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- SUPER GERBER
-
-
- Because a 4C bid over 3NT is often needed in the natural sense, and
- a raise of 3NT to 4NT is usually natural, we need to devise an ace-
- asking convention for this awkward situation:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1S 2C/2D/2H
- 3NT 4C is natural, not Gerber
- 4NT is natural, not Blackwood
-
- How to ask for aces? Solution: Use the lowest unbid suit other than
- clubs, a variation of the convention known as Super Gerber:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1D 3NT
- 4C/4D - natural
- 4H - Super Gerber
- 4S - notrump raise, implying weakish diamonds
- 4NT - stronger notrump raise
-
- The 4C rebid is too valuable as a natural bid to be used as Gerber.
- The 4S bid says that opener's diamond suit needs a good fit to be
- useful in a notrump slam (e.g., five cards to only one of the top
- three honors). When there is a conflict, Super Gerber takes
- precedence over the 4S slam try in notrump:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1H 2D
- 3NT 4C - natural
- 4S - Super Gerber
-
- Another sequence that needs comment:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1H 1S
- 3NT 4C - natural
- 4D - Super Gerber
-
- It is true that in this sequence 4C is no more valuable than 4D as
- a natural bid, but for the sake of a general rule we let 4C retain
- its natural meaning and use 4D to ask for aces.
-
- Unfortunately, we must have one exception to the general rule of
- what bid to use for Super Gerber:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1D 1S
- 3NT 4H - natural, not Super Gerber
- 4C - Gerber
-
- The 4H bid in this particular sequence is too valuable as a natural
- bid, so we revert to 4C as Gerber.
-
-
- Responses
-
- Responses are the same as for regular Gerber, except for the
- necessarily higher ranking of the step responses:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1S 2C
- 3NT 4D - Super Gerber
- 4H - 0 or 3 aces
- 4S - 1 or 4 aces
- 4NT - 2 aces, 0-2 kings
- 5C - 2 aces, 3-4 kings
-
- To inquire about kings, the lowest unbid suit (which is often the
- Super Gerber suit) is bid at the five level:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1S 2C
- 3NT 4D - Super Gerber
- 5C 5D - asks about kings
-
- The king-showing responses are similar to regular Gerber, except
- for the higher level:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1C 3NT
- 4D 4H - 0 or 3 aces
- 5D 5H - 0 or 4 kings
- 5S - S- king or the other three
- 5NT - H- king or the other three
- 6C - C- king or the other three
- 6D - D- king or the other three
- 6H - two kings, same color
- 6S - two kings, same rank
- 6NT - two kings, nothing in common
-
- When the king-asking bid is 5H, as may sometimes happen, the two-
- king response must be reduced to two bids:
-
- 5H (asking for kings) 6S - two kings, same color
- 6NT - any other two kings
-
- If the Gerber bidder returns to a suit previously bid naturally,
- that is a sign-off, as is a notrump bid. Remember that the lowest
- unbid suit is used to ask for kings, sometimes saving bidding
- space:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1H 1S
- 3NT 4D - Super Gerber
- 4S 4NT/5H - sign-offs
- 5C - asks about kings
- 5D - forgot this agreement
-
- When a strong jump takeout responder rebids 3NT, opener must use
- Gerber to ask for aces--since 4NT would be a raise:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1S 3C
- 3S 3NT
- 4D is Super Gerber
- 4NT - natural raise
-
- The strong jump takeout responder cannot use Gerber, however; his
- 4NT bids are always Roman Key Card Blackwood, and other bids are
- natural:
-
- Opener Responder
- 1NT 3D
- 3NT 4NT - RKCB
- 4C/4D/4H - natural, forcing