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Bridge can be as bad as NASA for confusing acronyms and lingo! Welcome to the Jargon Jungle - a glossary of bridge terms designed to help you hack your way through to a better understanding of the game of bridge. Just click on the first letter of the word you wish to find!  Each letter of the alphabet reloads the page.

Also, if you would like to suggest a term not presently included on the list, or see a correction that needs to be made, please drop us a note.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Garbage Stayman: A variant of Stayman which offers the possibility to stop the bidding in either 2H or 2S (ie: 1NT-2C-2D-2H). It may show either 4-4 or 4-5 in the majors and weak hand.

Another version of Garbage Stayman is used to respond to a 1NT opener with a bust hand with either a singleton or void in clubs and no other meaningful distribution.  Such auctions would be passed out after the opener gives the Stayman response.

Gerber: The Gerber Convention is used over NT Bidding. When your partner opens 1NT, you know he has 15 - 17 hcp. If you have 16 or more hcp, you are well within Slam range.

The bidding proceeds: 1NT P 4C Completly artificial, it is the ace asking bid. The responses are as follows: 4D = 0-4 4H = 1 4S = 2 5NT - 3 Again, do not ask for Kings without having all the aces, just place the contract.

You may, with partnership understanding, use Gerber over all NT, including the LAST bid No Trump, such as bidding which goes: 1H p 1S p 2NT 4C - this now is Gerber, but remember to discuss this with your partner before playing it.

An example: Kxx QJx AKxxx xx.  The bidding has proceeded: 1NT p 3D p 3NT p 5C - The "standard" treatment to bid Gerber after Opener rebids 3N is 5C as opposed to 4C. A bid of 4 Clubs would show a Club suit.  Again, remember to discuss this with your partner before playing it.

GSF (Grand Slam Force): A conventional bid of 5NT (by passing the usual 4NT convention to ask for aces) asking partner about trump quality. In the simplest form, partner is expected to bid a grand slam with two of the three highest trumps, or a small slam without them. GSF may also be a bid of new suit at the 6 level after Blackwood (ie: 1S-3S-4NT-5D-6C is GSF asking partner to bid 7 if he has two of the top three honors in spades). If accepting GSF, it is usual to bid 6NT rather than 7 of suit to allow partner to correct to a 7 level contract. Occasionally partner may hold (void - Qx - AKQ - AKQxxxxx) and the bidding would proceed: 1C-P-1H-P-5NT (GSF in hearts) - 6NT (AK of hearts)- 7C (to play).
 

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