In the

card game A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games (such as poker). A small number of card ...

contract bridge Contract bridge, or simply bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard 52-card deck. In its basic format, it is played by four players in two competing partnerships, with partners sitting opposite each other around a table. Millions o ...

, Gambling 3NT is a special of an opening of 3NT. The bid is used to describe a hand containing a

minor Minor may refer to: * Minor (law), a person under the age of certain legal activities. ** A person who has not reached the age of majority * Academic minor, a secondary field of study in undergraduate education Music theory *Minor chord ** Barb ...

suit of at least seven cards in length and headed by the ace, king and queen, at minimum. The bid has the dual objectives of

preempt Preempt (also spelled "pre-empt") is a bid in contract bridge whose primary objectives are (1) to thwart opponents' ability to bid to their best contract, with some safety, and (2) to fully describe one's hand to one's partner in a single bid. A ...

ing the opponents' bidding should they hold the and trying for a game in notrump on the gamble that partner might hold adequate support. Because this conventional bid replaces the standard use of opening 3NT (a hand with 25-27

high card points In contract bridge, various bidding systems have been devised to enable partners to describe their hands to each other so that they may reach the optimum contract. Key to this process is that players evaluate and re-evaluate the trick-taking pot ...

and a balanced distribution), partnerships must use other bids to show the standard 3NT hand. For partnerships which also employ the use of the strong two club convention, that bid can be used to describe a standard 3NT opening hand. For example, the following bidding sequence: replaces the traditional 3NT opening bid if gambling 3NT and strong two club is in use. That is, North's hand is best described as 25 to 27

and a balanced distribution.

Responses

Responses vary depending on the partnership agreement for stoppers in the side suits. For the strong 3NT variant, the responder will normally pass unless holding a strong enough hand to envision a possible slam. For the weak 3NT variant responder will: * pass when holding a stopper in three suits or with two aces (3NT becomes the contract) * bid 4, 5, 6, or 7. This bid should be passed by the opener if the minor is clubs or corrected to diamonds. * bid 4 asking opener to ** bid their shortness (singleton or void) if it is a major ** bid 4NT with 7222 shape, ** bid their long minor suit with a singleton in the other minor. * bid 4NT with four likely tricks, asking opener to continue to slam with an eight card suit.

Variations

Partnership agreements vary as to whether the 3NT opening bid shows a side-suit ace or king. Originally, the convention required the opener to have stoppers in at least two of the side suits, now known as the Strong Gambling 3NT. The common current treatment is that the 3NT bidder shows weakness in the other suits and many play that it specifically denies any Aces or Kings in the side suits (in the first or second seat) – the Weak Gambling 3NT. Other variants include having at least one ace in a side suit or exactly two aces in the side suits. Some partnerships play the following response variations: * bid 4 asking opener to ** bid their shortness (singleton or void) if it is a major ** bid 4NT with a minor suit singleton ** bid their long minor suit with 7222 shape Or alternatively * bid 4 as the

Gerber convention Gerber is a contract bridge convention devised by William Konigsberger and Win Nye from Switzerland who published it in 1936; John Gerber of Texas introduced it to North America in 1938 where it was named after him. It is similar to Blackwood b ...

asking opener to respond using their version of this convention (usually showing Aces)

Defense

A double by either opponent shows a strong hand which can expect to defeat 3NT with moderate help from partner, and invites partner to take out with some shape if the opponents run to their long suit. If 3NT, doubled or otherwise, becomes the final contract, it is recommended that the opening lead be an ace, in order to see the dummy. A typical reason not to lead aces against other contracts is that it may give away a trick when declarer holds the king; here that is not possible. The reason that the ace ''is'' led is that the offense may have nine top tricks, and the defense must take its five first, without losing the lead.

References

{{WPCBIndex Bridge conventions