Help
Robert, on Nov 28 2005, 07:08 PM, said:
Hello Winstonm
The Blue Team won many championships while they also overcalled with fairly weak four card suits. K10xx
The Blue Team overcall style that I used to play was 3-12HCP overcalls and it often was bid on weakish 4 card overcalls at the one level starting at K10xx.
Playing Italian style overcalls of years gone by, you double with most 12/13+HCP hands and overcall with about 8-12HCP. You can sometimes bid with less values.
Reese gave the 'off shape double' style a test of about a years time and found it to be playable. You just do not get excited when the overcall only shows @8-12HCP.
The Blue Squad also played 'off shape' take out doubles(which almost all American and most other writers claim are bad bids) while they ran off a long series of World Championship wins.
One of the all time great Blue Team members still plays (on O.K. Bridge)
his CC says often 4 card overcalls and the range is fairly light.
Lawrence wrote his overcall book many years after the Blue Team had amassed a series of World Championship wins.
I would overcall 1S with the example hand. My overcall ranges and suit quality has both had peaks and valleys. At one time I played 12+ at the one level and good five+ card suits. Now I am reduced to an 8+HCP range with even fair suits.
My 4 card overcalls tend to show fairly good 4 carders and opening(or near opening) bid values.
Regards,
Robert
The Blue Team won many championships while they also overcalled with fairly weak four card suits. K10xx
The Blue Team overcall style that I used to play was 3-12HCP overcalls and it often was bid on weakish 4 card overcalls at the one level starting at K10xx.
Playing Italian style overcalls of years gone by, you double with most 12/13+HCP hands and overcall with about 8-12HCP. You can sometimes bid with less values.
Reese gave the 'off shape double' style a test of about a years time and found it to be playable. You just do not get excited when the overcall only shows @8-12HCP.
The Blue Squad also played 'off shape' take out doubles(which almost all American and most other writers claim are bad bids) while they ran off a long series of World Championship wins.
One of the all time great Blue Team members still plays (on O.K. Bridge)
his CC says often 4 card overcalls and the range is fairly light.
Lawrence wrote his overcall book many years after the Blue Team had amassed a series of World Championship wins.
I would overcall 1S with the example hand. My overcall ranges and suit quality has both had peaks and valleys. At one time I played 12+ at the one level and good five+ card suits. Now I am reduced to an 8+HCP range with even fair suits.
My 4 card overcalls tend to show fairly good 4 carders and opening(or near opening) bid values.
Regards,
Robert
Hi, Robert,
I actually used something similar on a lark once - an old kibitzer rumored to be a retired eccentric attorney kept harping about the Italian system so we decided to call his bluff and asked how to play it.
We ended up with this: All 12 point hands, regardless of holdings, made a takeout double. Responding to the double was an exclusion bid. Overcalls were maximum of 11. We had to alert a pass as "less than 12 HCP."
I don't know if it was the surprise element or what, but we crushed everyone for about 2 weeks until the director decided it wasn't in his best interest to let us play this anymore.....but is sure was fun to have auctions like this:
1D-X-P-2C* *shortest suit.
P-2D-P-P
P????
Winston