2007-11-24 00:46

Hand Evaluation – NT ( Stayman Understandings )

PITBULLS:

Most players ( especially in matchpoints ) play gambling Stayman. This means when they have diamonds , they can take a chance on Stayman as they may pass 2♦. The other gambling Stayman is bidding 2♥ after a 2♦ Stayman response , which can be done with a weak 4-5 or a weak 5-5 & sometimes a weak 4-4 ! . You bid 2♥ & partner is expected to pass or correct to 2♠. There is no need to gamble with the boss suit spades. With a weak hand & a 5 card spade suit , forget Stayman & just transfer to spades. When you have 5♠ & 4♥ with an invitational hand bid 2♠ after 2♦ to Stayman . When you are 4-4 in the majors with invitational values & partner responds 2♦ to Stayman invite with 2NT , not 2♠.

You notice that we have deliberately left 2♠ by responder out of the mix as a natural bid after Stayman & 2♦ . This leaves a systemic use for 2♠ after a 2♦ Stayman reply. 2♠ shows all invitational hands with spades as the anchor suit. Opener must relay to 2NT without spades ( unless she feels 2♠ is the exact spot or bids 3♠ or 4♠ ) so all 5-5 invitational hands are now shown by responder. You must have a place in your system to show an invitational 5-5 in the majors & this is it. This bid shows 5♠ & 5 of any other suit that responder bids along with invitational values. When you want to force to game , use transfers into spades.

♠J10xxx ♥xxxx ♦xx ♣xx transfer to spades & pass

♠J10xxx ♥xxxxx ♦xx ♣x Bid Stayman then 2♥ for partner to pass or correct.

♠Axxxx ♥Kxxxx ♦xx ♣x Bid Stayman & over 2♦ bid 2♠ . Partner must bid 2NT without spades so now 3♥ to describe your hand.

♠AQxxx ♥Q10xx ♦xx ♣xx Bid Stayman & over 2♦ bid 2♠ . Partner must bid 2NT without spades so now pass. Partner can bid 3NT over 2♠.

♠AJxxx ♥AKxxx ♦xx ♣x Transfer to spades & bid hearts.

We play extended Stayman & Smolen with our NT structure. When you bid 2NT after Stayman ,we are 4-4 minimum or if we bid 3♣ , we show 4-4 maximum. Smolen hands (5-4 in the majors either way) are show by a jump after 2♦. You jump in the 4 card suit to preserve the transfer.

What if you have an invitational 5-5 with hearts as the anchor suit ? We must move away from Stayman & go to transfers to describe these hands. We use the fact that 2♠ is idle using heart transfers. Therefore , you transfer to hearts & bid spades which forces opener to relay to 2NT . Now all invitational 5-5’s with hearts as the anchor suit are described.

6-4’s with a 4 card major & a 6 card minor , can be described by Stayman. Partner makes a 2♦ or major suit reply to Stayman , so the Stayman bidder now bids 3♦ . This shows a 4 card major ( the other one if opened replied a major ) & a 6 card minor. Opener must bid 3♥ to ask which 6 card minor. Of course , you cannot bid 3♣ to show a 6-4 as that is Re-Stayman which all of us play by now.

Your system over 1NT should be powerful enough to show most of the common hand patterns forcing or invitational. The two main tools are Stayman & Transfers. Memory aid is the letter “S” Stayman shows the invitational spade hands with spades as the anchor suit. Heart invitational hands use Transfers.