[MrAce]

 bd71, on 2012-February-29, 04:59, said:

---

Team game. No relevant special agreements.

1. Agree/disagree with decision to NOT overcall first round?

2. At this stage in bidding, what general strength (and/or spade length) would be suggested by 2♠, 3♠, and 4♠ bids?

3. What is your call (if not clear from your answer to #2)?

1- Depends on your pd's expectation from your overcalls. This is auto overcall for me. I can not have this hand if i pass.

2- Having a style that made me pass over 1 ♥, it is definetely 3♠ now for me. If i was forced to bid something else i would rather go with 4♠ than 2♠

[1eyedjack]

 HighLow21, on 2012-February-29, 09:36, said:

I would bid 2♠ and pass partner's raise if he raises me, unless I know partner to be an underbidder.

This does not seem right to me..
If partner raises he is asking me to bid game with max.
I rate the hand as max in context of a decision to bid 2♠

[Free]

This whole thing reminds me of an advanced player I once played against. The whole field was in the same contract, and I was the only one to make it. She asked me why I played that particular way, and I explained it. It took me quite a while, because it was a complicated hand, and afterwards she said: "omg, there are so many things you've just explained that I wouldn't have considered, I've got a lot to learn".

If you think a 1♠ overcall is ludicrous, that's your right, but don't claim it is ludicrous, because it's not. It's a modern style played by quite a few top players based on solid principles. If they play it, it must have merit. It's not because you've never considered it that it must be all bad.

[Cthulhu D]

I would overcall 1S - as aclub player i have not got nailed, and it gets your hand in the picture now.

IMHO The thing is you have to have an agreement about what you do with an A and K more (and wether you'd still overcall if the A of diamonds was the queen.

This requires some partnership discussion - and a raise structure that let's you get partner in on the joke and stop low.

[Nabooba]

I would always overcall 1S on this; many very experienced players do. True, it does not take away much room, but it does get my suit into the game now. It may be far more difficult to come in later.
To HighLow21, would you bid 1S over 1C on this hand?

[benlessard]

I would never overcall here. However I think its a msut to have a way to show a good 2S bid here these auction are fairly frequent.

My default style is to play 2H transfer comp or GF and 2S being a good 2S. I would bid 2S very agressively but wouldnt like to jump to 3S and go down.

[gwnn]

BTW 1♠ is obvious, and I can prove it with my usual, flawless logic.

[Nabooba]

 benlessard, on 2012-March-01, 04:41, said:

I would never overcall here. However I think its a msut to have a way to show a good 2S bid here these auction are fairly frequent.

My default style is to play 2H transfer comp or GF and 2S being a good 2S. I would bid 2S very agressively but wouldnt like to jump to 3S and go down.

Well up to you. In that case you will never play with me - we won't play bridge either! You are not aggressive and I do not like passive people. I won't call you a wimp though.

[whereagles]

Seems like an easy 3S to me. You have 5 cards and all... plus a useful singleton and hcp in the right places. 2S would be quite an underbid to me.

[P_Marlowe]

 Nabooba, on 2012-March-01, 05:41, said:

Well up to you. In that case you will never play with me - we won't play bridge either! You are not aggressive and I do not like passive people. I won't call you a wimp though.

Well ..., I would not overcall as well, and I dont think I am considered a sane bidder on
the table with regards to aggressiveness.

But if someone comes to a fast final conclusion, taking only one board / one actions in an
auction into account, than I would say, this is a reason to not consider this one as possible
partner for the future.

With kind regards
Marlowe

PS: I can understand the reason for overcalling, we have the spades, and this may be enough
for lots of peoble, but we will have the spades next round as well, and maybe we will be able
to bid them later.
What some peoble seem to forget is, that not overcalling in the direct seat, does not imply,
that the spades will never be bid.
Trying to get in early is sound advice, but is not always be best, making the decision depend on
additional factors, making your bids a bit unpredictable will it make harder for them, and for
partner.
And making your bids better better defined, makes it easier for them, but also easier for partner.

[y66]

1S for me for same reason as MrAce.

One man's trash ...

http://www.youtube.c...e&v=pNWrLIib090

[S2000magic]

 Free, on 2012-March-01, 00:59, said:

If they play it, it must have merit.

