Stayman---The Whole Nine Yards
Do you and your partner play Stayman? Most partnerships do. Basically, after a 1 NT open, a 2♣ response says I have at least one 4 card Major and asks Opener if she has a 4 card major. Pretty simple, right?
But, have you and your partner discussed how many high card points (HCP) it takes to bid Stayman? Does it have an upper limit? Would you respond Stayman with 15 HCP and two 4 card majors? What if you have a 4 and a 5 card major? How does partner know if it’s 8 or 15 HCP? Those are all important things to cover in your partnership agreement so that both of you understand what the other partner is saying. It’s essential if you want to get to the correct contract.
There are obviously lots of ways to play Stayman, some simple, some complex. The best way I have found is explained in a booklet called No Trump Bidding, Stayman and Transfers by Terrence Quested. It’s available on Amazon for $19.75. I highly recommend it.
When you think about responding to a 1NT open holding at least one 4 card major, I suggest a point count approach. Do you have 8-9 HCP, 10-14 HCP or 15+? These three holdings determine your approach to Stayman. All assume that you, as Responder, hold at least one 4 card major but you could hold two or you could be 5/4 in the majors. The key is that you have at least one 4 card major. In all of the following biding sequences I underline Responder bids to make it a little easier to follow.
Part One
With 8 or 9 HCP (what lots of partnerships consider a Stayman holding) respond 2♣ . Partner will bid 2♦ if she does not have a 4 card major and you typically bid 2 No Trump. We’ll cover when you bid something else later.
Opener, holding one 4 card major bids it (1NT, 2♣ , 2♥ ) or (1NT, 2♣ , 2♠ ).
If Opener has both 4 Hearts and 4 Spades, there are arguments as to which to bid first. Unless my Spade holding is very much stronger than my Heart holding (like KQJx vs Txxx) then as Opener my second bid is 2♥ . Once again, Responder’s second bid when holding 4 Spades has some advocates for bidding 2♠ and some for bidding 2 No Trump, split about even.
I fall in the 2 Spades camp. Without 4 Spades, Opener will set the contract at 2 or 3 No Trump depending on strength. If she has 4 Spades, she can Pass, Invite or bid Game in Spades, again depending on strength. But, that has the disadvantage of putting the strong hand on the board.
The opposite camp supports Responder (holding 4 Spades) bidding 2 No Trump.. Opener, holding both 4 card majors then bids 3 or 4♠ depending on strength. The advantage here is strong hand is declarer, but the lowest available Spade contract is one level higher, You sacrifice the option to play 2 Spades.
The important thing here is for both partners to understand, through partnership agreement, how they are going to bid when Opener has both 4 Hearts and 4 Spades. Because Stayman comes up a lot, this is a foot stomper. Be sure you are both on the same page!
One last thing. Remember way back in paragraph two I posed the question, “What if you have a 4 and a 5 card major”? Well, in his book, Quested came up with what he calls the Quest Transfer.
After 1NT, 2♣ , 2♦ in which Opener denied a 4 Card major and as Responder you hold either 5-4 or 6-4 in the majors use the Quest Transfer. You transfer to your 5 or 6 card major by bidding either 3♦ (transfer to hearts) or 3♥ (transfer to spades) after Opener’s 2♦ bid.
So, example bidding sequences of the Quest Transfer bids are 1NT, 2♣ , 2♦ , 3♦ , 3♥ or 1NT, 2♣ , 2♦ , 3♥ , 3♠ . As Responder you then decide to Pass or bid the Major Game based on your holding (either HCP or Losing Trick Count).
Note: 1NT, 2♣ , 2♦ , 2♠ does not exist. Never bid 2♠ after the 2♦ denial.
