When the opponents open the bidding, they have already garnered an advantage. Standard defensive bidding methods generally allow you to compete, but this requires holding a good hand. We never have good hands1; we want to compete anyway. The only problem presented to us is that our partner can never take a joke if we're bidding on a distributional hand. The Structure, thus, has been created so that partner will not hang you.
The questions arise: why do we want to compete on these "bad" hands, and isn't that dangerous? We believe that competing at the one and the two-level is superior to balancing at the three-level which can be very dangerous as both opponents have already communicated their values. One note about our style before we go on: all of our bids are made according to relative vulnerability as it relates to sanity. We aren't insane; we just like to compete. This is what advancer (partner of overcaller) must keep in mind because 90% of the time it will be advancer's job to make the decision about how high to compete on the combined offensive values of the partnership. Advancer should definitely remember that many calls are limited in values, and more importantly do not promise defensive values!
In order to understand this competitive style properly, we encounter several theoretical considerations. The Law of Total Tricks best explains why and how to compete. On most hands we possess at least an eight-card fit, which usually will allow us to compete successfully at the two-level; sometimes we will have two eight-card fits which will allow us to compete at the three-level. If we have a nine-card fit, the three-level should be safe, etc. The opponents of course attempt to do the same depending on how big their trump fits are, but there exists a limited number of tricks available because of a limited number of trumps and a limited number of values or working high cards. In essence, on every hand everyone aims to compete to the par spot.
But not everyone truly comprehends the idea of the par spot. People think of it as being a plus position. This is not always the case. Frequently, the par spot translates to outcompeting the opponents, and actually going minus; for example, we go to three spades over the opponents' three hearts, down one. The opponents can make three hearts. We win. Many times we only have a minus score available, and strive to reduce that minus. It certainly can be difficult to decide how much to bid at certain vulnerabilities in conjunction to reaching the par spot. But having this understanding of the par spot and competing on a greater number of hands, however, over time will lead to better hand evaluation, better judgment and better results.
How are we going to compete more effectively? Using these tools: Simple Overcalls, No-trump for Takeout, Power Double, Roman Jump Overcalls, the Two-suited Cuebid, Intermediate Jump Overcalls, NAMYATS, and a few other gadget bids. Using this structure, it will become apparent that we have found the easiest way to effectively enter the auction.
The simple overcall (SO) occurs the most frequently, and the inferences drawn from a SO or a pass are many. Because the overcaller has several available bids, making a SO denies possession of the other possible hands, and remember that partner will always take inference. Let's see what this means.
We make a SO for several reasons. We have a suit that we want led; we have too many values to pass, e.g. a good 10-14 HCP; we want to find out which of our suits to lead; we want to preempt at a low level; we have a hand that seems conducive to competition. So what are we overcalling on? Many times one-level overcalls only have four-card suits, and tend to show length in opener's suit. It denies holding a side five-card suit or probably even a four-card suit unless you're 4-4, 5-4 or 6-4, and no other available systemic bid describes your hand. As these overcalls are so aggressive, we cautiously raise partner. We thus employ support doubles and redoubles2 after an overcall and interference. Occasionally, we must conceal three-card support on hands people might commonly raise with in standard. Be more conservative especially when holding three small, Jxx or Qxx of LHO's suit which is known as the Death Holding or a 4-3-3-3 hand with a bad six or seven HCP.
What about suit quality? There exists no specific requirements
here except that you hold four cards in that suit. For example,
if holding 
KQx 
T9xx 
xx 
AKxx, and RHO opens 1, we would not pass but rather
overcall 1. The
average suit quality with which someone would overcall on
approximates to KJ9x. Again, these bids are all relative to
vulnerability or the ability to get to another spot if necessary.
The aggressive nature of our overcalls require a delicate response structure to handle various possibilities:
overcall shows a heart suit
The responses are similar but modified. A 1 over 1 tends to be more constructive when it is a free bid. A double or redouble shows 3-card support. A new suit at the two level is natural and non-forcing. A jump is fit-showing. Cue-bids are a limit raise or better for partner's suit.
The inferences from partner passing in an auction like this:
(1) - P - (1), are very revealing.
It's known that partner could not even compete at the one-level.
