level higher, inviting the opponents to hit for penalty on a misfit hand where they hold most of the values -- playing "standard" methods the 1NT bidder might've passed or we might've bid our suit at the one level after a takeout double and thereby escaped.
Finally, it's more difficult to judge our own penalty doubles. Playing matchpoints, suppose the auction begins 1 club - 1NT (takeout) - 2 club - 2 heart - 3 club, passed back to advancer. If advancer holds 3424 shape with moderate values (say 8-10 hcp), he knows that the law has probably been outcompeted (likely 1NT bidder has 1 club and 3-4 heart). But should he double or pass? If partner has a six-count, it could easily be that opponents have nine tricks and we have 7.. in fact this is a quite probable result. Best to pass and hope they have missed 3nt. But if the 1NT bidder has 13-14 points, it could quite easily be our hand. Opponents are likely to have 8 or even 7 tricks, and 2h was probably making -- it's quite possible we MUST double to attain a good result. Even worse, what if the 1NT bidder has a six-card spade suit? Now it is quite possible that we have a NINE card fit, and 3c and 3s could BOTH be making, but we will never uncover this. I just don't see how we've "won" in this auction -- a standard takeout double guarantees some defensive values (so we can double) and normally denies substantial length in some side suit (so no uncovered 9-card spade fits). Note that even if we buy the auction in 2h, we may play a 4-3 fit instead of a 6-3 fit, probably a poor matchpoint result.
I just don't get it... perhaps one of this method's advocates can explain better? It seems like the only real wins of this method would be opponents who haven't discussed how to defend against it, and botch their subsequent auctions.
I'm in a bit of a rush this morning, but here's a few reasons why Overcall Structure works real well:
1. Roman Jump Overcalls and cue bids bring the higher ranking suit into play immediately. Hands like this have no solution playing standard. Hardy methods are OK, but the 1
♦ - 3
♣ auction is very cumbersome. And Hardy doesn't have a good system for very strong two-suited hands either.
2. 1N overcalls for takeout are not a lot different than light takeout doubles. We use caution and pay a lot of attention to vulnerability and if the hand doesn't have good texture. We take away the 1 level for everyone at the table. Raptor also loses the natural 1N overcall; those that play Raptor don't miss the natural 1N overcall at all.
Lets say the hand over the opener has the choice between a light takeout double and a natural 1N overcall. If partner is bust, which hand would you rather scramble out at the two level? In response to Adam's competitive auction, the 1N bidder can make a cooperative double to show a max. Responder will jump to 3
♥ with a 5 card suit and normal to good ODR, so opener will be well placed to double, raise or pass.
3. Power doubles don't come up that often, but when they do, they are very effective. One of the biggest advantages is positional. I've never seen a situation where it isn't best to have the opening bidder on lead leading up to the weak hand. Basic suit combinations like Jx opposite AQx turn into triple stoppers instead of double stops. Frankly its an illusion playing transfers in response to a natural 1N overcall anyway.
Several times a year we nail the opponents at the one level. Its not a big deal, but if you play 5 card majors, opening a 3 card minor can and should be occasionally penalized. Power doubles also allow us to play at the one level when partner is bust, as mentioned above, instead of playing a hopeless 1N x'd.
Overall, one of the premises of OS is to get into the auction early, instead of waiting and letting the opponents find their fit. Is it really safer to balance at the 3 level, than coming in cheaper at the one or two level?
Bigger payoffs occur when we do find a fit at a low level. We can frequently bid the immediate total tricks even before Opener has a 2nd call in the auction.
Do we get silly results? Of course. I played a silly 3-3 fit a few weeks ago on a total misfit.
Do we get our heads handed to us? Sometimes, but not as often as you might think.
We lose the normal weak jump overcall. Sometimes we have to push a little and bid the hand at the 3 level to preempt, or just make a simple overcall. Occasionally this works against us as well.
Help
We lose the cheapest weak jump overcall over their minor suit overcall.
Posted 2005-March-15, 15:34
