505
Slam Bidding - Gerber Ace Asking Bid
Usually you are deciding between bidding a Game or a Small Slam if you or your partner
go Ace Asking.
With Gerber you cannot bid 5C straight away asking for Kings - you must Ace ask first even though you may know
where all the Aces are located. A jump straight into 5C without Ace asking first will be interpreted as a
natural suit bid.
After you have replied to your partners Ace ask they may want to know about your holding in Kings - to do this they will bid 5♣ and you will need again to count how many kings you have and bid according to the table below. If the Slam is in a trump suit, a singleton may sometimes be counted as a King If the partner who initiates Gerber subsequently then bids 5♣ , that means that they are asking for you to show the number of kings in your hand. Responses to 5♣ is same as your responses to 4♣(Ace asking) , but at one level higher. Responses for the kings are below.
After you have replied to your partners Ace ask they may want to know about your holding in Kings - to do this they will bid 5♣ and you will need again to count how many kings you have and bid according to the table below. If the Slam is in a trump suit, a singleton may sometimes be counted as a King If the partner who initiates Gerber subsequently then bids 5♣ , that means that they are asking for you to show the number of kings in your hand. Responses to 5♣ is same as your responses to 4♣(Ace asking) , but at one level higher. Responses for the kings are below.
| Partners Gerber Bid |
What your response means | Your Bid |
Bidding Sequence |
| 4♣ | Holding 0 or 4 Kings | 4♦ | 4♣ - 4♦ |
| 4♣ | Holding 1 King | 4♥ | 4♣ - 4♥ |
| 4♣ | Holding 2 Kings | 4♠ | 4♣ - 4♠ |
| 4♣ | Holding 3 Kings | 4NT | 4♣ - 4NT |
Table of responses to Partners Ace Ask
Practice your Gerber Ace Asking Responses
Partner Responds 2H to your 2C(Game Force) Opening Bid
What Ace Asking Bid will you make with this hand?
- ♠ A 7 5
- ♥ A K Q 6 5 3
- ♦ K J
- ♣ A K
You can't use 4C as the contract is going to be in Hearts and partner will interpret 4C as a strong club suit bid. You must use Blackwood Ace and King Asking 4NT/5NT to see if you can bid Grand Slam