While I agree with you that it's a style that is playable - and has its share af adherants, including some of the best players in the world - the argument that "if they play it, it must have merit" isn't particularly strong. The strong argument would be to outline those merits.

[SimonFa]

 bd71, on 2012-February-29, 04:59, said:

---

Wow, lots of heat and not much light

I don't want to get in to the over call debate but I have a question for those who want to allow for partner borrowing our K and bidding on around 10 pts, well an observation that I would like to put forward for comment.

East couldn't even muster a 1NT bid over the 1H opening so has at most 5 crap pts or more likely given some tendencies 4 pts and no Ace at that. We have 8 pts, which leaves 28 pts up for grabs. If partner only has 10 pts wouldn't West have made some sort of move with 18 pts, possibly bidding 3C to make our life hard?

Even if West's 2C shows a few more points, say 15, that still leaves partner with 13 pts so we have the balance of power and AK in one of partners suits.

Also, partner knows we've passed and doesn't know we have 5 spades. If partner is weak and ops have the points isn't there a benefit in bidding 3C on that basis alone? Yes, partner might take us for a stronger hand but as a B/I I have been punished enough at teams for underbidding and prefer to get withering looks from partner and team mates for being aggressive rather than conservative and missing a cold game.

I also like 3S because it makes life hard for East if he does want to get in to the bidding.

Regards,

Simon

[han]

I would overcall 1S because Justin would, and he has won stuff.

Having said that, I agree with quiditty that calling a choice made by JLOGIC (or anybody else) ludicrous is not offensive. Depending on the hand it may make you look dumb or overconfident, but it certainly shouldn't be offensive.

I remember writing recently that I thought that a call that mikeh would make was not reasonable at all. If we all start taking offense when somebody strongly disagrees with a call you would make, this forums would stop being the friendly cuddly place that it is now.

[Vampyr]

 JLOGIC, on 2012-February-29, 20:24, said:

There are definitely some posters who's posts I don't care for that much but I don't usually say it openly without provocation from them.

You don't usually, but I do remember that I once made a post that you didn't like, and you called me a "hateful troll". I don't remember anything about the thread or the post, but the insult has stayed with me.

Quote

I don't feel because I'm "famous" I need to try harder at posting than I do right now... Posting a low content reply with what I'd do and how strongly I feel is generally considered better than posting nothing imo.

It is better, and I hope that people like HL will not discourage you from weighing in on a subject when you don't have the time or the inclination to write a detailed primer on the subject.

[HighLow21]

 Vampyr, on 2012-March-24, 18:29, said:

You don't usually, but I do remember that I once made a post that you didn't like, and you called me a "hateful troll". I don't remember anything about the thread or the post, but the insult has stayed with me.

It is better, and I hope that people like HL will not discourage you from weighing in on a subject when you don't have the time or the inclination to write a detailed primer on the subject.

FWIW, Justin and I have had a detailed personal message discussion of this whole affair; I strongly commend his honesty and reasonableness in all of it; I now consider him a friend and ally, and I personally congratulated him on his Platinum Life Pairs victory with Bob Hamman.

And also FWIW, when I called the overcall ludicrous, I had no idea that Justin said that overcalling was right. I still don't like the overcall but I have no argument against any expert who likes the overcall. My personal view is that the overcall is great over 1♦, marginal over 1♣, and very questionable over 1♥.

[Vampyr]

 HighLow21, on 2012-March-25, 11:35, said:

FWIW, Justin and I have had a detailed personal message discussion of this whole affair; I strongly commend his honesty and reasonableness in all of it; I now consider him a friend and ally, and I personally congratulated him on his Platinum Life Pairs victory with Bob Hamman.

And also FWIW, when I called the overcall ludicrous, I had no idea that Justin said that overcalling was right. I still don't like the overcall but I have no argument against any expert who likes the overcall. My personal view is that the overcall is great over 1♦, marginal over 1♣, and very questionable over 1♥.

FWI"Worthless", why is my post quoted above this? Am I supposed to care?

[HighLow21]

 Vampyr, on 2012-March-26, 02:29, said:

FWI"Worthless", why is my post quoted above this? Am I supposed to care?

It is better, and I hope that people like HL will not discourage you from weighing in on a subject when you...