Notrump Bidding

Contents:


How Many Points For Game in NT?

Most players play that 25-26 HCPs are needed for game in notrump. A 24-point game is 50-50, but hands should be adjusted down a point for honors in a suit with no smaller cards (e.g.: KJ and nothing else) and -1 for 4-3-3-3 distribution. Also "aces and spaces" are better for suit games than notrump.

This means that you could have a hand with 19 HCP but downgraded for 4-3-3-3 and for a 3-card KQJ suit and thus be able to open it 1N.

Here are some hands from a recent tournament:

    AJ5 AT3 AT96 A86   (17 HCP) and
    Q93 Q42 J752 KQJ    (11 HCP).
Almost everyone made exactly 3NT despite having a combined 28 HCP and all the suits well under control (a spade was led). With the extra points, it might be expected that the hands could make an overtrick. The fact that they didn't lends credibility to the adjustments mentioned above: 
  • Both hands have 3=3=4=3 for -1 each.
  • Responder has KQJ with no lower cards for -1.
  • Almost all of opener's HCP are aces which is not as good for NT as having the same points in lower honors, though it's hard to put a value on that, plus it's offset somewhat by having good intermediates.

Another adjustment is to deduct a point for holding 4 cards in a minor suit that partner has bid. Simulations indicate that the following fits make 3NT the percentage of the time shown.:

  • 5-4 - 35%
  • 5-3 - 36%
  • 5-2 - 45%

Joan Butts, ABF National Teaching Coordinator says in a YouTube video:

    Expert opinion is that any excuse to upgrade a hand to put it into the notrump range [15-17] is a very good idea. Do it as much as possible including length points too. Fourteen points with a 5-card suit is really 15. Do that because there is preemptive value in opening 1NT and the partnership rarely gets to the wrong contract. and it avoids rebid problems from opening 1 of a suit.

Other adjustments which can be made include the strength of opener compared to the opponents, the positions of opponents who also bid, and if scoring is MPs or IMPs.

But as responder, we do not have to worry about opener's adjustments. We just assume that after adjustments, his hand value is in the 15-17 point (not necessarily HCP) range.

So if you have 10 points after adjustments (9 points if playing IMPs), you should bid game because your minimum partnership total is enough for game.

If you have 9 points (8 in IMPs), you can bid 2N and partner should bid 3N with 16-17 points and pass with 15.

For more on hand valuation, see the CardShark BidBase HandVal program and its documentation file. 

Marty Bergen has an article on evaluating hands vis-a-vis opening 1N in the August 2020 Bridge Bulletin page 51 (also available on the ACBL web site).

Many of the 20 hands shown are about 17-HCP hands too strong for 1N and some about 14 HCP-hands which should be upgraded to 1N. For example, he says that a AT98 holding is just as good as an AJxx holding.

Why so many disasters opening 1N?

Image In reviewing the 1N Responses Practice Quiz, it was surprising how often contracts were going set when the bidding started with 1N. 
In the deal on the right, east opens 1N with 16 HCP. West eventually invites with 8 HCP, but DDA shows that they can only take 5 tricks in NT. If east had opened 1, the bidding could have continued 1-1-2 with a good part score in either clubs or hearts. 
In the Quiz linked above, more than a third of the 100 quiz deals were either down in normal bidding when some other unreachable contract made or went down less, or the bidding stopped below game when game was makeable. Another common glitch of sorts is when 3N making 3 was the normal contract but 4 making 4 with a Moysian Fit was the better score. 
Again, that's ONE-THIRD of the contracts which were not optimum. I haven't seen anything close to this in suit contracts.  
Some might want to blame the bidding software, but there was not a single bidding mishap in the bunch as you might see in suit bidding. Standard notrump bidding is just not that complicated.  
In fact, the real problem seems to be that NT bidding is TOO simple. Often, standard bidding has no way of getting to the optimum contracts in NT. 
Look at the Quiz and see for yourself. The "1/3rd" doesn't even take into account where a contract went set but the opponents could have scored higher if they had bid because that is a good result and this is about getting bad results from standard NT bidding.  
It's enough to make one wonder if there is an inherent problem with opening a strong 1N. For many years a regular partner and I played 11-13 HCP 1NT and only rarely had problems.

Within a day of writing the above, Bobby Wolff's column in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette showed a deal in which the bidding went 1N-2H, 2S-3N and said: North-South reached the wrong contract without doing anything unreasonable... Most experts would follow this approach.

Image

In this Quiz deal, South opens 1N with 15 HCP and north jumps to 3N with 10 HCP. DDA on the deal shows that NS can only make 2N.  
The DDA average over 10 iterations of mixing up the EW cards has NS making 3N, but over 100 iterations, the average drops back down to 2N. 
One obvious problem is south's :AQ. Even with the heart finesse working, it can only be taken once and east eventually gets his king. The 3-3 clubs are also a weakness for NS.


