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Antraxxx, on 2010-December-17, 14:29, said:
I though you generally overcall with better suits than this, because partner is likely to lead my suit and it's not really a suit we can develop unless he happens to have a bunch of honors in it. No?
One would prefer a better suit, but sometimes your hand is strong enough that you should act (on average action gets you better score than passing) despite the mediocre suit, and it's generally more effective to act earlier rather than later, because you rob space from the opponents (esp if partner can raise) making their decisions less accurate. Overcalling finds your 5-3 spade fits (and 5-4 spade fits) most effectively, without you having to stick your neck out a level higher over 2c/2d, or possibly 3c (partner might have a hand worth 3s over 3c, but only if he knows you have five spades + values).
Lead direction is a secondary consideration to competing effectively for partscores/games. Half the time you rate to be on lead anyway, so it doesn't end up mattering. And a reasonable fraction of the time that partner leads a spade it won't cost or will be the best lead anyway, or if you didn't bid partner would lead a spade, so the overcall didn't really induce the bad lead. On this hand, if partner is going to lead an unbid suit, you do prefer he lead a spade rather than a heart. Also, vs. suit contracts, "developing" the suit really isn't a consideration since the opps are going to ruff later rounds. Mostly you are worrying about not having the lead blow a trick. If RHO has the ace it won't often matter, the nightmare scenario for this holding is usually when partner has Jxx/Jx and leads it when LHO has the ace and RHO the Q, and with your side lacking the T you blow your trick in the suit.
At the one level many people have rather lax standards for suit quality, because one can generally get away with murder here. The opps have so many hand types they need to be able to describe that they generally have to define their doubles as takeout (or support, situationally), rather than penalty, else they are giving up more than they are gaining in extra penalties. Also it's often hard for them after only one round of bidding to judge whether they can both set you and have it be worth more than their contract.
One usually avoids overcalling at the TWO level on Kxxxx in live non-fit auctions unless the hand is otherwise so overwhelmingly strong that the risk of missing game by not acting outweighs the risk of going for a large number. It's easier for them to get you at the 2 level, they need one fewer trick on defense. Also when you are overcalling at the 2 level the opps have bid their major, their hand is better defined, easier for their partner to know what to do.