"Gerry over 2NT"

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Puppet Stayman and Transfers and their problems

A lot of pairs play Puppet Stayman over a 2NT opening. This 3 response asks opener to bid a 5 card major, bid 3 with a 4 card major or bid 3NT without either. After 3 responder's rebids are as follows:

• 3 - No hearts, inviting opener to bid 3 with four spades.
• 3 - 4 hearts, inviting opener to choose a game.
• 3NT - 4/4 in the majors, asking opener to pick a game.

• With 5-3 in the majors, responder will transfer and miss the right game when opener has no support and 5 cards in the other major.
• Should opener have 5-4 in the majors, a 4-4 major fit will often be missed if he bids his 5 card suit in response to 3 Puppet Stayman.
• If opener bids his 5 card major after 3 it will be extremely difficult to start a sensible slam bidding auction as any follow up bids are usually natural and 4NT probably won't be Blackwood.
• It's usually difficult to bid hands with both majors, especially with slam strength.
• Quite a lot of information is given to the opposition and in some auctions declarer's entire shape is revealed. This helps the defence a great deal.

Slam bidding in 2NT auctions

Using traditional methods it's often difficult to start sensible slam bidding auctions and to set the trump suit early enough for the partnership to cooperate with some cue bids or Blackwood. Take as an example the following pair of hands:

North opens 2NT and presumably South responds 3 as a transfer to hearts. North completes the transfer after which South bids 4. The trump suit hasn't actually been set yet and North can't really justify a jump to slam given he could be off two cashing spades. Ideally he'd like to cue bid 4 and see if South can find a cue bid of 4 which should give the slam good odds.

The problem here, as with a lot of these auctions, is that you can't both set the trump suit and show slam interest at a low enough level to start slam bidding. Also, 4NT in these auctions is usually natural because a trump suit has not been explicitly set. Basically, these auctions become punts and opener will usually end up counting points: 22=slam 20=game, obviously not very scientific.

What I've tried to do here is to set out a system with some clear rules as to how to get into proper slam bidding auctions. I'm not making any big claims about it and there are certainly improvements that can be made but my aim has been threefold and I believe I've fulfilled it:

• Get the partnership into the correct game every time. That is, find a 4-4 fit as opposed to a 5-3 fit when available and find 3NT whenever there is no major fit.
• Set out clear methods for bidding hands in the slam range and start cue bidding/using RKCB so that grand slams aren't missed too.
• Make it simple! While working on this system, I noticed several improvements and boosts in efficiency that could be made, but I ignored them in favour of keeping the bidding as simple as possible. In a 100 board match you'd be lucky to open 2NT twice and most of the time you'll end up in game. So it's very important to keep these sequences straightforward and logical or you'll be gaining nothing by using better methods.

Gerry

Ok, then. You want to learn about Gerry? These are the basic responses:

3	3+ hearts	Use with any game going hand with hearts or with a variety of slam going hands with hearts
3	4+ spades	Use with any game going hand with spades or with a variety of slam going hands with spades. Don't bid this if you also have 4+ hearts (in that case start with 3).
3	Puppet to 3NT unless opener has 5 spades (then bid 3)	Use with any hand heading for 3NT or a variety of shapely hands
3	4 hearts and a 5+ card minor with slam interest
3NT	4 spades and a 5+ card minor with slam interest
4	Both minors, slam interest
4	Puppet to 4	Use with a heart single suiter
4	Puppet to 4	Use with a spade single suiter
4	5/5 in the majors with slam interest	Opener should remember that this is forcing
4NT	Quantitative invite to 6NT	Use this if very balanced.
5/5	Sign off	Single suited minor not liking 3NT

The 3 response

3 over 2NT shows a hand with 3+ hearts and is used for any game going hand with hearts (including hands with both majors, even if 5 spades/4 hearts but not a hand with 4 spades/3 hearts). It is also used for a large variety of slam going hands with hearts. The responses are as follows:

3	4+ spades, not 4 hearts
3	3 hearts, not 4 spades
3	4 hearts
3NT	Not 4 spades, not 3 hearts
4	5 hearts

A good memory guide for the 3 and 3 responses to 2NT is that bidding is natural assuming that 3 shows hearts and 3 shows spades. The one exception, seen above, is that 3 after 3 doesn't show spades but shows exactly 4 hearts (with spades you can bid 3 so this is otherwise a spare bid). Once a major fit has been determined, you should always bid game (or 4 by responder, see below), otherwise partner will assume that you don't yet know of a fit.

Continuations neatly follow this principle:

2NT-3-3

3	A 5th heart and not 4 spades (otherwise just support)
3	3 spades and 3 or 4 hearts
3NT	Not 3 spades, not 5 hearts
4	4 spades (in fact, the best bid here is 4 which is described below. For now, I'll keep it simple and recommend you just bid game)

2NT-3-3

3	5 spades/4 hearts. It's not worth showing 4 spades here as opener has denied 4 by bypassing 3
3NT	3 or 4 hearts and not 5 spades
4	5 hearts

2NT-3-3

3NT	3 hearts
4	4 or 5 hearts

2NT-3-3-3

3	5 spades, not 3 hearts
3NT	4 spades, not 3 hearts
4	3 hearts

By following the rule, you can easily decipher a sequence such as 2NT-3-3-3-3-3NT-Pass. Opener is showing 5 spades and only 2 hearts, responder has 5 hearts and no support for spades. Therefore, 3NT is reached, albeit with lots of information given away. A standard auction will proceed 2NT-3-3-3NT-Pass but there will be no way of telling if 4 is a better contract or not, since responder could easily have 3 spades on the side.