Image
In this deal, south has 15 HCP and north has a balanced 10 HCP - an automatic jump to 3N for almost everyone, yet a 100-iteration DDA average shows that NS can only make 1N. 
One problem is no 8-card fits, so, for example, the AKQ of spades cannot be used to develop any extra tricks while the 3 weak diamonds in both hands is a serious flaw. Also, the AKQ of hearts may not make any extra tricks with the JT7654 out. Likewise for the club suit. 
If NS was playing weak NT, the bidding might have gone 1-1N, 2. Since north has denied 4 hearts, the 2 bid has to be showing 4 and a weakness in diamonds. With no diamond help, north should pass and let south play the Moysian Fit.


Weak Notrumps

Weak Notrump ranges vary from 10-12, 11-13, and 12-14.

Virtually every decent bridge player plays Weak-Two (of a suit) opening bids. Opening 2 of a suit with 6-12 HCPs and a 6-card suit accurately describes your hand for partner while taking a lot of bidding space away from your opponents..

For some reason, the vast majority of people who play Weak Two bids do not play Weak Notrump bids despite the fact that Weak Notrumps have the exact same advantages.

The ACBL says on their web site:

    If you currently use 16-18, a change to 15-17 doesn't require any major adjustments. You still have a balanced hand but you have 15,16 or 17 points instead of 16, 17 or 18 points. No big deal. 
    Experienced players find the 15-17 point range preferable for several reasons. 1NT is the most descriptive one-level opening bid, so we like to use it whenever our hand meets the requirements. You get more 15-point hands than you do 18-point hands, so the lower range allows you to open 1NT more frequently. 
    A 1NT opening also makes it more difficult for the opponents to interfere. If you open 1C, the opponents can easily come in with an overcall on the one level. When you open 1NT, they have to risk a two-level overcall.

Everything the ACBL says about the advantages of the 15-17 rather than 16-18 range for opening 1N applies even more so to lower ranges. The average number of HCPs a player gets in the long run is 10 (40 total HCPs in the deck divided by 4).

The HCP points required when playing 15-17 NT is 50%-70% higher than the average points of 10 while with a range of 10-12, the HCPs required are only 0% - 20% higher. Not only that, but when playing 15-17, if you have 10-12 points and a balanced hand, you usually won't be able to open; you'll have to pass, while playing 10-12 HCPs, you can open 1N, conveying much information to partner while obstructing the opponents.

Finally, Larry Cohen says on his web site that preempts should be lighter (fewer points) in first chair since you have two opponents to obstruct and only 1 partner (who you're actually helping by describing your hand).

Cohen is referring to 3-level and higher preempts, but the same applies to a 10-12 or 11-13 one notrump which also has preemptive value.

I prefer 11-13 notrumps. With 11 HCP and a 5-card suit, we can open the suit. With 11 HCP and no 5-card suit, we can open 1N. Either way, we get the benefits of being the first to bid.

There is some debate about whether or not to play transfers in Weak NT. The usual argument for transfers in strong NTs is that it lets the stronger hand be declarer. This is not as significant in WNTs where responder could easily have at least as many points, or even more, than opener. Another benefit of not playing transfers is that it leaves 2 available for game-forcing Stayman.

The famous Kaplan-Sheinwold system which many later players have adopted and adapted uses weak notrumps and did not use transfers.

Bids by responder:

    2 is non-game-forcing Stayman. 
    2 is game-forcing Stayman.
    Opener bids a 4-card major, if any, or 3 with a 5-card minor, else 2N. 
    2 and 3 are natural and not forcing. 
    2N is invitational. 
    3 can be used as forcing in reponse to 1NT.
    Opener raises with 3+ of the suit and otherwise bids 3NT.

Opening A Strong 1NT With a Singleton

As of Aug. 1, 2016, the ACBL Rules say:

    A notrump opening or overcall is natural if, by agreement, it contains no void, at most one singleton which must be the A, K or Q and no more than two doubletons. If the hand contains a singleton, it may have no doubleton.

    This includes hand patterns such as 5-4-3-1, 6-3-3-1 and 4-4-4-1, in addition to those that were previously allowed, such as 4-3-3-3, 5-3-3-2 and 5-4-2-2.

In ACBL's Standard American Yellow Card ("SAYC"), for a hand to be opened 1NT, it should be balanced (no singletons or voids) and 15-17 HCP. (See BidBase's Abbreviations page if unfamiliar with any of these abbreviations.) 

But as Steve Weinstein says in the Dec. 2016 Bridge Bulletin, p.40: "Just because I'm allowed to open 1N with a singleton doesn't always mean it's right."

The hand he was referring to was K AK5 AQ4 J97542 where 11 of 16 expert panelists bid 1 and 5 bid 1N.

Allan Falk added: "Trying to develop [the Jack-high club suit] in notrump will be a daunting task."

Don Stack says: "You cannot get to 6 if no one bids the suit."

But several panelists said that they would bid 2N over 1, promising 18-19 HCP. This is a slight underbid with 17 HCP, but is surely too much of a stretch with 15-16.

