It is most of the time risky to make an overcall after your Right Hand Opponent has opened the bidding with a No Trump. You do not know the strength of your Right Hand Opponent, and you are guessing that your partner may have something. To remove some of the Guess-Work, ask about the No Trump range. The responder of the No Trump Bidder could be holding sufficient points for game in No Trump, and he could calculate that a double could bring more points than bidding game. The only two things you know are the strength, after asking, and the distribution of your Right Hand Opponent and the strength and distribution of your own hand.
Overcalls, either direct or in the Pass Out Seat, should be based either on greath strength or on great distribution. This is practically your only safety net and assurance that you might reach an appropriate Contract. An overcall in the Pass Out Seat carries more weight than the direct overcall, because it is then known that the Responder of the No Trump bidder is weak.
Using Landy after Right Hand Opponent opens the auction with a No Trump bid is a request for a takeout to a Major suit. The Landy treatment starts with a bid of 2 Clubs. This overcall shows good distribution in the two Major suits, and the length should be at least 4-card support in each suit. Of course, the vulnerability has a definite influence on deciding whether to overcall or not.
Many players request that the overcaller have 4-card support in both Major suits, but some players demand 5-card support in both Major suits. Some players also apply the Landy convention in direct position, in the balancing positon, or in both. This is a matter of partnership agreement.
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Overcaller
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Overcaller
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2
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2
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Whatever you decide, please make it a part of your partnership agreement.
The strength of the hand is a different matter. The Landy bidder should have at least 13 total points in high card points and distributional points. The Landy bidder seldomly has more than 15-16 total points.
What should the Responder do? Since there are no standardized responses to a Landy bid, each partnership using this treatment should establish their own responses. Mr. Alvin Landy, the person who devised this treatment, tactic or convention, encouraged the following recommendations.
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3 |
a forcing response unrelated to the Club suit requests further information. Responder may have equal length in both Majors |
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3 |
Game invitation at least 3-card support | |
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2 NT or 3 |
Natural and encouraging bids. Not forcing | |
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2 |
shows a weak hand and shows length in Diamonds | |
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Pass: |
shows a weak hand and shows length in Clubs |
Every Bridge Player would like to bid.
But there must be a reason behind the bid.
It must be a logical bid.
It must be an informative bid.
It must be a descriptive bid.
If it is not, then pass.
Remember: Partnership Agreement
Extended Landy
An extendion to the Landy convention was suggested by Mr. Ira Rubin in 1947. The overcall or takeout bid of 2 Clubs was applied as in the Landy convention, but is applied after a response or rebid of 1 No Trump after a suit opening. This overcall of 2 Clubs under these circumstances implies/promises more distribution and less strength than a double. It also applies in the Pass Out Seat or Balancing Seat.
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North |
East |
South |
West |
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1 |
pass |
1 |
pass |
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1 NT |
2 |
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The bid of 2 Clubs by North promises five or more Clubs and exactly four Hearts, and this implication is based on the original pas of North and his failure to overcall immediately. Mr. Martin Cohn developed this concept further for other similar applications.
If you wish to include this feature, or any other feature, of the game of bridge in your partnership agreement, then please make certain that the concept is understood by both partners. Be aware whether or not the feature is alertable or not and whether an announcement should or must be made. Check with the governing body and/or the bridge district and/or the bridge unit prior to the game to establish the guidelines applied. Please include the particular feature on your convention card in order that your opponents are also aware of this feature during the bidding process, since this information must be made known to them according to the Laws of Duplicate Contract Bridge. We do not always include the procedure regarding Alerts and/or Announcements, since these regulations are changed and revised during time by the governing body. It is our intention only to present the information as concisely and as accurately as possible.