Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 4 views

    1+(159)+Slam+Tools+-+Gerber+and+1430+Keycard

    Uploaded by

    wael samman

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    1+(159)+Slam+Tools+-+Gerber+and+1430+Keycard

    Uploaded by

    wael samman
    4 views6 pages

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    4 views6 pages

    1+(159)+Slam+Tools+-+Gerber+and+1430+Keycard

    Uploaded by

    wael samman

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 6

    Adventures in Bridge

    Leaders in Bridge Entertainment and Education


    www.advinbridge.com

    (159) Notrump: Slam Tools - Gerber and 1430 Keycard


    Date: July 2016 © AiB Robert S. Todd
    Level: 1 - 3 [email protected]

    General
    When we have lots of HCP or tricks, or both, we are interested in slam. But we want to avoid slam if we
    have two “likely losers”. Gerber is designed to keep us out of slam in notrump contracts when we are
    missing two Aces. Keycard Blackwood is designed to keep us out of slam in trump suit contracts when
    we have two likely losers, or when we are missing two of the 6 important cards – the 4 Aces and the
    King and Queen of trump.

    Gerber
    Gerber is our Ace-asking convention after notrump has been bid. “Asker” uses 4 to ask the notrump
    bidder, the “shower”, how many Aces they hold. Here is how it works:

    Example
    1NT 4♣
    __
     4♦ 0 or 4 Aces (Partner has to figure it out from context.)
     4♥ 1 Ace
     4♠ 2 Aces
     4NT 3 Aces

    When is 4♣ Gerber?
    Determining when 4♣ is Gerber requires some good partnership agreements. Partnerships must agree
    whether they play “lots of Gerber” or a “little bit of Gerber”.

    [email protected] PO Box 14915 ♠ Tallahassee, FL 32317 850 570 6459


    Adventures in Bridge, Inc.
    www.advinbridge.com

    Example Sequences where 4♣ is Gerber


    1NT 4♣ Gerber

    1X 1Y
    1NT 4♣ Gerber

    2NT 4♣ Gerber

    1X 1Y
    2NT 4♣ Gerber

    1X 2Y
    2NT 4♣ Gerber

    Most partnerships also play the following auction as Gerber:


    1NT 2♣
    2♦ 4♣ Gerber

    More complex Gerber agreements come over 3NT rebids. Then, the question of whether 4♣ is Gerber is
    generally a matter of partnership agreement - is this 4♣ bid to be played as Gerber, natural, a splinter,
    or a control-showing cuebid?

    Advice for Gerber Rules/Agreements


    Examples of possible Gerber agreements:
     4♣ Gerber over First or Last NT
     4♣ Gerber over First or Last NT and Always a Jump
     4♣ Gerber over First or Last NT when not another specific meaning (Natural, Splinter, Cuebid)
    This third option is the preferred choice for when 4♣ should be Gerber.

    Here is an example of a reasonable, but more complex Gerber sequence.

    Example
    1♠ 2♥
    3NT 4♣ Gerber?
    If we choose to play “lots of Gerber” then we will play this sequence as Gerber. Otherwise, we may
    treat this 4♣ bid as natural.

    The key is for you and partner to come to an agreement about the Gerber rules and make sure that you
    stay on the same page in the bidding.

    (159) Notrump: Slam Tools - Gerber and 1430 Keycard 2


    Adventures in Bridge, Inc.
    www.advinbridge.com

    1430 Keycard Blackwood


    Keycard Blackwood is our convention for keeping us out of bad trump suit slams. It helps us not bid a
    slam when we have two potential losers out of the important cards.

    So here is how it works – we promote the King of trump to a fifth Ace, or “Keycard”. We treat the
    Queen as an extra card that we want to find out about as well. If we are missing two out of these six
    cards then we usually do not want to bid a slam.

    Once you learn the difference between Keycard and traditional Blackwood, the reasons that Keycard
    Blackwood is a better slam tool than Blackwood should be obvious – one suit (trump) is more important
    than the others and thus should be given much greater emphasis. So, in this important suit (the “Key
    Suit”) we want to know about more than just the Ace – we want to know about the King and Queen as
    well.

    Note: The 1430 name comes from the steps in the bidding, but also from the score for bidding and
    making 6M, Vulnerable. +1430!

    Example
    1♠ 3♠
    4NT __?
     5♣ 1 or 4 Keycards
     5♦ 3 or 0 Keycards
     5♥ 2 Keycards without the Queen
     5♠ 2 Keycards with the Queen

    Queen Ask
    When partner shows 5♣ or 5♦ then we do not know if they hold of the Queen of trump. This may be
    important information for us to determine if slam is a good contract. We “ask for the Queen” by making
    the cheapest available bid that is not our trump suit. (If asker rebids the trump suit, that is to play.)
    After this “Queen Ask,” shower’s rebids are as follows:
     Without the Queen, rebid the trump suit as cheaply as possible.
     With the Queen, start showing Kings (more on this below).

