As recently as fifty years ago, the jump overcalls were played as strong, indicating a very powerful suit in a powerful hand. It was Howard Schenken who brought about a radical change when he invented the weak-twos and the Weak Jump Overcalls in the thirties. He introduced them with the idea of preventing the side opening the bidding from exchanging information at the one level.
It is not always correct to use weak jump overcalls, however, as there are a number of situations where it should be played to show useful values or even a strong hand.
Let us look at some day-to-day situations where it is very useful to have a clear-cut understanding on jump overcalls. Identify the type of jump overcalls first and look for the answer immediately below in the following quiz. Before we proceed with the quiz, let us define the ranges of the different jump overcalls:
A)Weak Jump Overcall – 6-11 hcp and a good six-card suit.
B) Intermediate Jump Overcall – 12-14 hcp and a good six-card suit.
C)Strong Jump Overcall – 15-17 hcp and a very good six-card suit.
