Hand of the Week - Vic Johnson - September 21, 2020 - Botched Bidding

 

Problem:  Larry Johnson and I freely admit we botched the bidding on this hand.  However, surprise, we made the bid.  We invited Vic to comment on the bidding and hand.  I asked a question about Gerber regarding asking for aces.  That was not necessarily a good question, either.  I would say after his critique that we will try not to make the same mistakes again.

Vic:

I assume 2C is the commonly used Strong 2C bid that promises 22+ points, but says nothing about distribution. Is that correct? 

Over a Strong 2C opening bid the most common partnership agreement is that Responder automatically bids 2D (a "waiting" bid that gives Opener the chance to make a call that describes their distribution - it says nothing about diamonds). 

What on earth is Responders 4C bid? I do not have a clue. 

If Responder bid 2D as I would have expected, Opener would then bid 2S, saying they have at least a 5-card spade suit. That bid is forcing. Responder MUST bid again, even with the pitiful hand they have. 

Ideally, the partnership agreement includes a way for Responder to warn Opener they are weak. A good agreement for inexperienced players is that a second bid of 3C by Responder warns Opener of a weak hand. It also warns that Opener should not expect Responder to bid a third time. It says nothing about Clubs. This agreement is often called "Second Negative". 

Subsequent to a "Second Negative" bid of 3C by Responder, Opener needs to set the contract they want to play the hand in, knowling that partner's hand will be of little help. If I held the West hand above, my third bid would be 3H, describing a two-suited hand & asking Responder to let me play at the three level in which ever one of the two majors they can help with the most. Obviously, Responder should Pass & let Opener play in 3H. Depending on the skill level of the Declarer & the Defenders, West might even make 3H. 

As for Gerber, I have been averaging 2-3 duplicate bridge games a week for almost 20 years & have found myself sitting at a table where Gerber was used I am guessing a half dozen times or less. I was informed roughly 18 years ago by a woman with over 10,,000 master points at the time that "Even Gerber does not use Gerber any more.". Gerber is the name of a baby food. It has no place in modern bridge. You should forget you ever heard about it. 

Also, there is no point in asking for Aces with the pitiful hand East is holding above. For that reason as well I certainly hope the 4C bid above was not intended to be Gerber.