The 3 response

The 3 response shows 4+ spades and denies 4 hearts. Responses follow the same principles as after 3 and are basically natural:

2NT-3

3	5 hearts, not 4 spades. Again, not worth showing 4 hearts here since opener has denied 4 himself while bypassing 3
3	3 spades, not 5 hearts
3NT	Not 3 spades, not 5 hearts
4	4 spades

2NT-3-3

3	5 spades, not 3 hearts.
3NT	Not 5 spades, not 3 hearts
4	3 hearts

2NT-3-3

3NT	Not 5 spades
4	5 spades

Responder's continuations

Once responder has ascertained a major fit, he has one of two choices. He can simply bid game in that major or he can bid 4. 4 is an artificial bid, asking opener to bid 4 of the agreed major. It has two functions; one is to rightside any game contract after, for instance, a 2NT-3-3 auction. Here, 4 would be played by the wrong side if responder just bid it, so 4 is essentially used as a transfer. Also, if responder had 6 hearts and 4 spades then 4 after 2NT-3-3NT would be appropriate to get the 2NT opener to play the contract. The second use for 4 is to show slam interest. It sets the trump suit, so once opener has converted back to 4 Major, you can use 4NT as RKCB or start a cue bidding auction. 4 will set the last suit shown as trumps. If the last bid was 3NT, it will set responder's original suit.

Rule 1 In a 3/3 auction, 4 by responder sets the last suit shown as trumps.

Here are some examples:

• 2NT-3-3-4 sets hearts and must be slam interested because the contract is right sided anyway. Therefore, opener is at liberty to cue bid 4 or bid RKCB himself.
• 2NT-3-3NT-4 sets spades - opener must now bid 4.
• 2NT-3-3-4 sets hearts (remember, 3 showed 4 hearts). Again opener must bid 4 now.
• 2NT-3-3-3-3-4 sets spades - presumably a 5-3 fit has been found and responder is slam interested (otherwise why not just bid 4).
• 2NT-3-3-3-3NT-4? This rare sequence won't occur often but should set hearts as trumps (the rule is that if the last suit bid was 3NT then 4 sets responder's first bid suit). A possibility is that responder has 6 hearts and 3 spades and for some reason prefers to play in a 5-3 spade fit than a 6-2 heart fit. Don't worry about the ins and outs of this sequence - just follow the simple rule and you'll understand what it means although not necessarily why partner bid it!

Similarly, in these sequences, a 4 bid by responder says emphatically that a major fit has not been found but that slam interest still exists, in the form of a possible 4-4 or better minor fit. This always shows a 4 card minor suit. Without a side 4 card minor or without interest in a minor suit, 4NT will always be quantitative and NF. Similarly, 5NT will be invitational to the grand slam. Responses to 4 are:

• 4 - 4+ diamonds. After this, responder will start cue bidding with a fit or bid 4NT (quantitative) with no liking for diamonds (therefore indicating 4 clubs).
• 4 - 4+ clubs and a heart control. After this, responder will continue cue bidding with a fit or bid 4NT (quantitative).
• 4 - 4+ clubs and a spade control. With the same continuations.
• 4NT or higher - no liking for the minor suits. See the section below for more information on bidding these invitational hands.

Rule 2 In a 3/3 auction, 4 by responder denies a major fit and shows a 4 card minor.

Some more examples:

• 2NT-3-3NT-4 - No fit for hearts and asking opener to bid 4 with diamonds, find a major suit cue bid with clubs or bid 4NT or higher with no minor suit.
• 2NT-3-3-3-3NT-4 - No major fit, and showing a 4 card minor. You're hoping opener is some 5422 shape really - be prepared for him to jump to 6NT, for instance.
• 2NT-3-3NT-4NT - invitational to 6NT. Responder is probably balanced but he may just have a hand with some spades that doesn't want to introduce a minor - at Pairs most likely.
• 2NT-3-3-5NT - responder has 3 hearts and is forcing to slam, asking opener to bid 7NT if he's suitable. With 4 hearts he would start off with 4 and start a cue bidding or RKCB auction.
• 2NT-3-4-4NT - RKCB. A major fit has obviously been found, so 4NT is RKCB.
• 2NT-3-4-5. A cue bid. Responder is slam interested in view of 5 card support from partner and is emphasising a spade weakness.
• 2NT-3-3NT-6NT - clearly a sign off. Responder would have preferred to play in 6 (or 6) but has settled for 6NT.

Responder's hand shapes

Hopefully this has been made clear above, but for reference, here is how to handle all of the major suit shapes the responder might have (in spades/hearts format). Where the length is shown as 2, it really means 2 or fewer.

5/2	Bid 3 followed by 3 over 3
4/2	Bid 3
3/2	Bid 3 and if partner shows 5 spades, raise to game.
2/2	A simple raise to 3NT - bid 3
5/3	Bid 3 followed by 4 over 3
4/3	Bid 3 followed by 4 over 3
3/3	Bid 3 followed by 3 over 3 and 3NT over 3/3
2/3	Bid 3 followed by 3NT unless opener bids 4
5/4	Bid 3 followed by 3 over 3 and 4 over 3NT (after which 4NT by opener is natural in case he's 2-2 in the majors).
4/4	Bid 3 followed by 4 over 3 and 3NT over 3
3/4	Bid 3 followed by 3 over 3 and 3NT over 3
2/4	Bid 3
5/5	Bid 3 followed by 4 over 3NT and live with it when opener is 2254 shape. Or bid 3 followed by 4 over 3NT to offer opener a choice if he really is 2-2 in the majors. Opener's 4NT bid in these sequences is natural, saying he really doesn't want to be in a major suit game.
4/5	Bid 3 followed by the appropriate action.
3/5	Bid 3 followed by 3 over 3 Opener can then bid 3 with five and you'll find the 4 game.
2/5	Bid 3 followed by 3 over 3.

These are for game going hands only. Remember, responder must bid 4 with slam interest in some of these sequences or opener will just pass assuming that's the limit of the hand. Also, in many of these sequences it's recommended for responder to bid 4 instead of 4 major to right side the contract.

The 3 Response

The 3 response to 2NT is primarily a puppet to 3NT. However, if opener has a 5 card spade suit then he is expected to bid 3. Use this path if you have no major suit worth looking for a fit or if you simply don't want to find a major fit (at Pairs it's often worth being in 3NT if you have 28+ points between you even if you have a major fit). Also, you'll use this path with 3 spades and without 3 hearts and raise opener's 3 response to 4 (and pass his 3NT response). The second use for the 3 bid is as a starting point for describing a variety of more unusual hands.

