Stayman Response 1NT

SAYC

Preface

  SAYC (Standard American Yellow Card)
  1. Introduction
  2. Bidding Hierarchy
  3. Determine Opening Bid
  4. Opening Bid Options
  5. Scoring Structure
  6. Bidding Strategy

  Statistics

Open 1 Level

Open 1 Level
   Open 1 ♠
   Open 1 ♥
       Open 1 NT
           Open Better Minor
               Open 1 ♦
               Open 1 ♣

Opening Bid & Table Position

Responder's Stayman Convention after a 1 NT Opening

Yellow Card Bidding System Mantra
    ● First, determine which suit to play - then determine the contract level to play.
    ● Try to play a contract in the following priority:
           1) Play a MAJOR suit contract.
           2) Play a NO TRUMP contract.
           3) Play a MINOR suit contract as a last resort.

Responder's Requirements for a Stayman Bid

Suit Length: The responder must have one or both 4-card major suits (hearts or spades). The major suit(s) must be exactly 4-cards long - cannot be longer or shorter. Ignore both minor suits.

Point Count: The responder must have 8 or more HCPs in the hand. The location of the points does not matter.


Respond to 1 NT Opening - Stayman (Path 2)

Responder's Major Suit Length	Responder's HCPs and Bid
0-7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20
Pass (29%)	Part Score (18%)	Game Major (33%)	Game Minor (16%)	Slam (4%)

4-card Major Path 2 (Stayman)	4 hearts and/or 4 spades	PASS Play 1 NT	2 ♣ Stayman	4 ♣ Gerber or 4 NT (Quant. Invit.)

3/9/2025	15-22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35
Minimum PARTNERSHIP Point Count (assume opener holds 15 HCPs)

1 NT Stayman Process (5 Bids)

Bid 1:    Opener bids 1 NT .
Bid 2:    The responder with a 4-card major suit has two options based upon points:
  • 0 to 7 pts: Responder bids PASS - there are not enough points to bid Stayman.
  • 8 to 17 pts: Responder bids 2 ♣ . This artificial bid informs the opener that the responder does not have a 5+card major, but does have a 4-card major and at least 8 HCPs. This bid asks the opener to identify the opener's 4-card major, if there is one.

× Opener does not have a 4-card major.

Bid 3: Opener reveals it does not have a 4-card major and bids 2 ♦ . The partnership will not play a major suit contract, but will play a No Trump contract.

Bid 4: - Responder reveals the responder's point count:
8-9 HCPs: responder bids 2 NT . There are not quite enough combined points for a game in No Trump.
10-17 HCPs: responder bids 3 NT . There are enough points for a game in No Trump.

Bid 5: Opener confirms the final contract level with one of three bids.
● If responder bid 2 NT at Bid 4 and the opener has:
       1) 15 to 16 HCPs - Opener bids PASS . There are not enough points for a game.
       2) 17 HCPs - Opener bids 3 NT . There are enough points for a game.
● If responder bid 3 NT at Bid 4:
       3) Opener bids PASS . The partnership is at game level.

Since the opener mentioned No Trump first, the opener is the declarer and the responder's hand will be visible in the dummy.

× The opener guarantees it has a 4-card heart suit.

Bid 3: Opener reveals a 4-card heart suit and bids 2 ♥ . The opener guarantees it has a 4-card heart suit. The opener might also have a 4-card spade suit.

Bid 4: - Responder reveals its 4-card major suit by bidding either hearts or spades.
• If the responder has a 4-card heart suit, the responder bids 3♥ or 4♥ , depending upon the responder's points. The partnership will play a hearts contract, with the opener as the declarer.
Note: If the responder has both 4-card major suits, the responder ignores the spades. The responder accepts the known heart contract, instead of hoping for a better contract in spades. The opener might not have a 4-card spade suit!
• If the responder does NOT have a 4-card heart suit, the responder bids 2♠ or 3♠ , depending upon the responder's points. The partnership will not play a hearts contract. If the contract ends up in spades, the declarer will be the dummy and the opener will expose its hand in the dummy.
Note: The responder will have a 4-card spade suit, otherwise the responder could not have bid Stayman.

× The opener reveals a 4-card spade suit. The opener does NOT have a 4-card heart suit.

Bid 3: Opener reveals a 4-card spade suit and bids 2 ♠ . The opener guarantees it has a 4-card spade suit. (The opener does NOThave a 4-card heart suit.)

Bid 4: - Responder reveals its 4-card major suit by bidding either spades or No Trump (because responder does not have a 4-card spade suit).

● If the responder has a 4-card spade suit, the responder bids 3♠ or 4♠ , depending upon the responder's points. The partnership will play a spades contract, with the opener as the declarer.

● If the responder does NOT have a 4-card heart suit, the responder bids 2 NT or 3 NT , depending upon the responder's points. The partnership will not play a major suit contract. The opener will be the declarer and the responder will expose its hand in the dummy.

Bid 5: - Opener finalizes the contract suit and contract level.

Responder bids 3 ♠ :
   • PASS (15-16 pts)
   • 4 ♠ (17 pts)

Responder bids 4 ♠ :
   • PASS already at game

Responder bids 2 NT :
    • PASS (15-16 pts)
    • 3 NT (17 pts)

Responder bids 3 NT
   • PASS already at game

When the partner holds 18+ HCPs, the partnership has enough points for a slam. The partner has two options on how to explore the possibilities of a slam:
• Bid 4 ♣ - Gerber. This artificial bid is asking for the number of opener's Aces.
• Bid 4 NT - Quantitative Invitation. This is a natural bid that is asking for the opener's points.
Visit the web page on Invitation to Slam.

Preface

Open 1 Level

Respond to 1 Suit Openings

Respond to 1 NT

Weak Bids

Strong 2 ♣

Strong NT Bids

Responses

Other Bids

Taking Tricks

Practice

Practice Websites

Duplicate

Downloads

Responder's Stayman Convention after a 1 NT Opening

Responder's Requirements for a Stayman Bid

1 NT Stayman Process (5 Bids)