Opening 1N With A 5-Card Major

In the highly regarded book, Points Schmoints!, Marty Bergen says to always open 1N with a balanced hand (5-3-3-2), even if you have a 5-card major. He says: "There are absolutely no exceptions."

In the equally regarded book, Standard Bridge Bidding For the 21st Centry, Max Hardy says that before opening 1N with a 5-card major, three conditions must be met involving

  1. the quantity of the other major [fewer than 4.], 
  2. the quality of the hand's doubleton(s), [at least 1 honor in each], and  
  3. whether the hand is more heavily Aces and Kings versus having more Kings and Queens.
    [Aces and Kings are better for suit bids while Kings and Queens are better for notrump.]

Larry Cohen says on his site to open 1NT with 5-3-3-2 distribution but open the major with 5-4-2-2. Cohen also advises that it is preferable to have 3 cards in the other major when opening 1NT in case partner transfers to it.

The merit of Cohen's advice was shown in the May 2017 ACBL Bridge Bulletin, p.62 where Frank Stewart opened 1N with A4 KT962 K84 AJ7, his partner transferred to spades, and Stewart wasn't strong enough to keep bidding, ending in 5-2 spades instead of 5-3 hearts.

ClaireBridge.com asks "What will you bid over partner's response of 1 after you open 1 with Qx AJTxx KQx Axx?" There is no correct answer, making this and the similar hand above prime examples of hands with 5-card majors which must be opened 1N.

Instead, the site suggests ONE of the following alternatives:

  1. With 5-3-3-2, open 1N with 16 HCP and open the major with 15 and rebid in a way to show a minimum balanced hand - a slight underbid. With 17 HCP, open the major and jump rebid in NT - a slight overbid which normally shows 18-19 HCP. 
  2. Open 1N with a 5-card major and 17 HCP. With maximum points, NT willl often make the same number of tricks as a suit bid and the extra 10 points can get you a top.  
  3. Open 1N with a 5-card major only with 3 cards in the other major in case partner transfers to that major.

The June 2019 ACBL Bridge Bulletin, page 50, has a good article about when and when not to open 1N with a 5-card major.

It should be noted that liberally opening 1N with a 5-card major makes Puppet Stayman (for uncovering the 5-card major as well as 4-card major fits) more important. 

Opening 1N With A 6-Card Minor or a Two-Doubleton Hand

Hardy also provides guidelines for opening 1N with a 6-card minor. We have always thought two doubletons did not a balanced hand make, but Hardy calls 6-3-2-2 and 5-4-2-2 hands "semi-balanced" and provides guidelines for opening them 1N. We have followed these guidelines in BidBase for Strong NT only. 
In the April 2017 ACBL Bridge Bulletin, August Boehm says of the hand AQ JTxx Qx AKxxx: "Maybe partner is old school who doesn't open a strong notrump with two doubletons." So if you are still refusing to open such hands 1NT, consider yourself "old school".

Numerous bridge columns and magazine articles say to bid 1 with 4=2 =2=5 (or 4=2=5=2) and 15-17 HCP because if pard responds 1, you have an easy 1 rebid, but with 2=4=2=5, you open 1N because if you open 1 and pard bids 1, you would have a rebid problem. Sources include Nov. 2020 Bridge Bulletin, page 33 and July 3, 2020 Aces (Bobby Wolff's bridge column), and others.

In the Dec.2016 Bridge Bulletin, page 56, Marty Bergen has a whole article about the benefits of opening 1N with two doubletons, but also says: I do not suggest opening 1N with a six-card major.

BidBase believes that if playing a weak NT (10-12, 11-13, 12-14), you are better off bidding a 5- or 6-card suit, so we have such entries for opening 1N hard coded for 15-17 HCPs.

Opening 2N

SAYC bidding of 2N calls for the same shape specifications as a 1N opening but with 20-21 HCP.

Some people play slightly different ranges. In Bobby Wolff's Jan.8, 2019 newspaper column, he shows a hand with AJ64-AQ5-AKQ4-Q5 (22 HCP) being opened 2N. He didn't say why.

Responses to 2N: 
Responder can do the math to decide whether or not to invite or bid game or slam. For example, opposite a 20-21 HCP 1N, a flat hand with <4 HCP should be passed in matchpoints. Even with a 4- or 5-card major, responder should have 4+ HCPs to bid Stayman or a transfer in case opener does not have a fit and you end up in 3N. 
For some reason, regular Stayman over 2N is not shown on the CC, but Puppet Stayman (see Responses, below) is and does not have to be alerted or announced.Transfers have to be announced and other conventions must be alerted. 
Smolen Stayman responses are 1 level up from Smolen over 1N, below.

