Lets begin with an example.
This is a matter of agreement, I will lay out for you what works and what is in fashion, and you can decide what suits your partnership. However, before I begin I recommend
Be comfortable with what you play, bridge is not always about doing the best thing, its about doing the right thing for your partnership.
The Modern 1 level overcall
When we are NV, we overcall decent+ 5 card suits on the 1 level - points can be very light. Think of it as a possible 1 level preempt. However, you might have a good hand - so the range is very wide. Overall we bid more at the 1 level NV with a good suit - it just works....
Why? There are several good things that can happen.
The lead - if partner is on lead anything other than a spade will likely be bad, and a spade will likely be good.
Uncovering fits, especially big fits, can mean our side making partscore or game even with minimal points.
We can get in their way, especially if partner is able to raise us - making it harder for the opponents to bid
People sometimes think this can make it very difficult to bid properly with your partner, because you dont know if they have 6 or 16 points. In my extensive experience playing in such a way, it has never been a problem, lets look at why.
Just worry about bidding your hand
Does it matter how many points partner has?
Bid your hand, forget about what partner has, if you've shown your hand you've done your job and that's all you can do.
Just bid 2♥ here, showing a good spade raise (say 11+ points). Partner can now do what he wants.
Give north
We have 21 combined points and sensibly finished on the 2 level. We showed 11+ points, and 3 spades, and then gladly put down dummy with no surprises for partner.
Often it won't matter what partner has, your job will just be to show your hand.
So, for example.
We have 12 points, stoppers in clubs and spades. Lets assume partner has about 8ish points - we have a combined 20, 1NT seems like a sensible bid?
Partner should know you're only expecting about 8 points, so, if for example they actually happened to have a good hand - say 13 points (my partners never have good hands!), they can raise you. So, for example.
Partner knew you were expecting 8 points, but actually had 13, so raised you to 3NT.
1. The modern way is to be aggressive at the 1 level, bid decent/good suits. Fortune favours the bold bidders "its a bidders game", especially at the 1 level, its the right time to "get in there".
2. If you want to be aggressive at the 1 level, partner needs to assume you have around 8 points, and not get carried away when holding say 13 points opposite a 1 level overcall - that is only a combined 21 points.
3. It is mostly a matter of a partnership style and agreement, being comfortable and coordinated is the most important thing.
Practice questions
Question 1
What would you bid?
Pick a level, then a suit
5 card suit headed by the AK is enough for a 1 level bid. Importantly, do not think about doubling for two reasons - firstly because you have a 5 card major (usually don't double with that), secondly double carries the traditional point requirement of approximately an opening hand.
Question 2
What would you bid?
Pick a level, then a suit
This is a very poor hand, and a very poor suit and encouraging partner to lead spades is likely to be a bad idea.
Do not push to bid on hands that have some of these features: Balanced hands, scattered honors, points in the opponents suit, a bad/weak long suit.
Question 3
Overcalling on the 1 level is always weakish?
It can still be a normal hand and have a lot of strength - it is wide ranging.
Guided bidding section coming shortly.
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