The Stayman Convention

Hold four spades opposite a 1NT opening and you have a question to ask. If partner also has four spades, the hand will usually play a trick better in 4♠ than in 3NT, because the ruffing value of a 4-4 fit is worth more than the extra ten points notrump scores. Finding out is harder than it looks. No natural bid asks the question. With transfers in play, 2♥ and 2♠ are not spade bids at all, and jumping to 3NT throws the question away.

The Stayman convention, which nearly every partnership plays, asks it with one artificial bid. 2♣ asks opener to name a four-card major.

After a 1NT opening, responder bids 2♣. It says nothing about clubs. Opener answers by naming a four-card major, or bids 2♦ to deny one. Holding both majors, opener bids 2♥ first, and responder can still find the spade fit on the next round. Responder then places the contract or invites game, knowing whether a 4-4 major fit exists.

The standard requirements are a four-card major and at least invitational values: about 8 points opposite a 15 to 17 point 1NT, or 11 opposite a 12 to 14 point weak notrump as played in Acol. A weaker hand usually has no game to find, so you pass 1NT or use a transfer if you hold a five-card major (see Jacoby transfers).

• 4-4 in the majors, 8 or more points: bid 2♣. You will find any 4-4 fit.
• One four-card major, 8 or more points: bid 2♣, then rebid notrump if opener names the other major or bids 2♦.
• Five spades and four hearts, game values: bid 2♣. If opener denies a major, jump to 3♠ to show the five-card suit.
• A five-card major with no four-card side major: do not use Stayman. Transfer instead.
• 4-3-3-3 with a four-card major: many experts skip Stayman and bid notrump directly. The flat hand offers no ruffing value, so the major fit gains little, and you give the defenders less information.

Opener's reply is mechanical: 2♦ with no four-card major, 2♥ with four hearts (whether or not opener also has four spades), 2♠ with four spades and fewer than four hearts. Opener does not show strength at this point. Responder's second bid carries the meaning.

One inference follows. If opener bids 2♥ and responder continues with 2NT or 3NT, responder must hold four spades, since Stayman promised a major and it was not hearts. Opener holding both majors now corrects, to 3♠ or 4♠ over 2NT depending on strength and to 4♠ over 3NT.

Garbage Stayman

Stayman can also rescue a weak hand. Hold ♠J853 ♥Q962 ♦T8642 and a void in clubs. That is 3 points, and 1NT will often go down two or three. Bid 2♣ and pass any answer. Opener's reply is always a suit where you have at least four cards, so you have improved the contract. A weak hand that is 4-4 in the majors but lacks the diamonds to stand 2♦ bids 2♥ over 2♦ instead. Opener passes or corrects to 2♠, choosing the longer major.

**Puppet Stayman** asks for five-card majors as well as four-card ones. Most pairs play it as 3♣ over a 2NT opening, and some also use it as 2♣ over 1NT, in both cases when the notrump opening may contain a five-card major. Opener bids 3♦ holding at least one four-card major, bids a five-card major directly, and bids 3NT without either. After 3♦ responder names the major he does not hold. It looks backwards, but it lets opener bid the 4-4 fit first and become declarer, keeping the strong hand hidden and letting it play last to the first trick.

The convention exists because many players now open 2NT with a five-card major, and a growing number open a balanced 15 to 17 point hand 1NT with one too. Ordinary Stayman cannot find a 5-3 major fit on those hands, because responder with three-card support has no way to ask about a fifth card.

• Using Stayman with no major. Without a four-card major there is nothing to find. Raise notrump directly.
• Forgetting that Stayman promised a major. When responder bids notrump after opener's 2♥, opener with four spades must not pass a contract that might be missing a 4-4 spade fit.
• Showing strength with the answer. Opener's reply only describes shape. A 17-point opener still bids a simple 2♥ or 2♠, and decides about game only after responder's invitation.
• Using it after an overcall. If the opponents overcall 1NT, Stayman is off. A cuebid of their suit takes over the job (see Lebensohl). After a double of 1NT, most partnerships keep Stayman on.

Most pairs who add anything to Stayman add Smolen. Over 2♦, responder with five-four in the majors and game values jumps in the four-card major instead of the five-card one, so that opener with three-card support becomes declarer. Puppet Stayman, described above, also asks for five-card majors. Forcing Stayman treats 2♣ as forcing to 2NT, which rules out garbage Stayman. Over a 2NT opening the idea is the same one level higher, with 3♣ asking for a major. To play the full notrump structure you also need Texas transfers, and both sit in the Standard American Yellow Card.

What is the Stayman convention in bridge?

Stayman is a 2♣ response to partner's 1NT opening that asks for a four-card major. It says nothing about clubs. Opener bids 2♥ or 2♠ with a four-card major and 2♦ without one, and over a 2NT opening the same question is asked with 3♣.

How many points do you need to bid Stayman?

Usually 8 or more opposite a 15 to 17 point 1NT, which is enough to invite game. Weaker hands may use garbage Stayman when they can pass any reply.

What does opener bid with both majors after Stayman?

Opener bids 2♥ first. If responder then bids notrump, showing four spades, opener corrects to spades.

What is garbage Stayman?

Garbage Stayman is Stayman bid on a weak hand short in clubs, such as 4-4-5-0, intending to pass whatever opener bids. Every reply lands in a suit where responder holds at least four cards.

What is Puppet Stayman?

Puppet Stayman is a version of Stayman, most often played as 3♣ over 2NT, that asks opener for a five-card major as well as a four-card one. Opener shows a five-card major by bidding it, which matters when the notrump opening may hide one. Pairs who play it need a full agreement on the follow-ups, since they differ from ordinary Stayman.

What is checkback Stayman?

Checkback Stayman is an artificial 2♣ by responder after opener rebids 1NT, as in 1♦ - 1♠ - 1NT - 2♣. It asks opener to show three-card support for responder's major or four cards in the other major. It does the same job as new minor forcing, but always uses clubs whichever minor was opened.

Is there a Stayman cheat sheet?

The bidding tree and the table of responder's second bids on this page cover the whole convention, and you can print them as a cheat sheet. For Stayman alongside the rest of a standard system on one page, see the bridge bidding cheat sheet.