Partner almost surely denies possession of all the hands
mentioned in the second paragraph on the SO, and denies the
three-suited takeouts, two-suited hands, etc., as will be
described ahead. The hands most likely to be passed are 4-3-3-3
hands with length in opener's suit or any hand with opener's
suit, very weak hands, and hands with a bad suit and only average
values, i.e. Jxxx or worse and 6-9 HCP, depending on the hand.
The bid all other bids have been centered around. The NTO
comes up frequently and creates havoc in the opponents auction
while letting us know in what suits we should be competing. The
NTO can be described as a light three-suited takeout, showing
three cards in all the unbid suits, and generally 6-15 HCP at
equal vulnerability. The minimum shape here is 4432 up to as
shapely as 7330. People always ask, would you really overcall
a NTO with six spades and a stiff club, 6331 shape over a 1 opening? We say YES,
and tell them about the number of times we have buried the
opponents' heart fits. Furthermore, you must bid a NTO on these
hands; otherwise, partner gets confused about your shape and will
be unable to accurately place or accurately defend the hand.
All other game or four-of-a-minor bids are to play. Here's an
interesting example; at IMPs both vulnerable, you hold: Jx AKTxxx J9xx x. Over a one diamond opening by LHO, partner bids a
NTO while RHO follows with 2. You gamble out a 4 bid. It goes down one - barely - when
partner holds a mere six count, but the opponents are gin for 5, win 10 IMPs. Here's
another interesting hand from a matchpoint session: QJxx Qxxx -- QJxxx. Your RHO opens 1; you bid a NTO. Your LHO doubles, and
partner leaps to 5!
What does partner have? You pass, happy for now until your LHO
chimes in with 5
while partner and RHO pass it around to you. What does partner
have? Well, work it out; with any six-card suit partner should
bid 3; with a
little shape and a good six-card suit that would constitute a 4 bid. So, partner must
have seven clubs and it seems likely partner has one or fewer
hearts. Since partner couldn't hammer five hearts, you're going
to have to follow the LTT and bid 6 with a twelve-card fit. Score it up.
Partner held:
Kxx -- Jxx AKTxxxx; the kind of hand you
would expect. It's unlikely standard bidders could possibly draw
these inferences from such a short auction, and find a way to
preempt the opponents out of their cheap 6 save.
There will be times when a certain hand will force you to bid
a NTO with extra values and the wrong shape to make a Power
Double (PD). The PD tends to show a doubleton or greater length
in opener's suit because responder will more often convert a PD
for penalties. So for example, if holding AJT9 AQTx --
KQxxx, and your RHO opened 1, bid a NTO. Although you hold considerable extra
values, a double on your second turn would communicate these
greater values.
This bid is the easiest to understand and the simplest to use. Essentially, it shows a good 15+ HCP that tends to be balanced like a strong no-trump overcall, but doesn't guarantee a stopper. Certain hands have been eliminated from the PD as alluded to above, and come up as either an Intermediate Jump Overcall or some of the strong two-suited bids.
Responding to the PD is very similar to a standard takeout double except that opener always has a good hand that makes bidding easier for responder. Free bids tend to limit hands in that they contain less than invitational values; any jump would show invitational values as in standard although we invite more frequently with distributional hands. A cuebid is forcing. Both responder and the PDer follow up with natural bids allowing room to find the best spot. We play South African Transfers: a transfer to four of a major by bidding the corresponding minor, C => H & D => S, and this allows the PDer to super-accept by bidding the step in between. The ranges for responding in no-trump are slightly adjusted as compared to standard: 1NT = a good 4 to a bad 7, 2NT = a good 7 to a bad 9, 3NT = 10-14, etc. This works out well because many times we right side the no-trump, forcing the strong hand to be on lead, resulting in an overtrick. Notice that we also avoid the danger of overcalling a no-trump and getting doubled off for penalties.
A definite advantage to the PD comes from the ability to
penalize the opponents at a low level, especially if we're white
and they're RED. For example, if holding Kxx Axx
QJ9x xxx and
partner made a PD over LHO's 1 opening, we would float the double. We'll make 3NT,
but LHO won't enjoy playing this one out of his hand. Floating
the double is probably right on two types of hands. The type of
hand given in the example that's all primed, balanced with a
couple trump tricks or a hand with just LHO's suit and no side
suit precluding your side from having a big fit. These aggressive
passes have been successful; a further benefit develops from
passing these doubles. If opener runs from the double, it's a
reasonable possibility that their bid was psychic
and partner would now play any of your bids in that suit as
natural. It becomes very difficult for the opponents to dink
around as we can draw so many more inferences from an auction
than in standard.
