Overcall

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This article concerns Contract Bridge and uses terminology associated with the game. See Contract bridge glossary for an explanation of unfamiliar words or phrases.

In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid was made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A direct overcall is a bid made directly over a bid by right-hand opponent, while an overcall in 'last seat' (made over a bid by left-hand opponent and two subsequent passes) is often referred to as a balancing overcall.

A natural overcall denotes length and strength in the suit bid, whilst conventional overcalls such as Michaels cuebid, Unusual notrump and Raptor denote specific hand types.

In most bidding systems, regardless whether natural and artificial, overcalls in unbid suits are natural. The common requirements for an overcall include:

A "good" 5-card or longer suit (definition of "good" subject to interpretation)
8-16 high-card points (HCP) for overcall on level 1, and 10-17 HCP for overcall on level 2. If a higher level overcall is required (e.g. after opponents' preempt), at least an opening-bid strength is required.

The general rule of thumb is that the weaker the hand is, the bid suit must be better (longer and/or with more honor cards).

1 Overcall objectives
2 Examples
3 Responses to overcalls
4 Other overcalls
5 See also
6 Literature

[edit] Overcall objectives

The overcaller usually bases his/her overcall on a combination of the following objectives:

To buy the contract
To induce a good lead from partner
To 'lift' opponent's contract to a higher level
To find an effective sacrifice
To hinder opponents in their bidding

[edit] Examples

According to modern bridge theory, the following hands:

♠632 ♥AKJ96 ♦8752 ♣4

♠A32 ♥AKJ96 ♦752 ♣104

♠A3 ♥AK986 ♦KQ5 ♣742

all warrant a 1♥ overcall over an opposing 1♣/1♦ opening. Stronger hands such as ♠A3 ♥AK986 ♦KQ5 ♣Q42 are considered too strong for an overcall, and should be bid via a takeout double followed by the most economical rebid in hearts.

[edit] Responses to overcalls

The system of responses to overcalls typically adheres to:

pass: weak hand (no fit guaranteed)
support bid: three trumps, 7 - 10 hcp
cue bid: A) three trumps, invite or better (11+ hcp), B) game forcing hand
jump support: four or more trumps, weak
new suit: at least five card, round forcing
1NT: 9-12 hcp, no fit, stopper(s) in opened suit

[edit] Other overcalls

Notrump overcalls at the 1-level normally indicate 15-18 points in a balanced hand, with at least one stopper in opponent's suit. For example, the hand ♠KJ63 ♥AQ2 ♦A84 ♣Q93 is suitable for 1NT overcall over any opening bid, as well as 2NT overcall over e.g. an opponents' weak two bid.

Jump overcalls are made by skipping one level of bidding, e.g. 1♦–2♠. In the past, such bids described either "strong" overcalls (e.g. with 17 points or more) or "intermediate" ones (11-15 points with a 6-card suit). Today, far more common treatment is to use weak jump overcalls (WJO)—6-card suit with 5-10 HCP—similar to weak two opening bid (or even weaker).

Some partnerships utilise more exotic overcalls. An example are the canapé overcalls used by the Italian top pair Norberto Bocchi and Giorgio Duboin. In canapé overcalls the suit bid typically contains a three card, whilst the hand contains a five card in another suit.