    Showing Kings after an Ace-Asking (or Keycard) Auction


    If the asker, the player that bid 4NT, is interested in a Grand Slam then more information is needed to
    determine if this is possible. Now that Aces (or Keycards) have been described, the asker needs to know
    about outside Kings. In both Gerber and 1430 Keycard auctions, Kings can be shown either by Number
    of Kings or Specific Kings. Number of Kings is the simplest approach and what we shall look at first.

    (159) Notrump: Slam Tools - Gerber and 1430 Keycard 3


    Adventures in Bridge, Inc.
    www.advinbridge.com

    Number of Kings
    When playing number of Kings, the shower describes their hand in steps, similar to showing their Aces.

    Example – Gerber Number of Kings


    1NT 4♣ Gerber
    4♥ 5♣ Asks for Kings
    __?
     5♦ 0 or 4 Kings
     5♥ 1 King
     5♠ 2 Kings
     5NT 3 Kings

    Example – 1430 Keycard Number of Kings


    1♠ 3♠
    4NT 5♥
    5NT __?
     6♣ 0 or 4 Kings
     6♦ 1 King
     6♥ 2 Kings
     6♠ 3 Kings

    Specific Kings
    Having the shower describe their specific Kings is a better approach than number of Kings because often
    a grand slam depends on which King shower has, not how many Kings.

    Example of Specific Kings – Bid “Cheapest King”


    1♠ 3♠
    4NT 5♥
    5NT __?
     6♣ ♣K (could have other Kings)
     6♦ ♦K, no ♣K
     6♥ ♥K, no ♣K or ♦K
     6♠ No Kings
    After a relatively cheap bid, like 6♣ or 6♦ in the above example, the asker can bid another suit to ask the
    shower to bid a grand slam with that King.

    (159) Notrump: Slam Tools - Gerber and 1430 Keycard 4


    Adventures in Bridge, Inc.
    www.advinbridge.com

    Example – Further King Ask


    1♠ 3♠
    4NT 5♥
    5NT 6♣
    6♥ This says bid the grand slam with the ♥K and stop in 6♠ without it.

    Specific Kings can be played in both Gerber and 1430 Keycard auctions. Whichever method of King
    showing you choose to play, Number of Kings or Specific Kings, it is best to play the same style in Gerber
    auctions and 1430 Auctions.

    Advanced Topic – Queen Ask 5♠


    When Hearts is the trump suit and shower’s answer to 4NT is 5♦, then there is no space to ask for the
    Queen of trump and keep the auction below 5♥. In this case asker must guess when thinking about
    bidding a small slam. But if asker is interested in playing in a Grand Slam, then 5♠ (the first “available”
    bid) is used to ask for the Queen.

    Shower answers as follows:


     Without the Queen, shower bids 6♥.
     With the Queen, shower bids their cheapest King (playing Specific Kings).
    o 5NT bid shows the trump Queen with no outside Kings.
     When the shower has the ♥Q and only the ♠K, then they must use their judgment about
    whether to bypass 6♥ and show the ♠K with a 6♠ bid. They must believe that this will be enough
    to make either 6NT or 7♥ a good contract.

    Advanced Topic – King Ask 5♠


    When playing Specific Kings, if Hearts is the trump suit and the answer to 4NT Keycard ask is either 5♦ or
    5♥, then the 5♠ bid can be used to start the King Ask at a lower level. This allows for shower to be able
    to describe their Kings at a lower level. Specifically, the shower can now show the ♠K below 6♥.

    Example
    1♠ 3♠
    4NT 5♥
    5♠ __
     5NT ♠K (may have other Kings, Asker can ask in traditional way)
     6♣ ♣K, no ♠K
     6♦ ♦K, no ♠K and no ♣K
     6♥ No Kings
    This use of 5♠ allows asker to find out about the ♠K and can be useful when this the card most needed in
    order to bid a grand slam.

    (159) Notrump: Slam Tools - Gerber and 1430 Keycard 5


    Adventures in Bridge, Inc.
    www.advinbridge.com

    Note: If there is a conflict about what the meaning of the 5♠ bid is, a Queen Ask or a Specific King Ask,
    then the Queen Ask takes priority because 5NT can still be used to ask for Specific Kings.

    Conclusion
    Gerber and 1430 Keycard are good bidding tools for keeping us out of bad slams; use them when you
    think that slam is likely!

    (159) Notrump: Slam Tools - Gerber and 1430 Keycard 6

    You might also like