Notes
- When your RHO opens, the frequency of high card points you will hold is as follows: 0-5 HCP => 18.18%, 6-8 HCP => 27.65%, 9-11 HCP => 28.55%, 12-14 HCP => 19.02 %, 15+ HCP => 6.60%, 38+ HCP => 00.00%. Notice, the great majority are the weaker hands.
- Support doubles and redoubles are conventional calls allowing one to show exactly three card trump support with unlimited strength. A direct raise shows four or more trumps. The exchange of information about the number of trumps we hold eases three level decisions.
- Direct action has proven to be tactically superior to passing and pulling a double. Even if you run from one 5-1 to another 5-1, unless the direct seat can hammer it without knowing about the strength of their partner's hand, then the person in the passout seat many times is stuck and cannot take a call.
- Cover cards is a theory expounded by George Rosenkranz, and is a corollary to the Law of Total Tricks. Cover cards cover losers in partners hand, allowing for hands to fit better. For example, if you have AKQ opposite partner's void, you don't have any cover cards, but if you have only an A opposite partner's stiff you have a cover card. We usually assume any fitters in partner's suits are cover cards, and potentially A's and K's in side suits where it' s known partner probably does not have shortness.
- This is one area where many people believe the Overcall Structure gets nailed when trying to runout. Sometimes we do get nailed. But the number of times we've gotten nailed here versus the number of times you get nailed balancing at the three level is still fewer. Many times when the opponents think they have nailed us, it's because they're cold for game or slam their way.
- Remember that there are no preempts below the four level; it's just possible that partner has a preempt. Of course, the opponents will let you know by having a strong auction.
- Decisions about whether to show extras depend upon vulnerability and what partner would expect at a given vulnerability.
- Count a loser for every AKQ missing in a suit. Distributionally , count none for a void, one for a singleton, and two for any Qx doubleton or worse. Some suits have only half losers whenever a finessing position can be assumed, e.g. AQJ, AKJ, AJT, KJT, etc. The number of losers calculated assumes that we will have an eight card or better trump fit.
- We have no requirements set in stone. The basic idea is to make a descriptive bid showing a single suited hand that doesn't require very much to make game.
- Under certain circumstances, it's acceptable to make a simple overcall instead of bidding a NTO or a two suited bid. This only happens when you're red v. white with a suit that's more important to overcall for a lead director, and you don't want to risk going for 500.
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