Responder's rebids after opener has shown his strength are:

3NT (over 3)	Simple raise to 3NT, Pass Forcing
4/4	Natural, single suited hand with slam interest. Opener then shows key cards in steps.
4	5 hearts and a 5 card minor, slam interest.
4	Over 3 this is a simple game raise. Over 3NT this shows 5 spades and a 5 card minor with slam interest. If you have this hand and partner unexpectedly bids 3 then you can bid 4NT which is RKCB.
4NT	Invitational, presumably based on a 3 card spade suit with a balanced hand. 4NT over 3 would be RKCB on spades.
5 level bids	Enquiries usually based on a void.

Bidding the 5/5 hands and the void enquiries is covered in a later section.

The 3 and 3NT Responses

3 after 2NT shows 4 hearts exactly and a longer minor with slam interest. It's used for hands that would like to find a minor fit if no major fit exists. On hands that are only interested in the major or 6NT then just bid 3 and ignore the minor suit entirely. The responses to 3 are simple - bid 3NT with no heart fit and start cue bidding with one. In this way you can start looking for a slam as soon as possible. After the 3NT negative, responder simply bids his minor suit naturally at the 4 level. After this, opener can again cue bid with support or find another bid without it. 4NT here would show a minimum, while higher bids show a maximum. See the section below on bidding these invitational sequences.

3NT after a 2NT opening shows 4 spades and a longer minor with slam interest. The responses are similar, except the negative is 4 - 4NT would take the bidding too high. Opener has to remember that with spade support he shouldn't cue bid 4 - only 4 or higher. Similarly, responder has to note that a 4 cue bid from opener doesn't specifically deny a club control. After the 4 negative, 4 shows a diamond suit while 4 is used to show a club suit. This is acceptable because the hand with 4 spades and 5 hearts can be bid through the 3 response.

Rule 3 After a 3 or 3NT response, bidding the next step up shows a negative.

The 4 Response

The 4 response to a 2NT opening shows both minors and slam interest. The responses are that 4 sets diamonds as trumps and higher bids are cue bids agreeing clubs. Bids of 4NT or above show no interest in the minors. Again, see section below on these invitational auctions. This bid might be made with 3=2=4=4 shape (you have no other bid available, really), but you're more likely to be 5/4 in the minors.

The 4/4 Responses

These are very simple puppets to the next suit up. Responder uses these bids to either sign off in 4 of a major (with a 6+ card suit) or to set the trump suit and start cue bidding or use 4NT as RKCB.

The 4 Response

This shows 5/5 in the majors with slam interest and is forcing. This bid is described in more detail below.

The 4NT Response

This is practically the only bid remaining from the 'standard' system! It shows a balanced invitational hand and is asking partner to bid 6NT with a maximum. A later section talks about these invitational auctions in more detail. One thing I should note is that, while I'm sure you can construct specific hands, you'll hardly ever want to actually make a generic invite. The reason is that you're always going to have a 3 card major or a minor oriented hand (if you're 2-2 in the majors you must be 5-4 in the minors at least). If you make a generic invite without showing partner some parts of your hand then he's just going to have to count points and make his decision on a 20=pass 22=slam basis. However, if you show your shape a bit then he'll be more clued up and will evaluate his honour distribution and shape with more accuracy. This merits an example:

A K x K Q A x x x x K J x x x x A x x K Q x Q x x x

North South 2NT 3 3NT 4 4 4NT 6NT

With a 4333 shape South should just invite with 11pts. He could decide to just bid 4NT over 2NT after which North will certainly pass. However, in the recommended auction South shows his hearts and clubs before inviting with 4NT and North takes a second look at his hand. His unattractive club and heart suits are now looking a lot better and his primary values opposite South's (presumed) short suits are useful assets so he accepts the invite and they reach a slam requiring no more than a 3-2 diamond break.

An important principle at work here is that with hands not quite strong enough for slam, i.e. invitational hands, it's often safer to play in a trump fit rather than no-trumps. So why not try and find a trump fit rather than hide your shape entirely? Anyway, the bid is still available to you for matchpoint play or for that rare Kxx Kxx Kxx Kxxx hand that you pick up so often opposite partner's 2NT opening!

General Principles of Slam Auctions

I hope to write a companion piece to this article, all about slam bidding and in particular the Turbo convention which I rate quite highly. It's good to set out a few generalities, though:

• Once a trump suit has been set you should proceed in the same fashion as in any slam bidding auction. There shouldn't be any differences to the continuations after 2NT-3-3-4-4 as after 1-2-2-3-4. I'm not going to tell you how best to treat 4NT in this auction - that's a matter for your own partnership to discuss. Once Gerry has set you off on a slam auction then I feel its job has been done - you're on your own from there!
• In cue bidding auctions it's best for opener to only show 1st round controls (Aces), while responder is allowed to bid 2nd round controls too. If opener is allowed to cue bid Kings then he's going to be cue bidding every available suit and no useful information is going to be given.[1]
• Be careful of the 2NT-3-3NT-4-4 auction (or equivalent ones). Clubs have not been set yet - responder's 4NT here is not RKCB, it's just a quantitative invite with 4 diamonds. Contrast this with the 2NT-4-4 auction which does set clubs as trumps - responder has shown clubs this time. Incidentally, 2NT-3-3NT-4-4-4-4NT would be RKCB (or Turbo if you play it) because 4 agreed clubs.
• In a lot of these auctions, if it is convienient to do so, opener can show a minimum by simply returning to the trump suit. We're now getting into more complex territory so make cue bids compulsory if you wish but it's good to use the last bids in the following auctions as showing a minimum:
  • 2NT-3-3-4-4
  • 2NT-3-4-4-4
  • 2NT-3NT-4-4
  The final example there is a return to the trump suit by responder. By making these kinds of bids, very light slam tries can be made. Here, opener would only really push on if he was very suitable.
• Be on the lookout for other situations where you can make light slam tries:
  • 2NT-3-3-4-Pass - where's the slam try? Well, if opener had responded 3 (showing 4 hearts) then responder, knowing about the 5-4 fit, might push forward a bit more.
  • 2NT-3-3NT-Pass - Responder would be slam interested if there was a 4-4 spade fit, but now just wants to be in 3NT. For this reason, it's feasible to bid 3 with a lot of different hands but you'll feel stupid if partner produces a 5 bid showing a maximum with 5 good diamonds and no heart or club support (see below for more on this). So be careful and be clever.
  • 2NT-3NT-4-4NT - This non-system bid is best played as very slightly invitational - opener is perfectly within his rights to bid on with a very nice hand but should often pass. Responder's idea is to try for a slam if a 4-4 spade fit can be found, but now just wants to play in 4NT unless partner has a perfect hand. Keep in mind that responder shouldn't cheat on his shape with this - he should still have a 5+ card minor. Trouble will ensue otherwise.
  • What's the difference between these three auctions:
    1. 2NT-3-3-5
    2. 2NT-3-3NT-5
    3. 2NT-3-3NT-4-4NT-5
    All three should be slam invitational with 4 hearts and 6+ clubs (although auction 1 could have just 3 hearts). If you just want to play in 5 then you have to bid it immediately over 2NT. Auction 1 should be more or less a sign off nevertheless. Opener is expected to bid slam with a particularly good hand but responder will want to play in 5 a lot of the time. Basically, responder is looking for a heart fit and since there isn't one is settling for a club contract. A hand such as xx KJxx x KJxxxx comes to mind.
    Auction 2 is much more invitational - the 3 specifically shows slam interest and opener is conceivably allowed to bid 6NT in response! So this isn't a gentle push towards slam like Auction 1. Nevertheless, it's weaker than...
    Auction 3, which should show fairly strong slam interest. Here the reason is more clear - opener's 4NT shows a minimum hand with no interest in clubs so for responder to invite again he must have some fairly reasonable strength. This is still not forcing (because responder can bid 6 if he wants to) but shouldn't be passed very often.
    
