Jump Overcall & Opening Preempts

By: Larry Cohen

Jump Overcall & Opening Preempts

This is a nice breather, with not much memory involved. Both sections are shown together (they are fast, easy and related).

What's important here is not methods, but "style." If is very important to have a style and stick to it. It's okay if one partner is aggressive and the other conservative (reminds me of "Bergen-Cohen"). But, know your partner's style and stick to your own.

I recommend being sound if vulnerable, but aggressive if not vulnerable. White against red is the time to be super-aggressive. In 3rd seat, go really wild. Opposite a passed partner, my jump overcalls (though marked as "weak") can be wide ranging. Stylistically, I love to jump overcall 2 after P-(1)- with as much as:

A 2
K Q 10 9 8 3
Q J 2
3 2
. Because our partner has already passed, we don't rate to have a game. As long as he follows the LAW (raises only with trump support to the appropriate level), we should be fine. Of course if partner is an UPH (unpassed Hand), I can't preempt with so much strength.

All preempts in this section are natural and assumed to be 6-card suits on the two level and 7-card suits on the 3-level.

The "regular" version of LC Standard doesn't use NAMYATS. Experienced/expert/scientific players can add this to the card.

For a full LC Standard convention card and a prettier version of this series, see Bridge Winners.