What's an overcall?
A recent post prompted me to wonder what the exact definition of an overcall is, so I went looking - but failed to find one. Not in the laws or the blue book.
Ok so we all know - but do we?
Is it any bid after the opponents have opened?
Is it any bid made when the immediately preceding bid was made by the opponents?
Is it any bid made by the non-opening side when the immediately preceding bid was made by the opponents?
Is it the first bid made by the non-opening side?
Is it a bid made by the non-opening side in a new denomination (i.e. a denomination not yet bid by the non-opening side)?
Some examples:
N E S W
1H 1S 1N is 1N an overcall?
N E S W
1H 1S 1N 2S 1S is clearly an overcall - is 2S an overcall?
N E S W
1H 1S 1N 2C 1S is clearly an overcall - is 2C an overcall?
N E S W
1H 1S P 2S is 2S an overcall?
N E S W
1H P P 1S
2H is 2H an overcall?
Comments
Since the laws don't use the term, it's not surprising they don't define it.
The first two responses I got to a Google search said:
"In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opponent's opening bid, when the player's partner has not yet bid or has passed."
"An overcall is a bid made over an opener who is one of your opponents. Your partner has either not yet bid or has passed."
As I'm sure you know, none of the calls you ask about above is an overcall.
“ In contract bridge, an overcall is a bid made after an opening bid has been made by an opponent; the term refers only to the first such bid. A direct overcall is such a bid made by the player seated immediately to the left of the opener, i.e. next in the bidding rotation; an overcall in the 'last seat', i.e. by the player to the right of opener, which is made after two intervening passes, is referred to as a balancing or protective overcall.”
Well yes, I can google, but neither of those is an offical definition. Whilst the laws book does not use the term, the blue book does, so we ought to have something formal. Also, I question their definiton, since under it:
N E S W
1H X P 1S : 1S is an overcall (E has not yet bid)
Or perhaps they mean "partner has not yet called or has passed"?
Even so:
N E S W
1H P P 1S
2H P P 3C: 3C is an overcall (E has passed)
I did wonder whether, in bridge parlance, there is such a thing as an "overcall". In bridge a call is defined as "a bid, double, redouble or pass". So i think it could be called an "overbid". a double, redouble or pass do not take the level of bidding any higher (just the blood pressure as far as double and redouble are concerned). But then this puts a different slant on "stop overbidding partner".
N E S W
1H X P 1S : 1S is an overcall (E has not yet bid) Ah but they have called
"Or perhaps they mean "partner has not yet called or has passed"?" Hmm as "partner hasn't called they can't have passed" so where did that "X" come from?
In the days of "voicing" ones call, people would say "no bid". One person I knew well would pause and then ask "so are you doubling/redoubling or just going to pass". It did the job, not many continued to say "no bid".
I think that "overcall" was invented for teaching purposes so that those learning can differentiate between responding to an opening bid and something thrown into the mix by partner as an opponent and make the appropriate response. The laws really only need to deal with calls, anything else, as you have found, just muddies the water.
We are all familiar with the roles of Opener and Responder. Many teaching materials refer to the overcaller as the Intervener (which includes doubles) and their partner as the Advancer.
West is the Advancer in Jeremy's examples 2, 3 and 4, therefore they are making advancing bids.