  • 2NT-4-4-5 - this should really be played as more or less exactly xx xx AKQJx Qxxx (add queens and jacks as you see fit). The responses to 4 include several jumps to the 5 or 6 level with maximum hands (see next section) so responder shouldn't use this bid with a light slam try.
  And there are plenty of others if you want to look for them.
• A 2NT opener will have 0 or 1 Aces on less than 1% of the hands where partner has the values for slam with just 1 Ace himself (calculated through a simulation). So in these situations it's very acceptable to just bid slam straight away without needing RKCB or extensive cue bids.
• If responder has 10+ HCPs and zero Aces then opener will have 3 or 4 Aces on over 96% of all hands. Conclusion - if you have the values for slam you'll almost always have enough Aces so RKCB really only has its use if you're looking for that elusive grand slam.
• Instead of using RKCB make intelligent cue bids. Say you hold xx AKxxx Kxxx xx and the bidding starts (from partner) 2NT-3-3-4-4. You weren't massively slam interested but now that you've found a good 5-4 fit you're worth making a try. Bidding RKCB is not going to solve your problems now - for a start, the 5 response will make you slam committed. A much better bid is 5 showing a diamond control and denying first or second round control in either black suit. Partner now knows the story and will raise to slam with AKJx QJxx Qx AQJ and bid 5 with AKJx QJxx AQJ Qx. Partner should trust you for the heart honours - after all, you have to be making a slam try on something!

General Principles with Invitational Hands

If we're not careful there's going to be a lot of memory work to do in remembering all of the correct sequences. So it's a good idea to set out a series of rules which apply to a lot of similar situations. In the bidding above, there are several occasions where opener has been very unhelpful and denied support for responder's suit(s). Sequences such as the following are all invitational:

• 2NT-3-3-4NT
• 2NT-3-3NT-4NT
• 2NT-3-3NT-4 - This is invitational. With no club support, opener is expected to bid 4NT/5/5/5NT and higher bids with appropriately strengthed hands - he shouldn't just automatically bid 4NT with a negative.
• 2NT-4 - Similarly, with no minor suit interest, opener should find a bid other than 4NT if he's maximum.
• 2NT-3-3-3-3NT-4 - Opener can bid 4NT with a minimum only since his partner is slam interested.

Bidding Suits Naturally - When opener bids a new suit in these invitational auctions then this should be treated as accepting the slam invite and showing a good 5 card or very good 4 card suit. Be aware that sometimes this has to be shown via a jump since a lower suit will show something else. For instance, in the third example above, 4 would show club support and a spade cue bid - to show natural spades opener has to jump to 5.
This is best described by some examples:

• 2NT-3-3NT-4NT-5 - This should be an acceptance of the slam try with a 5 card club suit or a very good 4 card club suit (KQJ9 minimum). Responder can now pick what he thinks is the best spot. Showing a club suit means a willingness to play in slam but a definite preference for playing at a suit contract. With a normal accept it would usually be better to just bid 6NT and give nothing away. A hand like Ax KJ AQJx KQJxx would rather play in 6 than 6NT (at teams) if it can help it - picture partner with Jxx AQxx Kxx xxx and decide which contract you would prefer (shut up, smart alec, if you said 6 - let's be realistic!).
• 2NT-3-3NT-4NT-5 - This, again, is an acceptance of the slam try and offering partner the option of playing in a 5-2 spade fit if there is one. It should show an honour doubleton at least, if not two honours. You might want to make this bid on AJ AKx AKJ Jxxxx - the club weakness could be a problem if partner doesn't have significant support but if he has Ax there and a good 5 card spade suit then you should be ok in spades.
• 2NT-3-3-4-5 - Opener has 5 spades/4 hearts and is accepting the slam try.
• 2NT-3-3NT-4-5 - Opener is probably 5=3=2=3 shape and is accepting the slam try but hoping responder is 3=4=5=1 or similar.
• 2NT-4NT-5 - 4NT is invitational, 5 offers an alternative.
• 2NT-3NT-4-4-6 - This is a fun one since responder will be worried that opener has forgotten the system! But a little trust in his partner will reveal that opener has no spade or club liking and either a 6 card heart suit or a very good 5 card suit. It's not unheard of to open 2NT with AQ QJxxxx AKx AQ - showing it as a strong two in hearts isn't a great description really. Responder can now bid 6NT or Pass depending on his heart tolerance.
• 2NT-4-6 - A similar scenario to the previous hand. If opener has heart worries then 6NT may be in trouble and is offering 6 as an alternative.
• 2NT-3-3NT-5NT-6 - 5NT is slam forcing, and 6 shows a minimum with a club suit.
• 2NT-3-3-5NT-7 - It's always nice to introduce a new suit at the seven level and be in total control. Here, responder is slam forcing with 5NT and opener is showing a maximum and suggesting that 7 is a better contract than 7NT.
• 2NT-3NT-6 - this sequence is hardly recommended but perfectly legitimate. Presumably it shows a 3=6=2=2 shape or a very good 5 card heart suit with no interest in the minors at all. In these "unusual" sequences, don't make the mistake of thinking that these bids are splinters - with such a hand you can just make a lower level cue bid. These are natural, pick a slam sequences.

