Weekly Hand Analysis - Glenna Shannahan - August 30, 2021- When the "Fix" is on

Question: Should W up the bid to 4 H in response to partner’s overcall? S has opened  weak, N has indicated strength and W would assume some strength based on the overcall by E

Glenna:

 This is a great hand for discussion because it comes up often. I have to start by saying that S does NOT have a weak 2-bid. Weak 2’s are 6 cards and 5-10 pts, weak 3’s are 7-card with 8- to a bad 12 count. 8-card suits and all or most values in the 8-card suit can be opened at the 4-level. Reading this S has a very clear cut pass. Not enough points and a very poor suit. Bad bids are referred to as a “fix” because opponents can never get things right when bids like that are made.

But now for the interesting part of the hand: EW can survive this when E bids a free 3 ♥️, W MUST bid 4. He has 9 points and 4-card support!!!! Think the problem is that people aren’t sure what partner has for their overcall. When we overcall at the 1-level, we could have as few as 7 pts, but that’s rare as we usually have a decent suit—AJTxx, AQTxx pr even KQJxx all qualify for a l-level overcall. BUT, overcalled must have more points when they’re overcalling at the 3-level and more yet if they overcall 4. East knows his partner must have at least 5 ♥️ and lots of points or maybe a few less points if they have a 6 or 7-card suit. When partner overcalls, RAISE WITH SUPPORT.

Please bid in auctions like this and raise partner anytime you have 6 or more points. Make limit raises with 11 or 12 pts or bid NT with the opponent’s suit. If you’re not bidding in these situations, opponents are taking advantage of you.

See You At The Tables,

Glenna