Billy Miller's Conventional Continuations of Transfers:

The following is summarized from Billy Milles's column in the July 2020 ACBL Bridge Bulletin, page 59. The purpose of these bids is to make it easier to get to makeable slams 

  1. 2N-3, 3 or 2N-3, 3N = 4-card support and 5 key cards. 
  2. 2N-3, 3N or 2N-3, 4 = a maximum, 4-card support, and 4 key cards. 
  3. 2N-3, 4 or 2N-3, 4 = a maximum, 4-card support, and 3 or 4 key cards. 
    From here down, opener has only 3-card support and thus simply bids the transfer target suit
    Responder follows by bidding 3N to indicate that he normally only has 5 of his suit.
    Typically, opener would correct to 4 of the target suit with 3-card support: but in the
    Miller convention, he can make a conventional bid of 4 to provide more detail. : 
  4. ...4 = a maximum, 3-card support, and 5 key cards. 
  5. ...4 = a maximum, 3-card support, and 4 key cards. 
  6. 2N-3, 3-3N, 4 or 2N-3-3N, 4 = close-out bid. Hand doesn't match any of the above. Pass is also a close-out bid in 3N, obviously.

In an exchange with Miller, I asked if he uses something similar with a 1N opening and he said no. 
In his column, Miller said that #4 "is exactly the hand your partner held". But the hand in question just had 20 HCP. Also, each of the bids shown above (and in the article) specified "a maximum" which raises the question of what you should bid with just 20 HCP.  
Miller said that he wold not super accept with the 4-3-3-3 20-count hand in question, but he implied that he would "super accept" with virtually any 20-21 HCP hand.  
Since Miller didn't say what was left to bid on the rare occassion where he did not super accept, BidBase omits the "maximum" requirement and uses #6 for hands such as 4-3-3-3 shape with 20 HCP with which Miller said he normally would not supper accept. Obiously, any hand which does not have 4-5-5-5 chape but has 20 HCP will have 21+ total points which, I guess, is still considered a maximum.

Responses to an Opening 1NT

Inviting Game or Jumping to Game in NT:

    The assumption in this section is that you have a balanced hand, no 4+ card majors, no running 6+ card minor and fewer points than would be needed to make slam

    First of all, what are the minimum number of combined HCP needed to make game in notrump? Most sources say 25; some, like Richard Pavlicek, say 26. It is odd that whether 25 or 26 is specified, no distinction is made for pairs (Match Points) versus teams (IMPs) since it is correct to press for game in IMPs and play it safer in MPs.

    The math should simple: subtract the minimum partner can have for opening 1N from 25 (or 26 if you choose). If you have that amount (or more), jump to game. If you have 1-2 points less, invite game. With 3+ points less, pass.

    Examples opposite a 15-17 opening NT where 25 (the amount for game) - 15 (the minimum) = 10.  

    • With 10+ HCP, bid 3N. 
    • With 8-9 HCP, bid 2N. 
    • With 0-7 HCP, Pass.

    Determining HCPs needed to make 3N is not an exact science. Some hands with a combined 23 HCP may make it and other hands with a total of 27 or 28 may not. 3N may make if played by North but not if played by South (or East vs West). It may go set if one card is led and make an overtrick if another card is led, over which the declarer usually has no control (with the exception of insuring, if possible, that the partner with the most tenaces is declarer).

    Rule of 16

    The Rule Of 16 ("RoS") says to add your HCP to the number of cards in your hand which are in the range of 8 to Ace.

    If the total is 17+ then you should raise partner to 3NT; otherwise, pass 1N. The idea is that the more cards held in the 8-Ace range for a set number of HCP, the better the hand is for notrump.

    For example, A432 A32 432 432 has a total of 8 HCP but only 10 RoS points and takes just 2 tricks no matter what opener has while QJ32 KJ2 QJT 432 also has 8 HCP but 17 RoS points and has a much higher trick taking potential when paired with partner's 1NT opening hand.

    BidBase doesn't do RoS calculations, but another way of looking at this "rule" is to give half a HCP to intermediates - 10s, 9s, and 8s when paired with 10s or 9s. The second hand shown above has 3 intermediates or 1.5 HCPs, giving the hand a total of 9.5 HCPs. Since 15 + 9.5 is still below the 25 "needed" for game in NT, BidBase invites by bidding 2N even though RoS says to just jump to 3N.

    BidBase does support specifications of intermediates.

    The claim for RoS is that you don't have to invite game with 2N. Mathematically, this doesn't make sense. No matter how you evaluate responder's hand, opener will always have a 3-point range in the value of his hand and that is too broad a range to say that some valuation method for responder can force game for any possible holding of opener.

    There will always be borderline hands which should be "invited". Extensive analysis is requred to determine the frequency with which 3NT can be made with 17 RoS points and I haven't seen that done.

    To get some kind of feel for RoS's effectiveness, a dozen tournaments in the Hot Springs Village bridge club were examined. Each event had an average of about 27 boards. Both N-S and E-W pairs of hands were examined to find hands which had RoS bidding specifications or hands very close to that.

    Only ONE(!!) deal out of a total of 648 hand pairs (in 324 boards), matched the RoS specs, so not only does RoS rarely come up, but a 9 HCP hand opposite a NT opening has the same rarity. So if you forget to use RoS and instead invite with 9 HCP, you are unlikely to lose anything in the long run.