Situations where opener is expected to jump with a maximum

Situations where opener is expected to jump only when very pure

2NT-3-3-4 2NT-3-3NT-4 2NT-4 In these auctions opener is allowed to, and definitely should, bid 6NT with a maximum balanced hand and no support. Therefore, responder should have a proper slam invite when making these bids as he won't be able to bail out in 4NT if a trump fit isn't located

2NT-3 2NT-3NT In these auctions responder is showing slam interest so opener is allowed to jump to 6NT but he should be very pure about his hand to do this. The reason is that he has a simple forcing negative available and he should use this with any doubt at all, purely in an effort to find out more about partner's hand. Therefore, responder can use these bids with slightly weaker hands than normal.

A J x K Q x x A x A K x x x x x A J x K Q x x x J x

North South 2NT 3 3 4NT 5NT 6 6 Pass

Ok, I have to admit that this auction is pretty unrealistic and North will almost always just jump to 6NT over 4NT. Still, if North does find the 5NT bid, indicating uncertainty as to the best strain then a better slam will be reached. 6NT relies on a 3-3 diamond break, while 6 will come home if either red suit breaks evenly (or if North has the 10 in which case he can ruff two clubs). Neither is a great slam but if I'm going to be playing at the six level then I'd rather it was in hearts. South shouldn't pass 6 without good honour strength there and a ruffing value. He knows it's going to be a Moysian fit so shouldn't leave it in if his hearts are weaker than they are, or if his fifth diamond is a third club (little chance for a ruff).

You will often want to make this 5NT bid if you're accepting on a less than maximum hand - you like your honour distribution in view of partner's bidding but your side may be lacking in high cards. In that case it is often better to play in a suit contract than 6NT.

A K Q x x Q x A Q x x K x x x A K x x K x x x J x x

North South 2NT 3 3 4NT 5NT 6 Pass

South could try for a diamond slam himself by bidding 4 instead of 4NT but decides, quite reasonably, to ignore his minor suit and try for 6NT. North, noting the club weakness and the fact that partner is marked with at most two spades (or he would have bid 3 over 3), thinks that a 4-4 diamond slam would be preferable to 6NT. This is fairly logical really. South is known to have 4 hearts and at most 2 spades - if his remaining 7 cards include 4 clubs then 6NT should be fairly safe while if they include 4 diamonds then 6 is better. In 6 the spades can be set up with a ruff if necessary while in 6NT a 3-3 spade break is the only reasonable hope.

A K x x K Q x x A x A Q J x A x x K J x x x x x x x

North South 2 2 2NT 4 5NT 6 6NT Pass

Gerry works just as well after a 2 opening and 2NT rebid as if 2NT is directly opened. Here, 4 shows both minors with slam interest. North wants to play in slam but if South has 5 clubs and 4 diamonds then it might be advisable to go for a safer club slam since there could be a problem with the diamonds in 6NT. When South shows longer diamonds North reluctantly settles for the no-trump contract. This is not a terrible contract but needs a bit of luck to make. Switch the K for the K with South, though, and he will bid 6 over 5NT and a much better spot has been found - the club slam is practically cold. Finally, if South is 4-4 in the minors then he will have to rebid 6NT himself showing no extra features.

Hopefully these last few examples have been useful. The same logic could apply equally to any of these invitational auctions. For example, how would you interpret the following sequence: 1-1-1NT-4NT-5NT-6-Pass. Presumably the pair have no more sophisticated methods over a 1NT rebid, so responder bids 4NT as invitational. 5NT suggests uncertainty and 6 will show a decent 3 card suit and a willingness to play a Moysian slam. That's fine by opener, who passes and hopefully the pair end up in a better spot than 6NT.

A final note on this subject: only use these bids with good reason. This has been covered in patches above but it's worth restating. 80% of the time (if not more) opener will just want to jump to 6NT in these auctions. At pairs, the no-trump slam will score higher, and at any form of scoring the extra information could be costly if you end up in 6NT anyway. So think before you bid it. You should basically think to yourself this: "I have a hand worth accepting partner's slam try but I am genuinely worried about playing it in no-trumps. I firmly believe that a trump suit will play better and only want to gamble in 6NT as a last resort." This last part is important. If you know that 6NT will fail miserably (for instance, you have a singleton in your 2NT opener and partner has indicated a weakness) then best to just pass and play in 4NT (or wherever the auction has reached at the moment). But if you feel that 6NT is worth the risk then go for it. You can accept with a 40% chance for 6NT if you feel that a 60% suit slam will be available more than half the time.

And a final final note! What about if responder is interested in a grand slam and partner jumps to, say, 6 thus eating up all the bidding room? Well, he must be maximum for his bidding so you can often just bid 7NT (or a suit). Another consideration is that opener will usually only make these jumps with a poor fit for responder's suits, in which case it might well be advised to stay out of the grand. After the 2NT-4-6NT auction, responder may have x KJx KQxxx AJxx, say. Partner, true to form, has jumped to 6NT leaving no room to delicately investigate whether a grand slam is on. His 6NT, though, shows a misfit for the minors and it's sensible to pass now. Anything more would be a gamble. For this reason, then, opener should be reticent about jumping about and be quite 'pure' about his bids. He might think it a good pairs strategy, for instance, to bid 6NT with AKxx Axx AJxx KQ - he has good fitting honours in partner's suits and top honours in the majors so 6NT looks like a great spot. The trouble is that so is 7 or 7NT. Responder will not know about the great diamond fit and pass 6NT. I like this auction:

A K x x A x x A J x x K Q x K J x K Q x x x A J x x

North South 2NT 4 4 4 4 4NT 5 5 6 7

This is a lovely little 'Turbo' auction (a description of that coming soon, hopefully). 4 sets diamonds, 4 and 4 are cue bids, 4NT shows an even number of key cards (obviously two). The next three bids are cue bids at which point South realises his partner is desperately angling for the grand slam and his fifth diamond and trump queen make it very much worth accepting. He can count 12 top tricks and a 13th is very likely to come from the K, Q or by ruffing spades twice in the hand with long trumps. These sort of auctions are absolutely loaded with inferences, so watch this site for a detailed description of these cue bidding sequences. By the way, I don't really know how you find the top spot of 7NT as it's rather reliant on that J. 7 should score well, though, unless you're playing in the World Pairs or something.

