What level to overcall with ♠KQJT876? - with Curt Soloff
May 09, 2023 11:46 am
Hi ,
Our hand is a shapely ♠KQJT876 ♥K9 ♦3 ♣Q75. After our left-hand opponent opens 1♦ and our right-hand opponent responds, 1♥, we must choose what to overcall. Would you bid a simple 1♠ or can you do something else to make things even more difficult for your opponents? Leave a comment with your vote about what to bid: https://youtu.be/sK8hLjdFc3I
Curt Soloff asks us to consider which bid thrusts the "last guess" onto the opponents.
In competitive auctions, it often pays to make a bigger bid than necessary (especially when the vulnerability makes it safe to do so) so that the opponents cannot exchange information about their hands easily and are put to the test at a high level: bid on, pass, or double for penalty?
This concept, by the way, is addressed in great detail in Kit Woolsey's well-known book 'Matchpoints' in which one of the chapters is entitled 'The Last Guess'.
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Curt brings more than 27 years of competitive duplicate bridge experience to the table. A Sapphire Life Master who provides professional bridge teaching services in Colorado and online to students around the globe, Curt previously served as the manager of the Castle Rock Bridge Club from 2009 until 2020. He was a columnist for the District 17 Scorecard and his playing career includes numerous regional and sectional tournament event victories.
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