The
Stayman Convention is an artificial response of 2 Clubs to an opening bid of 1NT. It
is used to ask if opener has a four-card major suit.
With a four-card or longer major suit, opener
bids it at the 2 level.
Without a four-card major suit, opener artificially
rebids 2 Diamonds.
In yesterday’s Standard bidding...when responder uses Stayman after opener’s notrump bid...he usually had 8-9 HCPs and at least one four-card major...except when he holds a specific hand. That exceptional , specific hand is one which contains a 5 card major and only 8-9 pts. Standard bidding does not allow responder to show a 5 card major and invitational points immediately...(1NT...2H shows 0-7 pts) and (1 NT...3H shows 10+ pts) Therefore responder must invite game by showing the 8-9 points with the Stayman bid...then show possession of a five-card major suit by freely bidding the suit himself at the 2 level.
The ACBL Convention card offers Modern bidders a choice of Forcing or
Non-forcing Stayman...
FORCING
STAYMAN....bidders promise 8+pts and also promise to keep the
bidding open to 2NT or 3 of a suit...even if at he minimum point level.
NON-FORCING
STAYMAN...
bidders do not promise any HCPs...The non-forcing Stayman bidder can pass any rebid
opener may make...if, in their
estimation, the final contract will be improved.
If, on the other hand, responder does continue with a second bid, he then promises 8+ pts. and also promises to keep the bidding open to 2 NT or 3 of a suit... If responder chooses to pass...this pass infers that a 7 card or longer fit has been found and that the new contract has more promise than 1 NT.
Magic Stayman or Drop-Dead Stayman
are
colorful names given to this variation of the convention...When
responder intends to pass
any rebid made by opener...the use of Stayman may be done with no values
at all.
The classic hand pattern this
action is 4-4-5-0 distribution. If opener does show a major suit, a much better contract will
have been reached. If on the other
hand, opener rebids 2 diamonds... responder can pass
knowing that a diamond fit is likely...If opener’s shape happens to be
3-3-2-5...the gamble may or may not pay off.
However, remember that
Standard bidders with five diamonds
and 0 pts will still be placing the contract in 2 diamonds...and the strong
1NT hand will even be exposed! If
responder chooses to stretch the
envelope and make this bid with a 4-4-4-1 or even a 4-3 (3-4) 5-1 hand
pattern...he takes a much greater risk, but may well improve the contract... “Do
you feel lucky?”
One of my very favorite bridge
quotes is ... “There are no great bridge players, only great partnerships.”
Whenever a new (or old) partnership
begins to grow and adds more tools...it is imperative to have clear
understandings about not only the meanings of conventions...but also about the
continuations of the bidding... Partners
must discuss their understandings to ensure that the same continuations are
played. They should also discuss if
these continuations are still in effect if the opponents should
intervene in the bidding. Following
are some Stayman questions that partnerships
should answer and then settle upon their own agreements.
CONTINUATIONS...PARTNERSHIPS
MUST DISCUSS
Does the 2C response promise possession of a
four card major?
(I suggest
your answer be yes!)
How does opener respond if they hold both
major suits? Stayman,
wrote the convention at a time when four card majors were the style..therefore
he recommended that Spades be bid first. Dorothy
Truscott in Bid Better, Play Better, advises
that opener bid the better quality suit...The modern trend is to bid four-card
suit “Up the line”... therefore a 2 S response denies a heart suit, but a 2
H response does not deny a spade
suit. You and your partner must
decide...
What does opener rebid when they do not
hold a four card major suit?
Stayman...40 years ago, had opener rebid 2D with a minimum hand and 2 NT
with a maximum hand. Almost no modern
players follow this practice today! Today,
it is almost universal to rebid 2D on all hands which lack a four card
major. It is mandatory to rebid 2D
if “Non-Forcing Stayman” is played by the partnership...
"PUPPET”
STAYMAN...
Puppet stayman differs from 5-card stayman in that after the 3 Club forcing request for a 5 card Major suit...a 3D response from the opener says they did not have a 5 card suit but they did have a 4 card suit...it does not say anything about the quality of the suit...the rest of the system is still in force...
5-CARD STAYMAN...
In beginning bridge
classes, novices are taught to open 1 NT regardless of the fact that their hand
may contain a 5 card Major. Trying
to explain the difference in evaluating "good" and "bad"
suits and hands confuses new players and then of course the rebid presents an
even more difficult problem! Even
established partnerships may even have some similar problems with these
difficult situations. Puppet
Stayman solves many of the problems that arise, but often times even when the
partnership discovers their "fit" the suit turns out to be of such
poor quality that a 3NT contract might have faired better.
5 Card Stayman solves these problems!
With hands of game going quality...10+ the responder will make a bid of 3C...
Opener's Rebids: 3NT=No 5 Card Major & No 4 Card Major
3H/S=5 Card (or very good quality) 4 Card Major
3D=I have a 4 Card Major...but it is very poor
After discovering that the opener's suit is of poor
quality, the responder is in a better position to evaluate where to place the
game. If the responder chooses to
play in the Major instead of 3 NT...they will bid the Major that they DO NOT have...allowing the opener to then bid either the correct
major or 3NT. (Sort of a partial
plagiarism of the Smolen convention, which still allows the 1N opening hand to
remain as declarer.)
If the responder has both Majors and wants to place the
contract in the opener's suit...they bid either 4C or 4D...these bids could have
any meaning the partnership might choose to assign.
(Perhaps the difference might be specifying individual suit quality?)
(4C shows Better
Hearts than Spades vs 4D shows Better Spades than Hearts)