Bidding freak hands

You will be okay if you never read this section at all because the chances of being dealt these hands opposite a 2NT opener are miniscule. Nevertheless, they do occur occasionally, so listen up if you're keen. There are two basic 'freak' hands that I'm going to deal with here. The 5-5 shape, and the hand with a long suit and a void. The 5-5 shape can be played as invitational but the hand with a void should be slam forcing [2] - with a merely invitational hand, treat it as just a long suit and bid it accordingly, accepting a loss if partner is minimum and you miss a slam anyway. With a 4441 shape, just bid 3 or 3 followed by 4 if necessary.

5-5 Hands, slam invitational or better
With both minors, just respond 4 to 2NT. With 4 card support, partner will show it, and without it he should make a descriptive bid. You can then rebid diamonds and, if necessary, bid clubs again later.

A K J x K x x A x A Q x x Q x K Q x x x K 10 x x x

North South 2NT 4 4NT 5 6 Pass

4 shows both minors. 4NT shows no minor suit interest and no real slam interest. 5 is still invitational, but quite strongly invitational in view of partner's minimum. North is now happy to accept the invite but offers 6 as an alternative - he is hoping to set up partner's diamonds with a ruff in the short hand and can then hope for 4 diamonds, 4 clubs, a diamond ruff, two spades and a heart. South has an extra bonus trump so is happy to leave it in the suit contract. 6NT isn't too shabby a contract really, and at pairs it's probably best, but 6 is almost totally cold.

With 5 hearts and a 5 card minor, responder bids 3 and then 4 over opener's response. The responses to this should probably show key cards in steps (excluding 4NT) with heart support, and bid 4NT/5NT/6NT/6 level suit bids without heart support. Another option would be to start cue bidding, but you need some partnership understanding as to how to show the trump King (or the trump Queen for that matter). Best to talk to your partner about what's best for you, here. A few extra points:

• Responder should leave it in 4NT (when partner denies hearts and shows a minimum) unless particularly strong, especially at matchpoints.
• Opener should strongly evaluate the Ace or Ace-King of spades, since that's a suit he knows partner doesn't hold and it's a suit the opposition is quite likely to lead. A holding such as KJxx is waste paper really.
• Responder obviously has a very suit oriented hand so refrain from jumping to 6NT over 4. The 5NT response is a useful bid here, showing a hand worth accepting a slam try and asking partner to bid his 5 card minor.

Similarly, 4 after 2NT-3-3NT shows a 5/5 hand with spades and a minor. Responses and continuations are exactly the same as over a 4 rebid.

Finally, with 5/5 in the majors, you just bid 4 over 2NT directly. Since opener will hardly ever be 2/2 in the majors himself (and if he is, you can always randomly jump to 6NT) the responses to this are:

• 4NT - sets hearts, after which 5 is RKCB.
• 5/5/5/5 - RKCB responses, agreeing spades.

Rule 6 Responder's 4 level rebids after 2NT-3-3NT all ask for RKCB step responses.

Void Enquiries, Slam Forcing

How do you bid this hand?

Opposite North's 2NT, South could bid 3 followed by 4 which is RKCB with a long diamond suit. Partner will show 3 key cards and so you'll subside in the small slam. If you don't use RKCB and start cue bidding then you won't find out about the top diamond honours and probably still chicken out at the 6 level. I'm recommending here that you use the 2NT-3-3NT-5 auction with this hand. This is an enquiry of the spade suit and responses are as follows:

• Step One - Two or more top honours
• Step Two - The Ace or King
• Step Three - The Queen at best

An alternative use for these 5 level enquiries:

A K J x J x K Q J A J x x A K Q x x x A x Q x x x x

North South 2NT 3 3NT 5 5 6 Pass

North's 5 bid, step two, shows one of the top two honours. Even if this is the Ace, South can't hope to discard all of his club losers and so settles for the small slam (although, inevitably, the club finesse works or there's a black suit squeeze and your teammates will chastise you for staying at the 6 level). Swap the K for the K with North, though, and his 5 response (showing two of the top three club honours) would send South into an excellent grand slam.

I think these responses work quite well and you will never overshoot your small slam (even with a spade void and long club suit). Nevertheless, if you don't like the memory work or if you want a better but more complex system then feel free to devise your own meanings. One alternative would be to treat these as 'Voidwood' which has Blackwood responses but excluding the Ace of the bid suit, although there's no way of knowing about the trump King or Queen. This is easier to remember, but probably not as effective.

Weak hands opposite a 2NT opener

You probably noticed that there's no way to play in 3 or 3 if you are weak and partner opens 2NT. I'm talking about this scenario:

2NT would not be a very good contract really - even if hearts are 2-2 you might lose 5 club tricks and a heart. Much better would be to play in 3 after a transfer - you just need one friendly thing to happen in hearts, clubs or diamonds to take 9 tricks. Sadly, those playing Gerry will have to make a choice between playing in 2NT or in 4. But how bad is this really? When was the last time you actually did drop out at the 3 level opposite your partner's 2NT opening? I don't really know what the percentages are and it would be very difficult to calculate since you'll need a program to judge how well 2NT will fare compared to 3. I will, however, make some general observations:

1. Transfering into a 5 card suit will, on average, find the partnership in a 7.33 card fit (since your partner will rate to have 7/3 card support). This is more than one level too high on a Law of Total Tricks basis.
2. If you only transfer into 6 card suits you'll also be too high more often than not.
3. If 3 of a major is making then a lot of the time 2NT is making too.
4. If 3 of a major is making then a lot of the time 4 of a major is making too.
5. If 3 of a major is going off then a lot of the time 2NT is going off too. This is still a bad thing at Pairs because 2NT will generally go off more, but at teams it's only one, maybe two extra undoubled undertricks (if you're doubled then you can easily escape to your major).
6. You still can't run to a minor suit using standard methods.
7. Even if you have a poor hand with a long major, partner will occasionally super-accept and you'll end up at the four level anyway.

