Gerber
14th September 2007
Do you play Gerber?
Most club players would answer "Yes, but only over an opening 1NT or 2NT." This is sensible, but for experienced players there is a better answer: -
4
is Gerber when 4NT would be Quantitative.
This covers the opening 1NT and 2NT but is also useful in other situations, for example common transfer and Stayman sequences.
Transfer over 1NT
| 1NT | 2 (transfer) |
2 |
? |
- 4NT is quantitative with a 5-card heart suit (as it should be).
- 4 is Gerber , with 5+ hearts
(RKC Gerber for hearts if you like)
Note the common idea that 4NT is Blackwood if responder transfers or bids Stayman first is inferior, as a quantitative 4NT is at least as useful as Blackwood in these situations.
Transfer over 2NT
| 2NT | 3 (transfer) |
| 3 |
? |
- 4NT is quantitative as above.
- 4 is Gerber.
Stayman over 1NT
| 1NT | 2 |
2/2 |
? |
- 4NT is quantitative with four cards in the other major.
- 4 is Gerber.
Some partnerships have other ways of dealing with the Stayman sequences but the above sequences
are simple and an improvement on current commonly played methods.
There is no need to take the idea any further but there are other situations where it is useful.
However partnerships need to work through these. In particular, you need to make sure there are no mistakes
in sequences where 4 carries some other specialised meaning.