Saturday,
December 07, 2002 8:40 AM
Hand
Evaluation – Systemic ( Puppet Stayman
)
PITBULLS:
Bridge bidding as a rule , should follow the basic principle of
describing your hand pattern to partner. When you have a balanced
hand even with a 5 card suit ( 5-3-3-2) , your
rebid or opening bid should be some number of NT. Do not get hung up
with your 5 card major when you have a balanced hand & soft values suitable
for NT. Sometimes in Bridge , a 5-3 major fit is a
better contract than 3NT . Quite often it is nice to know if partner has a 5
card major or minor when she has opened a NT bid. Over 1NT , we have “re-Stayman”
to find these things out. What about the 2NT hands ?
Normal Stayman over 2NT is very clumsy for slam bidding. In
order to compete with forcing 1♣ systems , you need some systemic help with your 2NT openers. Say
the auction goes
2NT-P-3♣-P
3♠-P-4♦
Is that a Q bid in support of spades or does
that show 5♦ & 4♥ ? How do you make slam
tries after Stayman ? How do you find
minor slams after Stayman ? How do you find a 5-3 major or minor fit
with Stayman ? The answer is to try Puppet Stayman . Puppet Stayman got
its name from a relay or puppet bid of 3♦ by opener after Stayman . This 3♦
bid turns the tables on the Stayman bidder.
Instead of responder asking the 2NT bidder to specify the major , the 2NT bidder asks responder for the
major via 3♦. The strong 2NT
only tells responder when he has a 5 card major directly after
Stayman .
He bids 3NT with no major & relays ( puppets
) to 3♦ with one or both
majors. These are the basics of Puppet Stayman.
Now for finding
the 5 card minor after a 2NT opener. After the 2NT bidder bids
3NT denying a major ,
the Puppet Stayman bidder can bid 4♣ as “re-Stayman”. The 2NT opener bids 4♦ with 4-4 in the minors
and 4NT with a 4-3-3-3. When the 2NT opened with a 5 card minor , she bids 4♥ with a 5 card club suit ,
4♠ with a 5 card diamond suit. 5♣ is now KCB for that minor by the
puppet Stayman person. 4NT by responder is to play as
usual.
As the table below shows
, the smaller hand ( Stayman bidder )
preserves the
transfer by bidding the major he does not have when asked by the 3♦ bid. You can add fancy bids to show minor slam try hand types as
below . You can invent any sequences you want .
You break sequences down to fit
– no fit auctions. When opener bids 3♦
when responder is interested in slam with
a fit ,
he describes his hand
to the 2NT opener. All bids from 3NT up by responder show Smolen hands or 4-4 in the majors implying a major fit.
When the 2NT opener bids 3♦ but subsequently no fit is found , the bidding reverts to natural except
for 4♣ which is Re-Stayman. As openers 4 card suit is
known, you just bid the 2nd suit or 4NT with a 4-3-3-3.
Here is one approach from the net …
M stands
for Major in the notation below . Here are the
sequences when the 2NT opener shows one or both majors. Responder can show Smolen hands or 4-4 in the majors when opener bids 3♦. All bids of 3NT or higher imply a fit after a 3♦ response.
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
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|
|
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|
Call |
Meaning |
*With 6-4 majors and no slam interest, responder should
just use Texas.
Openers options
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Call |
Meaning |
|
|
|
|
Responders
options with a fit
|
||
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Call |
Meaning |
|
|
|
|
No fit
response by opener
|
||
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Call 5
♣ |
Re-Stayman 6-4 majors transfer |
|
West |
North |
East |
South |
|||
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|
Call 4
NT |
Re-Stayman |
|
|||
When
opener shows a 5 card major:
|
West 2 NT |
North |
East |
South |
|
|
Call |
Meaning |