By Andrew Robson 
Courtesy of AndrewBobson.co.uk
A good five+ card suit in a hand of a wideranging point-count, anything from six or seven points (with a very good suit) to 17 or 18 points: that’s what a suit overcall looks like. It’s the strength of the suit that matters, not the strength of the hand.
Use as a guide the Suit Quality Overcall Test: Add up the number of cards in the suit (five+) to the number of honours in the suit. The total should get to (at least) the number of tricks bid for. In marginal situations, be more cautious when vulnerable.
| Hand (i) | Hand (ii) | Hand (iii) | Hand (iv) |
| ♠ K J 10 7 2 ♥ 7 ♦ Q 9 8 2 ♣ 9 3 2 |
♠ Q 3 ♥ K 8 7 6 2 ♦ K J 4 ♣ Q 8 2 |
♠ K 10 ♥ A 4 3 ♦ A Q 9 4 2 ♣ Q J 6 |
♠ K J 9 2 ♥ A K J 4 ♦ Q 4 2 ♣ 8 2 |
Hand (ii): Pass. 11 points, but what a poor suit, poor shape (you’d much prefer Hand (i)’s 5431) and defensive looking ‘soft’ honours (picture cards as opposed to aces).
Hand (iii): Bid lNT. Yes, you could bid 1 ♦, but, bidding lNT as an overcall shows 15-19, balanced with a stopper in the opposing suit. Perfect.
Hand (iv): Double. You can’t bid l♥ for the lack of a fifth card. This double for take-out shows a three-suited opening hand with short clubs and asks partner to choose a suit. Ideal.
Our deal emphasises a key overcalling point: if you really want your suit to be led, bid (even with a poor hand). If you don’t particularly want your suit to be led, don’t bid (even with a fair hand):
If East had bid 1 ♥, West would have dutifully led ♥ J and 3 NT would have romped home with overtricks. On ♠ 4 lead (to ♠ 5, ♠ Q, ♠ 6) and ♠ 9 to ♠ A, declarer led ♣ Q to ♣ K* and ♣ A, then ran ♦ J. East won ♦ K and his ♠ 3 return enabled West to score ♠ K87. Down one.
*Probably a mistake for East to cover: it is likely declarer will rise with the ace anyway, as he needs the diamond finesse to succeed to make nine tricks