Stayman:

  • The idea behind Stayman is to uncover a 4-4 fit (or better) and also to allow opener to bid the suit first so that the stronger hand can be declarer. Normally at least 8 HCP is required, but see Garbage Stayman below. 
    An exception to Stayman is a 4-3-3-3 hand. With no ruffing values, responder should just bid 2N with 8-9 HCP or 3N with 10+. 
  • Responder bids 2, asking opener to bid his 4-card major, if any. 
    With 4 Hearts, opener bids 2. He may or may not also have 4 Spades. 
      If responder's suit is Hearts... 
        He passes with less than 9 total points. 
        Bids 3 to invite game with 9 points or 
        Bids 4 to sign off with 10-15 points or 
        Explores for slam with 16+ points such as KQT6-A643-KQT95-_ .
          Make a splinter bid of 4. 
          Bid a second suit - 3.
            As Bobby Wolff said in his 03-03-2020 newspaper column,
            bidding 3 sets Hearts as trumps and shows interest in slam.
            With 5=4 majors, you would start with a transfer, not Stayman 
      If responder's suit is Spades... 
        He bids 2 with 5 spades and 4 hearts and 9 points to invite game.
          Opener can pass or bid 2N, 3 or 4 or 3 or 4  
        Bids 3 which is game forcing and shows a good 6+ cards in the suit bid.  
        Bids 2N with 8-9 HC and 4 Spades which is invitational to game,
          Opener can pass or bid 3 with 4 Spades and a minimum,
          or bid 3N or 4 (with 4 Spades) with a maximum. 
        Bids 4N Quantitative with 16-17 HCP and fewer than 4 Spades, inviting slam. 
    With 4 Spades, opener bids 2 which denies a holding of 4 Hearts. 
      If responder bids 2N, it implies that responder's suit is Hearts and invites game in NT.   
      Responder otherwise rebids similar to the bidding over 2 
    With no 4-card major, opener bids 2.  
      With 8-9 HCP, responder invites game by bidding 2N. 
      With 10-15 HCP, responder bids 3NT. 
      With a good 16+ HCP responder can explore for (or just bid) slam.

    Stayman as Weak Transfer: 

      Bobby Wolff shows the hand Q5432 T4 53 AQ65 and describes a sequence of a Stayman 2 followed by 2 to show a "semi-balanced invitational hand with 5 spades rather than transferring and bidding 2N." 
      Wolff goes on to explain: This lets you play 2 instead of 2N when opener has a minimum and may also allow responder to introduce a second suit without forcing to game.

    Modified Stayman with Optional RKCB 

      From March 2020 Bridge Bulletin, page 37, #1: 
        E: AKJ3 T8 AK875 AJ
        W: Q9 K765 9 KQ8643          
      Bidding: 2N-3, 3-4, 4-4N, Pass 
      3 is Modified Stayman with 3 denying 4 hearts or five spades. 4 was Optional RKCB, a newer technique that many pairs are now using. It shows clubs and implies exactly 4 hearts and gives opener the topion to answer key cards if interested in slam. This effectively allows a quantitative move by responder with the ability to check on key cards at the same time.

4 or 3N?

Image The deal to the right illustrates the problem of deciding to bid 4 with a 4-4 fit or to bid 3N for the higher score in matchpoints if both contracts can take the same number of tricks.

Typically, the more HCP the two hands have, the more likely it is that 3N is the better contract because there will be more winners in each hand on which to discard losers from the other hand.

The DDA for the specific lay of the cards shown says 11 tricks can be take in either contract, but when redealing the E-W cards to get an average DDA for 10 deals, it shows that 4S is the winner. This is an example of how the 100-deal average is needed to be sure which is better, and 3N is better in the longer run.

However, North cannot be blamed for bidding 4 with only the C:A3 and no way of knowing that South has the suit well covered. So it goes.

Garbage Stayman:

    Responder bids 2 and passes any response by opener.

    This is done with a weak 3-suited hand with a singleton or void in Clubs.

    Ideally, the shape would be 4=4=4=1, but 4=4=3=2 with Diamonds no worse than JT4 is acceptable. With 5 of a major, you would transfer to the major and then pass.  

Puppet Stayman:

    The purpose of Puppet Stayman is to find 5-3 (as well as 4-4) major fits.

    Top professionals say to open all 15-17 HCP balanced hands (5-3-3-2) 1NT and doing so requires Puppet Stayman for responder to be able to locate a 5-card major. Conversely, some people say they NEVER bid 1N with a 5-card major, in which case they have no need for Puppet Stayman [though it begs the question of how to follow up a bid of 1-(P)-1 and a distribution of 2=5=3=3 - see Opening 1N With A 5-Card Major ].

    Most bids in Puppet Stayman are artificial and alertable.