Sequences not starting with 2NT

As mentioned above, you can play these methods after a 2-2X-2NT start to the auction (or 2-2X-2NT if playing Benji or the Multi-2). If you show a negative (however you do that in your system) then partner will obviously know that you're not slam interested so some auctions will proceed differently but it's not worth the memory load to change the system entirely for these auctions. Just use logic and common sense and you'll get by.

Another kettle of fish entirely is responding to partner's 2NT overcall. If your LHO opens a weak 2 and partner overcalls 2NT showing 16-18pts (or whatever) then you're going to be more keen to drop out at the three level and it now becomes a real handicap to not be able to transfer and die in a major. One solution is to go back to standard methods or to play entirely natural continuations but it isn't a great idea to remember two distinct systems over 2NT. One neat solution is, in the sequence above, to use 3 as a transfer to hearts. 3 would normally show some hand with 4+ spades but this isn't exactly useful when the opponents have shown length in that suit so this can be overloaded to show the unbid major [4]. Similarly, (2)-2NT-(Pass)-3 is a transfer to spades since you're hardly going to want to find out about partner's hearts. The same principles can apply to similar auctions, e.g. (1)-Pass-(2)-2NT-(Pass)-3 is a transfer to hearts. A hand:

A K x x K J x J x K Q x x x x A x x K Q x x A J x x

West North East South 2 2NT Pass 3 Pass 3 Pass 4 Pass 4 Pass 5 Pass 6

3 should show 3+ hearts, but since this is West's suit, it becomes a transfer to spades. The 4 bid, however, still has the same meaning. That is, a slam try with a four card minor. North cue bids hearts and South bids 5, bypassing the spade suit but confirming that he has four clubs (or he would bid 4NT, quantitative). This is enough for North, who has the spades well sewn up and a good hand for his overcall.

Giving Information to the Opponents

One possible disadvantge of 'Gerry' is that in some sequences it gives away too much information to the opposition. This is inevitable, though, because of the real lack of space between 2NT and 3NT in which you have to seek out any possible major fit. The question is: how does Gerry compare to Puppet Stayman and Transfers when it comes to giving away information? Let's look at the common hand shapes (where, as before, 4/2 indicates 4 spades/2 hearts). We are only really concerned with information revealed about declarer's hand, although information given about responder's hand is important from an opening lead perspective too.

Opener - Responder	Gerry	PS&T	Comments	Result
4/2 - 2/4	2NT-3 3-3NT	2NT-3 3-3 3NT	In both auctions, opener reveals his spade suit but in Gerry it is unclear whether it's 4 or 5 cards long.	Gerry
2/4 - 4/2	2NT-3 3NT	2NT-3 3-3 3NT	Gerry conceals opener's 4 card heart suit, which PS&T reveals to the defence.	Gerry
4/3 - 2/5	2NT-3 3-3 4	2NT-3 3-3NT 4	Reveals opener's 4 card spade suit, but the contract is being played by responder so this isn't a problem with information, more a problem with a wrongsided contract.	PS&T
3/4 - 5/2	2NT-3 3-4	2NT-3 3-3NT 4	Declarer in the transfer auction could have 4 card support, whereas the Gerry declarer is certain to hold 3.	PS&T
4/4 - 4/4	2NT-3 3-4 4	2NT-3 3-3NT 4	Responder hides his 4-4 shape but since he's dummy this is of little value. A side point is that with PS&T opener can choose between 4 and 4 which the Gerry bidders are unable to do.	Tie
4/4 - 2/4	2NT-3 3-4 4	2NT-3 3-3 4	The defenders are more likely to lead a spade against the Puppet Stayman auction than the Gerry one.	Tie
4/4 - 4/2	2NT-3 4	2NT-3 3-3 3-4	The same again, but for hearts.	Tie
5/2 - 3/5	2NT-3 3-3 3-4	2NT-3 3-3NT	This time PS&T doesn't even get to the right contract!	Gerry
2/5 - 5/3	2NT-3 3-4	2NT-3 3-3NT	The same occurs if the major suits are switched around. Here, responder's lack of spade support is hidden with the Gerry auction and highlighted with the PS&T auction.	Gerry
x/x - 2/2	2NT-3 3NT	2NT-3 ... 3NT	In a lot of systems responder has to go through Puppet Stayman to get to 3NT since a direct 3NT would mean something else. With Gerry it's a big result to give no information away (other than whether opener has 5 spades or not).	Gerry
x/x - x/x	2NT-3 3NT	2NT-3 ... 3NT	If responder just wants to play in 3NT for matchpoint considerations (say, with 8-10 points and a more or less balanced hand), then in PS&T he has to go through the palaver of Puppet Stayman. With Gerry it's much simpler and gives away much less.	Gerry
4/3 - 3/2	2NT-3 3NT	2NT-3 3-3 3-3NT	With just 3 spades, hoping to find a 5-3 fit, responder must bid Puppet Stayman in the PS&T system and find out all of the details of opener's hand. With Gerry this is a simple enquiry and gives away nothing unnecessary.	Gerry
3/4 - 2/3	2NT-3 3-3NT	2NT-3 3-3 3NT	Both systems give away opener's 4 card heart suit	Tie

There are hands where Gerry wins out and hands where Puppet Stayman and Transfers wins out. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Wrongsided contracts

Occasionally the contract will be wrongsided when playing Gerry. This will only ever occur in the following situations:

• When opener has the 'other' major, most 5-3 fits will be played upside down. i.e. 2NT-3-3-3-4 or 2NT-3-3-3-4[5]
• When responder is 5/5 in the majors and opener responds 3NT to 3 or 3 responder has to rebid his second suit naturally.[5]
• When responder is 5/4 in the majors he will have to bid 3 over 2NT-3-3 or 4 over 2NT-3-3NT.

