_The "One-Spade" Convention._
In certain club circles where the game has been somewhat extensively
played, a fixed idea has arisen that to be the first to make an effectual
declaration is a positive disadvantage. Hence the "convention" {253} has
been established that (except in certain cases defined below) the dealer
must begin with a nominal or fictitious call of One Spade, in order to
obtain information from the opponents' calls as to the contents of their
hands, or to induce them to undertake a contract which they are unable to
carry out.
As it would never do for the dealer, under such a convention, to be left to
play the hand at One Spade--which may be the very last thing that he
desires--it is a further understanding that the dealer's partner must
_never_ fail to overcall. If he has nothing better to say, he must call
"Two Spades," thus re-opening the bidding for the dealer to make a fresh
start, in case the opponents also "lie low."