    Responding to an opening 1N: 

      1N - 2 = Puppet Stayman tells opener to bid a 5-card major, if any  
      2 = Opener bids his 5-card major.
      2 = Opener has least one 4-card major, no 5-card majors.
      2N = Opener has no 4-card nor 5-card major. 
      Responder's bids after 2: 
        Pass = weak 3-suited hand short in Clubs (Garbage Stayman) and 4+ Diamonds.
        2 = 4-card Spade suit. <4 Hearts. Invitational.
        2 = 4-card Heart suit. <4 Spades. Invitational.
        2N = 4-4 in the majors. Invitational.
        3 = 4-4 majors and "extras" (i.e.: slam interest).
        3 = 4-4 majors and game force.
        3N = Natural. Denies a 4-card major. To play.  
      Puppet Stayman has advantages over regular Stayman: 
      1. If a pair follows the advice of the experts, they will frequently open 1N with balanced 5-card major hands with 15-17 HCP. Puppet allows responder to look for a 5-3 fit. 
      2. Even if there is no 5-3 fit, a 4-4 fit still can be found at no extra cost.

    Responding to an opening 2NT: 

      2N - 3 = The bids are similar to Puppet over 1N except up 1 level.
      3 = At least one 4-card major, no 5-card majors.
      3N = no 4-card major. 
      Responder's bids after 3: 
        3 = 4 Spades and <4 Hearts.
        3 = 4 Hearts and <4 Spades.
          Opener bids the indicated suit with a fit or bids 3N.
        3N = to play. Responder has a 5-card major but no 4-card major.
        4 = 4-4 majors and slam interest.
        4 = 4-4 majors and NO slam interest.

    2 or 3 for Puppet?

      Some people say to use 2 to bid Puppet over 1NT, others say 3 despite the fact that the ACBL convention card shows "" which indicates alternative uses of the bid 2.  If they meant that Puppet should be opened 3, they would have shown "3 Puppet __" separately.

      In addition... 

      • Over 2N, a non-jump 3 is used for Puppet, upon which everyone agrees, so why make a jump to 3 over 1N? 
      • Using 3 instead of 2 preempts your own side which should obviously not be done without a compelling reason, yet no 3 bidder I've ever asked could give any reason for it, much less a compelling one.

      Googling "Puppet Stayman" returns eight web pages... 

      • Four say to use 2 (BridgeBum, BridgeGuys, BridgeHands, Bridge-Tips)
      • Two, including ACBL's, do not even mention using Puppet over 1N,
      • Two say to use 3 one of which gives no reason for it. That leaves Larry...

      Larry Cohen is the only person I've found to offer any reason for using 3 instead of 2: 

        I don't recommend Puppet Stayman on the 2-level (1NT-2C), because I prefer Garbage/Crawling Stayman -- whereby responder can use 2C with all junky major-suit hands. I like responder to be able to respond 2C with, say, 8764=7652=J8765= -. Whatever opener bids, responder passes. (In Puppet Stayman, this doesn't quite work) [because opener bids 2N without a 4-card or 5-card major].

      So Cohen's sole objection to using 2 is that he prefers to have that available for Garbage Stayman. But Garbage Stayman can be bid in Puppet, as noted at Bridge-Tips.co.il:  

        [2C allows Responder] to accept any response from opener; i.e. 2D, 2H or 2S, ideally done with Responder having a 3=3=5=2, 3=3=7=0, or 3=3=6=1 distribution [and] holding as few as 0-8 HCP's.

      It appears that the only drawback to using 2 for Puppet is that you if you were planning on passing any response by opener (Garbage Stayman) you may end up in a 4-3 or 5-2 fit (neither of which is the end of the world) if you have Cohen's 4=4=5=0, opener may bid 2N and you have to bid Diamonds on the 3 level, but against that are all the advantages of Puppet, as explained in detail at Bridge-Tips.

      Also, BidBase has found that very, very rarely do deals arise in which a player opens 1N and does not have either a 4- or 5- card major and in which responder bids Garbage Stayman and opener has to bid 2N.

      Lastly, even not playing Puppet, the auction 1N-2C, 2D-Pass is no guarantee of a good score.


Romex Stayman
    Romex is an alternative to Puppet Stayman which intitially asks for a 5-card major but can also probe for a 4-card major, just like Puppet. It is a great deal more complicated than Puppet Stayman so it is probably not useful for casual partnerships. To keep from taking up so much space for a convention which may not be widely used, most of the bids have been hidden. Click as shown to see them.

    Bids after 1N-2: 

      Opn Rsp = Opener & Responder
    • 2 - ...  = denies a 5-card major but may have a 4-card Spade suit
      See bids after 1N-2C-2D 
    • 2 - ...  = a 4- or 5-card Heart suit but less than 4 Spades. 
      See bids after 1N-2C-2H 
    • 2 - ...  = a 5-card Spade suit. 
      See bids after 1N-2C-2S 
    • 2N - ...  = 4=4=x=x and a minimum; responses as in previous section  
Smolen:
    Smolen is a variation of Stayman. Without Smolen, if responder to 1N has 5-4 in the majors and bids Stayman, then if opener bids 2, denying a 4-card major, responder would have to bid 3 or 4 of his 5-card major, wrong-siding the contract.