The TLO is kind of a tweener bid. Sometimes it fits right into our system while other times it resembles more closely a standard TLO. If an Intermediate overcall is available, then a TLO is either a more or less standard overcall - with only a five-card suit - or it is a preemptive bid6. If there's no Intermediate available, then it's more difficult to tell exactly what the overcaller has - especially when the hand appears to be inappropriate for a PD or other action - which could be anywhere from a preempt to an ok intermediate.
The best way to respond to this bid is to treat the TLO as a standard overcall, but try not to hang partner. Maybe have a little extra for a natural 2NT, and try not to raise on a bad hand with honor doubleton for support. Two-level bids in a new suit aren't forcing, which is different from standard, but partner will strive to raise you with a good hand and support. In competition, we play that a double or a redouble by advancer shows a good raise to three of partner's suit while the direct raise is merely blocking, not guaranteeing values. A cuebid in these sequences just promises a good hand either in support of partner or in another suit.
The two cheapest jump overcalls over a one-level bid by opener show the suit bid and the higher touching suit with generally 6-15 HCP. There will always be at least nine cards in the two suits. If there are only nine cards, the lower ranking will always have five cards and the higher ranking will have four. The bids are as follows with minimum holdings and tendencies:
| 2/1 |
5 diamonds and often 4 hearts |
| 2/1 |
5 hearts and often 4 spades |
| 2/1 |
5 hearts and often 4 spades |
| 2/1 |
5 clubs and 4 spades; 5-5 if vulnerable |
| 2/1 |
5 clubs and 4 spades; 5-5 if vulnerable |
| 3/1 |
5 clubs and 4 diamonds; tends to be 5-5 |
| 3/1 |
5 clubs and 4 diamonds; tends to be 5-5 |
| 3/1 |
5 diamonds and 4 hearts; tends to be 5-5 |
The point ranges and limitations are very sensitive to
relative vulnerability. Non-vulnerable vs. vulnerable opponents,
2/1 with Jxxxxx Txxxxx x --, would be acceptable. Vulnerable vs.
non-vulnerable opponents, 2/1
with KJxx AJxxx Qx KQ, would be reasonable, as
opposed to a double, especially opposite a passed partner. One
hand that you will never have is 4531 shape with shortness in
opener's suit because that is a NTO.
) - 2 - (P) - 3; (P) - ?: then a 3 response
shows any minimum, 3 shows a 5-5 relative minimum, 3NT shows
relative extras with a diamond stopper (probably 4531
shape), 4/ both show
relative maximums with shortness in that suit, and 4 shows 6
hearts and 4 spades with a little extra.We have auctions where responder quickly leaps to game following a RJO. What frequently happens on these hands is that no one knows who can make what, nor do the opponents have the courage to double us, fearing that it will be a lucky make. Many times, we go down two, maybe even vulnerable. Even so, most times the opponents have a game in a side suit, and can't find it because responder is forced to pass on certain hands over a RJO while opener can't take action at the four or five-level. We thus have an effective tool for finding good sacrifices; sometimes even good sacrifices versus their partscores. Try to utilize this preemption whenever possible.
This bid shows the two suits left out by the RJO, or the suits above and below the cuebid suit. The only difference between the QB and the RJO is that the upper range to the QB remains unlimited. Here's a list of the suits shown:
| 2/1 |
5 diamonds and 4 spades |
| 2/1 |
5 clubs and 4 hearts |
| 2/1 |
5 diamonds and 4 spades |
| 2/1 |
5 clubs and 4 hearts, tends to be 5-5 |
The responses for these are the same as for the RJO, but overcaller, here, has to remember his hand is unlimited unlike the RJO. If advancer makes any forward going motion, make sure you keep bidding with a rock crusher.