As with Jacoby Transfers, Opener has Super Accept options following Responders Quest Transfer bid. In each of these bids, Opener is showing 3 card support and the Ace of the bid suit. So, the Super Accept bids are---
Opener after 3♦ (transfer to Hearts) Opener after 3♥ (transfer to Spades)
3♠ shows 3♥ s & ♠ Ace 3♠ shows 2♠ s, no extras,
4♣ shows 3♥ s & ♣ Ace 4♣ shows 3♠ s & ♣ Ace
4♦ shows 3♥ s & ♦ Ace 4♦ shows 3♠ s & ♦ Ace
4♥ To Play 4♥ shows 3♠ s & ♥ Ace
Never bid 4♠ 4♠ To Play
3NT shows 2♥ s & 3♠ 3NT shows 2♠ s & 3♥
and is To Play and is To Play
Important: When Responding to Opener’s Super Accept of a Quest Transfer, you as Responder must rebid the artificial transfer suit (4♦ or 4♥ ) so Opener can then bid the Super Accepted suit, either 4♥ or 4♠ . That’s necessary to right-side the hand. Example 1NT, 2♣ , 2♦ , 3♥ , 4♣ , 4♥ , 4♠ .
Finally, if as Responder you don’t have a 5 or 6 card major to transfer to after the 2♦ denial, don’t forget to bid 2NT.
An example bidding sequence would be 1NT, 2♣ , 2♦ , 2NT.
Part Two
With 10-14 HCP, a game force hand, I suggest you play Puppet Stayman. It’s a bit different, but well worth learning.
But first, why is it called Puppet? It’s because the opener is essentially being guided by the responder's bidding prompts, just as a puppet follows the puppeteer’s strings.
Note: There are a few varieties of Puppet Stayman. This is the basic one and the one I like. If you decide to play Puppet Stayman, you should also play it over a 2 No Trump open but you only need about 4 HCP. If you play Karosel, use it there with 7 HCP. An advantage of using it in all three is you will learn it much faster because it will come up so often
Puppet Stayman starts with a 3♣ response to partner’s 1 or 2 NoTrump open saying partner, I have a three or four card major and asking Opener if she has a four or five card major. Remember, all Puppet bids are Alertable.
With a five card major, Opener bids it at the 3 level (1NT, 3♣ , 3♥ ) and Responder bids accordingly. Recall, Puppet Stayman is Game Force.
Without a five card major, Opener bids 3♦ saying she does not have a five card major but she does have 1 or 2 four card majors. Responder then bids the four card major he does not have and opener bids the other major thereby right-siding the hand. (1NT, 3♣ , 3♦ , 3♠ , 4♥ ).
Holding 2 four card majors Responder bids 4♣ telling Opener to pick her best major. (1NT, 3♣ , 3♦ , 4♣ , 4♠ ).
If Responder has both 4 card majors and enough HCP or losing tricks to explore slam, he bids 4♦ and then typically asks for Aces after Opener finally bids the actual trump suit, thereby right-siding the hand. Example sequence would be (1NT, 3♣ , 3♦ , 4♦ , 4♠ , 4NT, etc).
Holding one or two 3 card majors, Responder bids 3 No Trump to play knowing that Opener does not have a five card major. . Example sequence would be (1NT, 3♣ , 3♦ , 3NT)
Part Three
With 15+ HCP, you may be in slam territory. To explore that, you need to tell Opener. But how? It’s really easy.
After, 1NT, 2♣ , 2♥ , or 1NT, 2♣ , 2♠ but without a fit, bid 3♣ saying I have at least 15 HCP. Maybe we should explore Slam. Opener, with a minimum No Trump opener will bid 3NT to play (1NT, 2♣ , 2♥ , 3♣ , 3NT). If Responder has17 or better, he should explore slam by bidding his lowest control or asking for aces. To tell Responder she has 16 or 17 HCP, Opener will bid her lowest control. Responder will then do the same. Then Opener should know if a No Trump slam is likely and ask for Aces to learn more. (1NT, 2♣ , 2♥ , 3♣ , 3♦ , 3♠ , 4NT, etc.)
With a fit in the major bid 3♦ saying I have at least 15 HCP and we have a major suit fit. Opener, with enough HCP or LTC can begin slam exploration by bidding her lowest control. Responder will reply with his lowest control. Opener can then ask for Aces using whatever system you like. Here is an example sequence (1NT, 2♣ , 2♥ , 3♦ , 3♠ 4♦ , 4NT, etc.) There are a few other ways for Opener to get a better feel for slam likelihood including Non-serious No Trump, Kickback, and Exclusion. I will try to cover these, especially Non-serious No Trump in a later article. It’s a great bid although it does not come up very often.
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