    With Smolen, if opener bids 2, the Smolen bidder jumps in his 4-card suit, letting opener know that the other major is his 5-card suit. Opener either bids 3N without 3-card support, or he bids 4 of the 5-card suit. Either way, opener gets to be declarer.

    Smolen is game force, so it requires at least 10 HCP by responder assuming 1N shows 15-17 HCP>


      1N - 2
      2 - 3 = 5 Spades
      Opener bids:
      3 = 3 Spades
      3N = 2 Spades 
      1N - 2
      2 - 3 = 5 Hearts.
      Opener bids:
      4 = 3 Hearts
      3N = 2 Hearts

Texas Transfers

    The bidding goes 1N-4-4 or 1N-4-4. This shows 6+ and values for game.

    Texas transfers can be used in two situations after partner opens or overcalls 1N.

      With a hand like Kx AQJTxx Axxx x, transfer to 4 and then ask for key cards.

      With a hand like xx ATxxxx AJx Qx, transfer and then pass.

    Another option with a hand like xx AQJTxx Kxx Ax where you don't want to ask for key cards with a low doubleton and where cue bidding controls could be problematic, use Jacoby Transfers to 2 and then jump to 4 to show slam interest and leave it up to partner.

    If opener Super Accepts the transfer by bidding 3 or 2N, then 4N by responder is key card asking; otherwise, responder just bids game in his suit.


Jacoby Transfers

    Jacoby Transfers can be made in response to an opening or overcalled 1N, 2N, or 3N. 2 asks for opener to bid 2 and 2 asks for 2.

    Opener accepts the transfer:

      After 1N-2, 2, responder makes one of the following bids:  

      •  P  = less than 8 points. 
      • 2 = 5 Spades, 5 Hearts, 8-9 points. (See Aug.2019 Bridge Bulletin p.47.) 
      • 2N = 5 Hearts (in case opener only has 2). Opener's responses:
        • Pass to play in 2N
        • 3 to sign off with a minimum and 3 Hearts
        • 4 with a maximum and 3 Hearts
        • 3N with a maximum and usually with fewer than 3 Hearts. 
      • 3 = 5+ Hearts and 4+ Diamonds/Clubs; 10-13 HCP, game forcing 
      • 4 = 5+ Spades and 5+ Diamonds; 14+ points, slam interest in either suit.
        Opener can bid 4 to relay to 4N to play. A direct bid of 4N = ace asking.
        This may all sound complicated, but the bids are logical/obvious:
        • What else can 1N-2, 23 mean
          when the normal bid is 3 or 4 with 6 and 2N/3N with 5? 
          The follow-up bid of 4 over 3 is of a class knows as an "impossible bid". The most obvious purpose is to get to notrump. 
      • 3 = 6+ Hearts; 8-9 HCP, invitational 
      • 3N = 5 Hearts, 10+ HCP. Opener passes with <3 Hearts or bids 4 with 3+. 
      • 4 = 6+ Hearts, 10+ HCP. See Texas Transfers, above.
        Using Jacoby instead of a direct Texas Transfer indicates slam interest
        with a problem like a worthless doubleton or a singleton or void which
        should prevent making a Texas Transfer and then asking for Aces.

      After 1N-2-2, responder makes one of the following bids:  

      •  P  = less than 8 HCP and 5+ Spades. 
      • 2N = 5 Spades (in case opener only has 2 ). See above for opener's responses. 
      • 3 = 5+ Spades and 4+ Diamonds/Clubs; 10-13 HCP, game forcing 
      • 4 = 5+ Spades and 5+ Diamonds; 14+ points, slam interest in either suit. 
      • 3 = 5+ Spades and 5+ Hearts; 8-9 HCP, invitational
        NOTE: With 5-5 in , always start with a transfer to 2 Spades not to 2 Hearts.
              With 5-4 or 4-5 in , use Stayman, not Jacoby Transfers. 
      • 3 = usually 6+ Spades; 8-9 HCP, invitational 
      • 3N = 5 Spades, 10+ HCP. Opener passes with <3 Spades or bids 4 with 3+. 
      • 4 = 6+ Spades, 10+ points. See Texas Transfers, above.

    Opener Super-Accepts the transfer:

      With a maximum NT opening and 4+ trumps, opener can "Super Accept" the transfer by jumping in the target suit, such as 1N-2-3.

      An optional treatment is to Super-Accept with 3 trumps and 2 of the top 3 honors by bidding 2NT, as in 1N-2-2N.

      However, Mike Lawrence says in the ACBL Bridge Bulletin, 01-17, p.51:

        Bidding 2NT with a good hand and 3-card support often runs into trouble
        when partner has a balanced bad hand.

    Stayman as Weak Transfer:

      Bid 2 "Stayman" and follow up with 2 to show an invitational semi-balanced hand with 5 spades. (See the Stayman section.)