The 2NT bid shows a strong two-suited hand. One suit is always
known, which is the non-touching suit, over 1 it's hearts and over 1 it's spades and vice
versa. What do we mean by strong? - any hand that has fewer than
4-1/2 AKQ losers (according to the Losing Trick
Count - LTC8). Here's an example
2NT bid over a 1
opening: A x AK9x KQT9xxx. This is a pretty good
three-loser hand; the hand has a loser in every suit outside of
spades. Slams would be a good bargain opposite an ace and queen
fourth or fifth in either minor. As it turned out, we were in
slam opposite the ace of hearts, JTxx of diamonds and a stiff
club, which worked when the diamond hook was on through the
opening bidder. Although the 2NT can be off-shape as in the
example, the normal would be 5-5 or a good 6-4, like x QJTxx AKQxxx x. The advantage we have comes from
quickly describing our hand, allowing advancer to make a good
decision even with a modicum of values. It's never this easy in
standard.
These auctions come up quite infrequently, but are awesome when they do. Just be familiar with the general process involved and go from there. When these auctions come up, remember to look at the potential cover cards in your hand because many of these positional games and slams roll home as the points have already been located.
Bids at the three-level when higher than the two cheapest jump
shifts show a single suited hand with the values to bid to the
three-level in competition. The hands generally range from 12 HCP
and a seven-card suit to a bad 17 HCP with a six-card
suit9. Suit quality is generally about a 1 loser
maximum. The available bids are: 3-3-3/1, 3-3-3/1, 3-3/3 and 3/1.
Treat with respect to vulnerability. In a major, one top trick
and a fit by responder is usually sufficient to bid game vul. vs.
nonvul, but nonvul vs. vul even 1-1/2 tricks with a fit would
probably be insufficient (overcaller has a NAMYATS bid available
showing 8 to 8-1/2 tricks). All game bids are to play, and
four-level bids below game are usually slam tries for
overcaller's suit.
Bids at the four-level are NAMYATS style showing 8 to 8-1/2
playing tricks. Bid 4 of the corresponding minor to show the
strong hand while bidding 4 of the major shows the more
preemptive hand: 4
transfers to 4
and 4 transfers
to 4. Over 1 and 1, 4 and 4 are normal four-level minor preempts.
This is the only existing jump preempt available below the
four-level; treat this as you would in standard. A 1 overcall of 1 thus tends to deny
the preemptive style hand.
One of the easiest bids in the system, the three-level jump cuebid asks advancer for a stopper in the bid suit and tends to show a long minor with a couple outside cards.
Clearly, many calls in the structure are alertable as they differ greatly from standard practices, such as a NTO. An alert "problem" materializes from our natural overcalls. Although they are natural, they still diverge from standard whether or not you happen to hold an unusual hand (systemic for us). We believe it's only fair to alert these calls; generally, we are only alerting the opponents to the negative inferences from the call. This unfortunately elicits confusion. The best way to avoid this is to try and pre-alert the opponents to our unusual methods. When the opponents ask for explanation, give them just a general understanding of the bid while letting them know there's more information available if they are interested.
The hardest thing to remember at first is to bid with a "bad" hand. You must be relentless. Partner expects this from you, and will definitely blame you for not bidding or misbidding a hand10. Other keys, responder normally maintains control of the auction which means getting in and out after having bid the limit of the partnership's offensive values without leaving any burn marks around partner's neck! Something to be aware of is balancing - especially over a 1 of minor opening - because partner would have already pre-balanced by overcalling. Pay attention to vulnerability. Down two undoubled is a great score non-vulnerable at matchpoints, but vulnerable it's definitely bad news.
We aim at certain strategic targets when playing against standard bidders using five-card majors. If the opponents open one-of-a-minor in standard, we want to use whatever means we can to preempt the auction, making it difficult for them to locate their fits. For example, utilizing the preemptiveness of the Intermediate Jump Overcalls, the RJO are also very preemptive as is bidding a NTO and having advancer preempt at the three-level. Whenever you eat up a level of bidding, the opponents will be forced to guess at a final contract. It's been our experience that they guess wrong.
The basis for our system is that we trade off ease in handling a few relatively infrequent strong hands to increase our use of lighter and more frequent hands. We, furthermore, try to increase our percentage of success with these more common hands. We use specific description to reduce the strength necessary to compete successfully in an auction. The tradeoff is that less strength is required when less time is needed in the auction to find your proper position. You may be weaker, but if your exposure to danger is shorter, you do not need as much raw power to be relatively secure.