Gerber

[Mbodell]

:P What if you simply swapped the meaning of 4♣ and 4NT? Even I can remember that. That way you start your RKC asking bid sequence at 4♣ when appropriate, and you can show your club control (or support, if that is what 4♣ would have meant) with 4NT. The main thing you lose is the ability to play exactly 4♣. You also have to remember 4NT bypasses the other suits when cue bidding to show clubs, so there are some negative inferences about your holding in the other suits.

 

The problem with that is that you often need to still cue to find out you don't have 2 quick losers in some suit before you RKC. So it is not uncommon you'll have to cue past 4♣ to figure that out and then want to key-card. That said, I play 4♣ as keycard after stayman and after preempts, and in some partnerships play gerber after nt. But in general I'd much rather 4nt was keycard than 4♣. If you want to play kickback and/or minorwood that's fine with me too, but 4♣ as keycard when we are playing a major seems in a non-nt auction seems poor.

[32519]

This thread is from the SAYC and 2/1 Forum. Here other forms of Gerber and meanings of a 4♣ bid were discussed.

Gerber Keycard, MiniMax Gerber, 4♣ Cue, Splinter http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/34303-gerber-keycard-minimax-gerber-4c-cue-splinters/

[WellSpyder]

I think it may have been referred to on this forum before, but for sheer bravado in using Gerber it is hard to beat the approach set out here: http://www.poorbridge.com/?misc=28

[mycroft]

Siegmund, I bet I've seen two pairs in the last week who play Gerber over suits. I've met pairs - and one or two aren't bad - who play 4♣ Gerber Always.

 

I play "Gerber never" not because 1NT-4NT is blackwood (obviously), but because most of my pickup and more-than-pickup partners overuse ace-asking bids, and will invent situations - and I don't want to have the "gerber after Stayman" and "gerber after transfer" discussions with a pickup. As I said, the one or two times a year that Gerber/NT is actually useful *and* the other methods don't work, I apologise for being a stick-in-the-mud (and continue to be grateful for all the IMPs I *haven't lost* because partner couldn't bid Gerber when he shouldn't or figured out what my bid *was* because it can't be Gerber (and maybe even those I haven't lost because partner bid 4♣ meaning something intelligent, where with other partners he wouldn't be able to)).

 

If that makes me sound like a) a novice or b) an arrogant prick who thinks my partners have no bridge judgement, oh well.

 

And WellSpyder: I've told the story at least once before of coming to a table where the auction went:

 

(3♠)-4♣-4♥; pass.

 

Meant as, and taken as, Gerber; the opponents were surprised at overcaller's 4 hearts and 2 clubs, and wondered if they were due an Alert or two (which, of course, they were). What gets me is that they got to the best contract...

[32519]

Some more interesting threads dealing with Gerber -

 

1.) What is the meaning of 4♣? http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/38337-this-4c/ Emphasising again the importance of partnership agreements. There were 69 replies.

2.) To Gerber or not to Gerber? http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/47878-to-gerber-or-not-to-gerber/ Another Gerber misunderstanding. There were 44 replies.

3.) The Beginner and Intermediate Forum also had some advice on Gerber http://www.bridgebase.com/forums/topic/5286-gerber/

[Vampyr]

 

I play "Gerber never" not because 1NT-4NT is blackwood (obviously)

 

If you want an ace-asking bid after NT openings, you may have 4♠ available if you play 4-level transfers.