    Also see Texas vs Jacoby Transfers


5-5 Majors

    Weak - Less than 8 HCP:
      Bid 2 to trnasfer to 2 then bid 2.

    Invitational - 8-8 HCP

      Jump to 3 (as in 1N-3) to show 5-5 majors.

    Game Force - 10+ HCP

      Jump to 3.

Minor Suit Transfers

    If you have a weak 6+ card minor with no outside entries, you can usually do better with the minor as trump because in notrump, declarer can never get to your hand whereas if the minor is trump, your long minor may take several tricks.  
    On the other hand, you have to go two levels higher (from 1N to 3) and it could have turned out that opener had enough of your minor to establish your suit to run in notrump. 
    Ironically, it may be that it is better to go to 3 with a poor 6+ card suit which is almost guaranteed not to take any tricks in notrump. Deal #819 in the BidBase Practice program has a 1N responder with JT-752-QT8653-92. DDA shows that passing 1N results in only 5 tricks for down 2 while 3D takes 8 for only down 1.

    Most people play that 2 is a relay to 3, then responder can either pass or correct to 3. 
    An alternative is to use 2 to transfer to 3 and 2N to transfer to 3, the drawback being that you can no longer invite game by bidding 2N with a balanced 8-9 HCP hand.

    Bypassing the Transfer:  
    A practice hand has north opening 1N with

      K8-AK4-QJT6-AT75 and south bidding 2 to relay to 3 with
      QT9--K987432-K62.  
    DDA shows that it makes both 5 and 3N, but if north dutifully bids 3C, south would normally complete the relay with 3. How can he bid more not knowing what north has? 
    But after south's 2, north could rebel and bid 2N which we shall say shows a maximum and strong support for both minors. This situation should rarely come up, but unlike some conventions in which one must memorize easily forgettable, more or less random bids, the fact that 2N is a rebellious bid makes it more memorable.  
    If south has a really bad garbage hand, such as nothing but 6 of a minor to a Jack, he can still run to 3 of his minor and no real harm is done, but should he have something more, game is afoot. 
    Note that a better minor, many people will make a direct bid of 3 of their minor instead of using a transfer. Such a 3-bid is normally done with 2 of the top 3 and is invitational. If the notrump opener has a of the 3 top honors, he can be pretty sure of getting 6 quick tricks in the minor and will bid game. If he doesn't have a top honor but has 3+ of the minor and stoppers in the other suits, he might try 3N in hopes of using his 3 little card in the minor to set up the suit.

     Showing a Minor Suit before bidding 3N: 
    In the Nov.15, 2019, Weekly Bridge Quiz, one hand was KQ8-J9-643-AK652 with partner opening 1N. The pro's bid was 3N, but a relay to 3 followed by a bid of 3N costs you nothing and alerts partner to the fact that you have a concentration of points in clubs and thus while you may have an outside entry, you usually are leaving two other suits exposed.  
    If you have ever been in 3N and had 5+ tricks run off the top against you because neither you nor partner had a stopper, you might have appreciated a warning from your partner instead of his just jumping straight to 3N. If opener also has an unstopped suit and good club support, he may want to bid 5.

    In the March 13, 2020 bidding quiz, #6, south had QJ3-A98-K6-KJ643 with partner opening 1N. This time we have stoppers in every suit and the club suit is not as strong, so jumping to 3N seems reasonable.

    Here is an alternative treatment for transferring to clubs before bidding 3N:

    1N - 2,  3 - 3N = Slam Try 
    In BidBase's deal #140, west opens 1N with

      AJ94-AT5-K54-KT9 and south bids 2 to transfer to clubs with
      Q2-83-A73-AQ8532 and then bids 3N over 3.
    DDA shows that these hands can make 6 as well as 6N. 
    With opener's primes values (aces and kings) and prime clubs, he should jump at the chance to bid 4 Gerber. 

    Again, all these special treatments will rarely come up and would be best used with a more-or-less regular partner. You only lose the very occasional top board by not playing them.

3-Level Responses

    Three-level responses to 1N seem to very rarely come up.

    The most common is that direct 3 bids are invitational with a 6-card minor with 2 of the top 3 honors. This is useful because the only alternative is to relay to 3 but then there is no way to invite game in notrump.

    But some people play that 3 bids show a similar suit in the majors with slam interest. However, there are alternative ways to invite game, bid game, and/or show slam interest with a 6+ card suit. 

    • 1N - 2,  2 - 3 = invitational
    • 1N - 4,  4 = sign-off in game
    • 1N - 2,  2 - 4 = slam interest.

    As a result, a direct bid of 3 is not needed for a 6+ card major suit.

    So some people use 1N - 3 to show 5-5 in the majors in a weak hand and 3 to show 5-5 in a game force hand or alternatively, with an interest in slam. Here's an example which showed up in a practice quiz:


      AJ983-KQ432-K-K3
      After partner opened 1N, this hand responded 3. Opener had
      KQ7-AJ65-QJ4-A76 and made a control-showing cue bid of 5.
      After responder bid 5, slam was easy.

Responses In Competition