Bergen Raise

means either Hearts OR Spades
1 - 3 means raise in opener's major
1 - ... - # means rebidding the same suit


Bergen is a set of bids designed to show responder's hand strength and trump length in response to an opening bid of one of a major with 4+ card support. 
The raises are based on total points, not just HCP, and show fewer than 13 total points. With 13+, bid a Jacoby 2N or a Splinter bid or 2/1.

According to Larry Cohen's web site, the original Bergen Raises of a 1 opening were "short and sweet": 

    3 raise = 0-6 points 
    3 = 7-10 points. 
    3 = 11-12 or a "good" 10 points  
So there are only 3 standard Bergen Raises, but hands may not be so cut-and-dried. 
Responding to an opening 1, an 8-HCP hand like Axxx-xxx-Axx-xxx should have 1 point deducted for being 4-3-3-3. More significantly, it has a Losing Trick Count of 10, meaning that game is virtually impossible unless partner has a 2 opener which he forgot to bid. So you would be justified in making a preemptive 3 bid instead of 3C. 
Yet another 8-HCP hand like Qxxx-xx-KQJxx-xx has an LTC of about 7, which is the same as a limit raise hand, so you should definitely bid at least 3 and even 3 might be acceptable, especially in IMPs.

Raising to 3 of partner's major with 0-6 total points when vulnerable seems like a recipe for disaster. It would seem to be reasonable to do so only with extra trumps (5+) and a singleton or void and 5-6 total points.

Notice that if you play Bergen Raises, you cannot play Weak Jump-Shifts in a minor (e.g.: 1-3) 
In BidBase, a hand with a good 6-card suit may sometimes be bid as a weak or strong jump-shift such as 3C or 3D when not playing Bergen. An entry has been made in the Bergen section so that when it is activated, such a hand will just be bid 2C or 2D since in Bergen 3C and 3D have other meanings.

Choice of Games: 
August 2022, p.57, shows KJT A43 KJ9 QT86 and says that 3N shows 13-15 HCP with 3-card support and 4-3-3-3 distribution. 
Marty Bergen says: Even if you don''t play Bergen Raises, I heartily recommend this (3N Choice of Games) bid.

Rebids By Opener:

After 1 - 3 (showing 7-10 points): 

  • 3 = rebidding the major is a sign-off. 
  • 3 = invitational (16-17 points).
    Responder bids 4 with 9-10 points, 3 with 7-8 points. 
  • 4 = sign-off in game (18+ points)

After 1 - 3 (showing 11-12 points): 

  • 3 = <14 points. (BidBase will open KQxxx-xx-AQx-xxx.) * 
  • 4 = 15+ points

* Even though responder has limited his hand to 12 points, there are "good" and "bad" 12 points.
   For example ATxx-Kxx-xx-Axxx is worth a raise to 4 with prime HCP and the T as a bonus.

Reverse Bergen Raises:

The meanings of 3 and 3 are reversed so that 3 is a Limit Raise which leaves (slightly) more room for a Help Suit Game Try by opener.

Bergen Raises are on after a double by RHO but are off after an overcall by RHO.

Larry Cohen shows some variations on his web site.

Also see this high-level discussion of Bergen Raises.

Better Use of 1-3?

In the Nov.2022 Bridge Bulletin, p.56, Jerry Helms says that after 1-(P), it is better to use 3 to show 6+ cards in the suit bid and 9-11 HCP, such as with 72 95 KJT7542 Q3.

WIth fewer HCP, bid 1N (assumes playing 2/1) followed by bidding your minor. With 12+ HCP, you can make a normal 2/1 bid of your suit.

The odds of a Bergen Raise coming up for a pair in a 27-board tournament is about once in every 1.3 tournaments, according to the CardShark BidBase Practice program.