WARNING! The following post talks about GERBER. Gerber is a bid used by more experienced players. If you are a new player do NOT bother reading this post. When you have played a bit more and know a bit more you can learn Gerber. For now, do not bother.
Gerber
Please read the previous post to get a little information on Gerber:
Gerber - An Introduction
Why would we bid Gerber?
Say my Partner opened the bidding 1NT and I hold this hand:
♠KQJ98653
♥2
♦KQ5
♣3
What do I need from Partner in order to take ALL the tricks? Basically just all four Aces. That's it. I don't actually care how many points Partner has -- I just want to know how many Aces Partner has. If Partner has three Aces we should be able to take 12 tricks if ♠ are trump. However with only one or two Aces we just want to play in 4♠. No sense in bidding any higher than that.
Hand A
Hand B
Hand C
Hand D
♠42♥KQJ8♦JT6♣AKJ8
♠42♥AQ83♦JT6♣AKJ8
♠A2♥AQ83♦JT6♣A842
♠A4♥A854♦AT6♣A842
Partner has 1 Ace.With this hand we want to play in only 4♠. There is no point in being any higher. The Opponents can take three Aces right away.
Partner has 2 Aces.With this hand we want to play in only 4♠. There is no point in being any higher. The Opponents can take two Aces right away.
Partner has 3 Aces.With this hand we want to play in 6♠. We should be able to take 12 tricks with ♠ as trump.
Partner has 4 Aces.With this hand we want to play in 7NT. We should be able to take 13 tricks!
What about if Partner doesn't have ANY Aces? Wouldn't we go down if we bid that high?
Yes, if Partner doesn't have any Aces we cannot bid past the 3 level. However it is mathematically impossible for Partner to not have any Aces when we hold the hand we have. Construct the WORST hand possible for Partner. If they have 15 HCP (which is their minimum to open 1NT) then they have an Ace.
So basically we bid Gerber when we need to know the NUMBER of Aces Partner has.
What about this hand? If Partner opened the bidding 1NT and you had the following hand could you bid Gerber?
♠KQT987653
♥2
♦KQ5
♣
This seems VERY similar to the last hand. However there is a BIG difference. Imagine if you bid 4♣ (Gerber) and Partner responds 4♠. Partner is telling you they have TWO Aces. Unfortunately you don't know WHICH Aces they are! Partner could hold any of these hands:
Hand E
Hand F
Hand G
Hand H
♠42♥QJ8♦AT62♣AKJ8
♠A2♥K86♦AJ62♣KJ86
♠A2♥KQ83♦T62♣AQ42
♠A4♥AJ54♦JT62♣KQ2
Partner has 2 Aces.With this hand we want to play in only 4♠. There is no point in being any higher. The Opponents can take two Aces right away.
Partner has 2 Aces.With this hand we want to play in 6♠. The Opponents can only take their A♥!
Partner has 2 Aces.With this hand we want to play in only 4♠. There is no point in being any higher. The Opponents can take two Aces right away.
Partner has 2 Aces.With this hand we want to play in 6♠. The Opponents can only take their A♦!
Since you do not know which Aces Partner has you should NOT bid Gerber if you have a VOID in a suit.
For the same reason you should NOT bid Gerber with a useless doubleton. A useless doubleton means that there are two cards in the suit and neither of the cards are the Ace or King of the suit.
For example this hand:
♠AKQT876532
♥Q2
♦A
♣
Partner opens the bidding 1NT. Does it help you to ask for Aces?
No. You need to know if Partner has a SPECIFIC Ace. You need the A♥ and the K♥. Only knowing if Partner has 1 Ace does not help at all.
Let's take a look at a few hands. If your Partner opened 1NT should you bid Gerber? If the answer is "NO" state the reason(s) why.
Hand 1
No comments:
Post a Comment