The response of 2 Clubs to a 1 No Trump or 3 Clubs to a 2 No Trump opening, asking for a 4-card Major Suit. It is one of the easiest conventions ever devised and its popularity is universal. It seems that the Stayman convention was invented by Mr. George Rapee around 1945. However, the first published article on the subject was written by Mr. Samuel Stayman, and bridge players began to name the convention after the author and not the inventor. There were no hard feelings because Mr. Rapee and Mr. Stayman were quite an established and successful team.
One form of the Stayman convention is known as the Non-Forcing Stayman Convention. Although this is somewhat of a misnomer, because the response of 2 Clubs to the No Trump Opening forces the 1 No Trump opener for one round. The non-forcing element of this version of the Stayman convention refers to the fact that if, after the No Trump opener answers the 2 Club bid and the responder bids a new suit on the Two Level, the No Trump opener is not required to continue the bidding. The No Trump opener may pass.
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Opener |
Responder |
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1 NT |
2 |
Forcing |
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2 |
2 |
Non-Forcing, Opener may pass |
There is another version of the Stayman convention called the Forcing Stayman. This version is played exactly the same as the Non-Forcing Stayman convention, except for the fact that the opener may not pass a rebid by responder on the Two Level. Opener must continue bidding as long as the auction remains below the Two No Trump Level.
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Opener |
Responder |
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1 NT |
2 |
Forcing |
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2 |
2 |
Forcing, Opener may not pass below 2 No Trump |
From the two illustrations above, the technical difference between Non-Forcing Stayman and Forcing Stayman should be clear. These two versions of the Stayman convention are still being played and if this is your partnership agreement, please adhere to your partnership agreement. It must be noted, however, that the Jacoby Transfer has efficiently replaced any reasons for the responder to rebid a different suit on the Two Level, thereby rendering the use of the Non-Forcing or Forcing version of the Stayman convention unnecessary.
A typical hand is shown below, and with similar holdings, we shall attempt to illustrate the usefulness of the Stayman convention.
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| 1 No Trump |
| Responder | ||||||||
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2  |
In order to use the Stayman convention,the responder must have:
1. At least 8/9HCPs and one 4-card Major Suit
2. Responder may not have a 5-card Major. This is reserved for Jacoby Transfer.
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x |
Before continuing, there can be an exception.
Review the example below.
1. Responder has 0-HCPs, but responder should bid 2 Clubs.
2. With this distribution, responder may have 0-7HCPs.
3. On his next turn to bid, responder will simply pass any response of the opener.
4. The 2 Clubs bid also discourages the Opponents from bidding.
This exception is referred to commonly as Garbage Stayman.
| Opener | ||||||||
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| 1 No Trump |
| Responder | ||||||||
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| 2 |
Note: if any opponent decides to overcall with 2 Clubs, simply double this overcall. Your partner, if this becomes your Partnership Agreement, will understand that the opponent has stolen your bid. Some partnerships have agreed, however, that the Stayman convention becomes non-applicable after an opponent makes an overcall. If you decide to play with this restriction, please include it in your partnership agreement.
Next we handle the forced responses of the No Trump bidder
| If the No Trump bidder does not have a 4-card Major, the No Trump bidder automatically bids 2 Diamonds. |
| If the No Trump bidder has 4 cards in both Majors, the No Trump bidder can bid either the Heart suit or the Spade suit first. |
| There is no reason to bid the Heart suit first, and there is no reason to bid the Spade suit first. |
| It is a matter of Partnership Agreement. |
1. Since the No Trump bidder has limited his hand
to 15-18HCPs, the responder becomes the Captain of the partnership and must decide
the correct contract.
2. If responder has 8-9HCPs, and he realizes
that they have an 8-card fit in a Major, then the rebid of the responder is either
3 Spades or 3 Hearts. This is purely invitational and not forcing. The No Trump bidder
continues to game with the maximum HCPs and passes with the minimum HCPs.
3. If the responder finds no fit, then the responder bids No Trump to show no fit.
4. If the responder has 10-14 points (HCPs
plus distributional points) after finding an 8-card Major fit, then the responder
bids game.
5. If the responder has 10-14HCPs, and he realizes
there is no fit, responder bids game in No Trump.
6. If the responder has 15 plus points, HCPs plus distributional points after re-evaluating his hand, after finding an 8-card Major fit, then the responder should try for slam.
7. If the responder has 15HCPs plus, and discovers no fit, the responder should try for slam by asking the No Trump bidder for his number of Aces with the Blackwood convention, or the agreed partnership Slam conventions, with the intention of playing the contract in No Trump.
There are many "ifs" and "thens", but do not let that worry you. Since everything is dependent on length and strength of the holding of the responder, it requires only a little memorization and the use of the Convention of Logic to sort things out. If you keep the Line of Communication open with your partner, he will be able to visualize your hand and reach the correct contract.
Try to remember and use the following little trick when using the Stayman convention. Although the No Trump bidder has limited his hand and his partner becomes the Captain, who will guide him to the correct contract, the No Trump bidder can show strength in his response. For example:
| Opener | ||||||||
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| 1 No Trump |
| Responder | ||||||||
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| 2 |
2. Responder has asked for a 4-card Major by bidding 2 Clubs.
3. The No Trump bidder can show his extra strength by bidding 3 Spades, which shows he has more than just the minimum.
4. If he only has the minimum, he would respond with only 2 Spades.
5. In this manner, the No Trump bidder can show the range of his No Trump.