{"id":1925,"date":"2011-02-26T22:56:36","date_gmt":"2011-02-27T06:56:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/?p=1925"},"modified":"2013-02-15T22:04:40","modified_gmt":"2013-02-16T06:04:40","slug":"polling-you-46-slam-bidding-%e2%80%93-gerber-day-6-february-28-2011","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/?p=1925","title":{"rendered":"Polling You #46: Slam Bidding \u2013 Gerber, Day 6, February 28, 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Gerber Convention: Slam Bidding in Contract Bridge<\/h2>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/survey.constantcontact.com\/poll\/a07e3h6mjuxgknlgsah\/start.js?v=1&amp;w=300\"><\/script><br \/>\n<noscript>JavaScript needs to be enabled for polling to work.<br \/>\n <a href='http:\/\/www.constantcontact.com\/survey\/index.jsp?cc=ViraWidPOL'>Online Surveys<\/a> by Constant Contact.<br \/>\n<\/noscript><\/p>\n<p> \u00a0<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"twitter-share-button\" href=\"http:\/\/twitter.com\/share\">Tweet<\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"http:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/all.js#xfbml=1\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bridgehands-videos.s3.amazonaws.com\/Polling_You_46_Part_1\/Polling_You_46_Part_1.html\"><strong>Click here to view Part 1 of the video commentary<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>BridgeHands<\/em> members &#8211; after logging in, please scroll down to view text and video&#8230;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>With the Blackwood 4 Notrump convention in our arsenal to handle\u00a0slam bidding in a suit contract, we are ready to explore the intracasies of the Gerber 4 Club\u00a0convention.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When our partner has either opened our rebid a Notrump bid without a partnership suit fit, we need an alternative tool to check for Aces before bidding a Notrump slam.\u00a0 And that&#8217;s where our friend the 4 Club Gerber comes into action.\u00a0 Okay, let&#8217;s try the poll and watch our video commentary.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Slam Conventions: Blackwood and Gerber<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>With good shape (a long suit partnership fit), we often use the Blackwood Convention &#8211; 4 Notrump to search for slam in a suit contract.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>With a more balanced hand, we typically use the Gerber Convention \u2013 4 Clubs is used to search for slam in a Notrump contract (or possibly a suit contract when partner attempts to signoff in Notrump).<\/strong><\/p>\n<div><strong>Like a suit slam contract, in a Notrump contract we appreciate the value of controls \u2013 Aces and Kings.\u00a0 However, unlike a suit slam where a singleton or void might be particularly helpful, in a Notrump contract short suits are liabilities.<\/strong><\/div>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nGerber prerequisites:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Small slam, 12 tricks with 3-4 Aces\/controls, 33+ distribution points<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Grandslam, 13 tricks with 3-4 Kings\/controls, 37+ distribution points<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Typically a balanced hand (preferably not 4-3-3-3)<br \/>\nPerhaps a promotable long minor suit<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Invoked after Notrump, continuing with a 4 Clubs conventional ask-asking bid<\/strong>\u00a0<strong><br \/>\n<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Purpose of Gerber 4 Club bid:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Explore small slam \u2013 Bid 4 Clubs to ask, ensure sufficient Aces<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Explore grandslam \u2013 Bid 5 Clubs to ask, promise all 4 Aces, ensure sufficient Kings<!--more--><br \/>\nCaptain and Crew:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Crew \u2013 limited strength shown by bidding.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Open or respond Notrump:<br \/>\n1D \u2013 1N;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Bid partners suit, signoff \/ invitational bid:<br \/>\n1H \u2013 3H;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Opener rebid own\/partner suit, signoff<br \/>\n1H \u2013 1S; 2H \/ 2S<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Responder rebids prior suit, signoff<br \/>\n1D \u2013 1H; 1S \u2013 2D \/ 2H \/ 2S<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Captain \u2013 Unbounded strength, forcing bids<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Open 1 level = 12-21 points<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Respond in new suit = unlimited points<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Strong Jump Shift = 1D \u2013 2S\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 17+ points<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Strong opener = 2C\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 22+ points<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Gerber responses after 4 Clubs, as\u00a0 2N \u2013 4C:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>4D = 0 or 4 Aces (first step)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>4H = 1 Ace (second step)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>4S = 2 Aces (second step)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>4N = 3 Aces (third step)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nAvoid the 4C response \u201cGotcha\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>When responding to the 4C Gerber bid, be extra careful to remember that 4 Diamonds is the first step, showing 0 or 4 Aces.\u00a0 Newer players tend to confuse Blackwood and Gerber responses which are physically on suit rank different.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nTypical Gerber 4 Club examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1N \u2013 4C<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2N \u2013 4C<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1D \u2013 2C;<br \/>\n2N \u2013 4C;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2C \u2013 2N;<br \/>\n4C<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1D \u2013 1H;<br \/>\n2C \u2013 2S;<br \/>\n2N \u2013 4C<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Gerber continuations after 4 Clubs response followed up by 5 Clubs:<br \/>\n2N \u2013 4C;<br \/>\n4S \u2013 5C;<br \/>\n\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>5D = 0 \u2013 4* Kings (first step)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>5H = 1 King (second step)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>5S = 2 Kings (third step)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>5N = 3 Kings (fourth step)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>*Some prefer to use 6C to show 4 Kings<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nGerber continuation bids:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1D \u2013 1H;<br \/>\n2N \u2013 4C;<br \/>\n4S\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 2 Aces<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>2N \u2013 4C;<br \/>\n4N \u2013 5C;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 3 Aces, King ask (responder 1 Ace)<br \/>\n5H \u2013 6N;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 1 King<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1D \u2013 2C;<br \/>\n2N \u2013 4C;<br \/>\n4D \u2013 4S;\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 0\/4 Aces, responder forces signoff in Notrump<br \/>\n5N<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Free, Premium and ULTRA members &#8211; please login to view video of additional hand\/s<\/strong><\/p>\nPlease login or register to view this content.Additional video hand commentary for Premium and ULTRA members<\/p>\nPlease login or register to view this content.\nPlease login or register to view this content.\n<p>Warm Regards,<\/p>\n<p><em>BridgeHands<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gerber Convention: Slam Bidding in Contract Bridge JavaScript needs to be enabled for polling to work. Online Surveys by Constant Contact. \u00a0 Tweet Click here to view Part 1 of the video commentary BridgeHands members &#8211; after logging in, please scroll down to view text and video&#8230; &nbsp; With the Blackwood 4 Notrump convention in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[39],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1925"}],"version-history":[{"count":27,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3466,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1925\/revisions\/3466"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1925"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1925"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bridgehands.com\/bridgeblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1925"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}