While we're on the subject of simulations, a few other interesting Gerry facts:

• Responder will have a 6 card major and less than 3 HCPs less than 0.9% of the time.
• Responder will have a 5 card major and less than 3 HCPs about 3.5% of the time.
• On almost 16% of hands responder will have 10+ HCPs and so should be looking for a small slam.
• Responder will have 15+ HCPs on about 0.6% of hands.
• Opener will bid 3NT after 2NT-3 over 99% of the time when responder has a 3 card spade suit.

Additions and Improvements

Gerry is still relatively untested, so expect there to be changes and improvements as we get used to it. As we edit the basic system, I'm going to put the new bits in this section so that you don't have to trawl through the entire text to see if there are any changes.

1. Cue bidding
This is probably an issue for your own partnership to discuss. I have recommended above that it's better for the 2NT bidder to only cue bid first round controls. After some thought and discussion with my partner, we've decided to scrap that and cue bid firsts and seconds, just like in other slam auctions. There's no conclusive reason for this, it's just something that we're more comfortable with. Decide for yourselves.

2. Enquiries after the 3 response
I did say that these should be slam forcing, but there's no real need for this. See hand two from the hands from real play for an example of making an enquiry and stopping at the five level. In short, you make your enquiry and then any bid you make is a sign off forcing partner to pass.

3. Opener showing a good hand in 3/3 auctions
Often, responder won't be very slam interested but if opener could show particular enthusiasm then he might have a go. Unfortunately, there's no way to 'super accept' in the Gerry system. There are, however, some spare bids available to opener. 4 has no meaning by opener in auctions that start off with 3 or 3 so we assign it to mean that opener has a maximum hand with good support for responder's last bid suit. Maybe he has 5 card support, or a holding such as AKJx. Some example sequences:

• 2NT-3-4 - opener has a good hand with 5 decent hearts (remember, responder could have just 3 cards so this would be foolish with only 4 card support).
• 2NT-3-3-3-4 - perhaps opener has something like AKJxx KJx AQx Ax, a 22 count with an excellent fit in the majors and primary values in the minors.
• 2NT-3-3-3NT-4 - obviously he doesn't have hidden 4 card heart support (that would be naughty). He probably has a good six card spade suit that he wanted to open 2NT with.
• 2NT-3-4 - simply a super-accept of spades.

What happens next? If responder has no slam interest he can bid 4 as a transfer to the agreed suit (just like responder's normal use of 4 in these auctions) or he can use 4NT as RKCB or start cue bidding - whatever he feels like. Not difficult, really, and it should enable some lighter slams to be reached.

4. Taking Out when partner has overcalled with 2NT
We have previously discussed the sequence (2)-2NT-(Pass)-3 as being a transfer to spades (since you'd hardly want to enquire about hearts at this point). There's a slight improvement to be made if we use this as a transfer to diamonds instead - we can then pull to spades after partner completes the transfer and so we now have two suits to run to. To clarify:

• (2)-2NT-(Pass)-3; (Pass)-3-(All Pass) - with diamonds.
• (2)-2NT-(Pass)-3; (Pass)-3-(Pass)-3; (All Pass) - with spades.

Another situation occurs when the opponents have bid two suits naturally. In that case it's best to just use the two unbid suits as natural weakness takeouts. If you want to search for a major fit then cue bid the lowest of their suits. This should show 4 or 5 cards and partner then bids accordingly.
Continuations after (1)-X-(1)-Pass; (2)-2NT-(Pass)-??:

• 3/3 - weakness takeouts.
• 3 - spade enquiry. Responses:
  • 3 - 3 spades
  • 3NT - 2 spades
  • 4 - 4 spades
• 3 - some sort of probe for a diamond slam I suppose.

Anyway, this is a situation that will turn up very infrequently so don't worry about this too much.

5. Hands with 5 spades and 4/5 hearts
Thanks to Steve for this improvement. Currently, when you have 5 spades and 4/5 hearts you start off with 3 and then rebid 4 over 3NT. This is noted in the section above about wrongsiding contracts. Slightly better is to bid 4 with this hand, asking partner to bid 4. This will make the strong hand declarer. Opener is also able to bid 4NT if he's 2-2 in the majors and has the minors well stopped. To clarify, after the 2NT-3-3NT start:

• 4 - slam values with a 4 card minor
• 4 - transfer to hearts (the last suit shown)
• 4 - transfer to spades (or 4NT if suitable)

The following links will take you to several sets of example hands that you might find useful. In the slam hands I will use my own system of 'Turbo' cue bidding but substitute your own methods if you prefer. A very valuable tool, if you want to take up this system, is www.bridgebase.com. Log onto the program and go to the practice room where you can set up 2NT opening hands to bid with your partner. If you do a few hundred of these then you should be prepared for most situations you'll face at the table.

Note that these are all random hands (within the given constraints) and not fixed to highlight particular features of the system - as such the recommended auctions will sometimes lead to poor contracts. Hopefully this won't happen too often or, if it does, the equivalent standard auction will lead to a similarly bad situation. The system isn't perfect - no system is.

• 25 Random Hands - South's hand is 20-24pts and semi-balanced and North's hand is totally random.
• 5 Weak Hands - North has a hand that, in a standard system, would probably transfer to a major and pass - something they cannot do in Gerry.
• 25 Slam Hands - The partnership has the values to make a slam try at least.
• 10 4 major/5 minor Slam Hands - To showcase the 3/3NT responses to 2NT.
• 10 Slam Hands with 5-5 shapes - For bidding these 'freak' hands.
• Hands from real play

I'll gladly add more example hands if anybody wants them - in any specific area of the system. What I would also like to do is get hands from real life play. So if you decide to play Gerry then please send the hand record and auction of any 2NT hands to me in an email and how well you did on that board. Thanks!

Feedback

Feedback is greatly desired! So if you have any comments then please drop me an email on gerry2NT@btopenworld.com