In Disciplined Standard American, we open a notrump with a hand containing 15-17 HCPs (“High Card Points”), but the point range is not as important to learn as is the SHAPE OF THE HAND, AND THE CONTROL OF THE HAND.
First, you will be using what is called the NOTRUMP CHAIN OF BIDS. BEFORE WE GET TO THAT CHAIN...let’s review what the hell NOTRUMP SHAPE MEANS.
There are FIVE elements required of notrump shape:
1. No five card or longer major suit
2. No six card or longer minor suit
3. No void
4. No singleton
5. If you have two doubletons...ONE OF THEM MUST HAVE A STOPPER
THE FIRST LEVEL OF THE CHAIN of bidding Notrumps PROMISES 15-17 COUNTABLE HCPs. THERE IS NO COUNTING OF UNSUPPORTED HONORS BEFORE THERE HAS BEEN ANY BIDDING.
To bid a hand containing 18-19 HCPs, WE MUST FIRST OPEN A MINOR ... AND THEN JUMP IN NOTRUMP.
EXAMPLE:
1 club by you...pass...1 heart by partner....pass...TWO NOTRUMP BY YOU.
THIS SHOWS 18 TO 19 POINTS PRECISELY.
To show the next level in the chain…20 to 21 points…YOU SIMPLY OPEN 2 Notrump. THE open of two notrump shows EXACTLY 20-21 POINTS, and unlike the lower levels of the chain, it promises a sixth element – THAT ALL THE SUITS WILL BE STOPPED. You can open a notrump or open a minor and then jump in notrump WITHOUT ALL SUITS STOPPED, but you can NOT OPEN TWO NOTRUMP IF YOU DON'T HAVE THEM ALL STOPPED.
The highest level of the chain is to show a hand containing 22+ HCPs AND THIS IS DONE BY FIRST OPENING TWO CLUBS, and then over your partner’s response....bidding NOTRUMP AT THE CHEAPEST LEVEL. The jump simply is showing point count and shape. YOU DO NOT NEED ALL SUITS STOPPED
WHEN YOU OPEN TWO CLUBS, AND PARTNER NOW BIDS TWO DIAMONDS, TWO HEARTS, OR TWO SPADES...DO NOT JUMP TO THREE NOTRUMP WITH YOUR 26 HCPs. THIS is a silly bid and it violates the PHILOSOPHY OF THE SYSTEM.
THE BIGGER YOUR HAND, THE SLOWER YOU BID.
A simple rebid of two notrump allows you and partner to use many devices for finding THE RIGHT CONTRACT...THAT THE JUMP TO THREE NOTRUMP WILL NOT ALLOW.
The open of two clubs followed by the cheapest bid of notrump...LIKE THE OPEN OF TWO NOTRUMP ALSO REQUIRES ALL FOUR SUITS TO BE STOPPED.
MOST IMPORTANT RULE REGARDING NOTRUMP:
WHEN YOU BID NOTRUMP...YOU GIVE UP ALL CONTROL..PERMANENTLY AND FOREVER TO YOUR PARTNER.
After you bid a strong NATURAL NOTRUMP just go to sleep and LET YOUR PARTNER GET ALL THE GREY HAIRS. WHEN YOU OPEN A NOTRUMP, you have just made the most descriptive bid in Bridge…partner knows your point count within two points.partner knows your shape within one or two cards. YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR PARTNER’S HAND SO...you are in NO POSITION TO MAKE DECISIONS.
THIS IS A LESSON IN control…but it is also a lesson in TRUSTING YOUR PARTNER. NOW because you gave all control to partner…he is NOT INTERESTED IN TELLING YOU A DAMN THING ABOUT HIS HAND. WHY SHOULD HE? YOU ARE SLEEPING, SO NONE OF HIS RESPONSES ARE IN FACT RESPONSES.
THEY ARE INSTEAD.....either a bid to place the contract...or a bid to get more information out of YOU!!! SOME TIMES HE WILL MAKE A BID THAT SHOULD WAKE YOU UP...since he will be asking you for more information ok?
but then.. after getting that information…he will go back to making decisions and you CAN GO BACK TO SLEEP.
4. the bid of two hearts is to ask you to bid spades
5 the bid of three clubs, diamonds, hearts or spades is to ask you about your cards in that suit.
ALL OTHER BIDS ARE TO PLAY!!!!!!!!!!
ALL other bids you simply pass.
IF YOU OPEN ONE NOTRUMP:
YOUR PARTNER WILL PASS IF HE WANTS TO PLAY IN ONE NOTRUMP
and you are using the form called NON-FORCING STAYMAN.
WHAT THIS MEANS IS your use of stayman IS NOT FORCING TO GAME.
Some folks use of stayman is forcing. THE REASON YOUR TYPE IS NOT FORCING TO GAME...IS SIMPLY THIS: YOU WILL BE USING STAYMAN FOR BOTH WEAK AND STRONG HANDS. You will use STAYMAN FOR SOME HANDS WITH 0-5 POINTS AND FOR ALL HANDS CONTAINING BOTH MAJORS AND 10+ POINTS AND you will use Stayman for NO HANDS CONTAINING 6-9 POINTS!!!
First the weak hands: 0-5 points and AT LEAST 4/3 IN BOTH MAJORS AND FOUR+ CARDS IN DIAMONDS, bid Stayman. NOTICE…this would mean a club holding of two or less cards.
If there are 4/4 in the majors, YOUR REBID IS HEARTS and the reason is this: if you open a notrump with both majors...and now partner bids two clubs Stayman and you now bid two hearts and partner now bids three notrump, you can now bid four spades…since you know that your partner must have had four spades to make his Stayman bid.
If your partner has the OTHER WEAK STAYMAN HAND...IT WORKS ALSO. The OTHER WEAK STAYMAN SHAPE IS THIS: 0-5 POINTS AND at least five spades and four hearts. If partner now bids two diamonds negative, you simply sign off in your five card major.
EXAMPLE:
1 notrump by partner....pass...TWO CLUBS STAYMAN BY YOU...PASS...two DIAMONDS BY PARTNER...SAYING I AIN'T GOT A MAJOR...PASS..
TWO SPADES BY YOU SAYING THAT IS OK PARTNER I GOT FIVE SPADES...
and it is all pass because YOU REMEMBERED THAT PARTNER IS IN CONTROL.
THE THIRD SHAPE FOR WEAK HANDS DEPENDS ON YOUR PARTNER remembering who the hell is in control: 0-5 HCPs and a six card minor.
EXAMPLE:
1 NT by partner...pass....two CLUBS BY YOU (STAYMAN)...PASS TWO HEARTS BY PARTNER...PASS..THREE CLUBS BY YOU SHOWS: 0-5 POINTS AND SIX CLUBS
EXAMPLE 2:
1 Notrump by partner..pass...two clubs by you (stayman)...pass...TWO DIAMONDS BY PARTNER (DENYING A MAJOR)...PASS...PASS BY YOU...SHOWING 0-5 HCPS AND A SIX CARD DIAMOND SUIT, SINCE TWO SPADES IS...MINOR SUIT STAYMAN.
SUMMARY:
With 0-5 HCPs..you will be using Stayman when you hold the following THREE SHAPES:
The Shape needed for the 10+ hands is easy: simply at least 4/3 in the majors.
ANY FOUR CARD MAJOR WILL ALLOW YOU TO BID STAYMAN IF YOU HAVE 10+ HCPs
IF YOU KNOW PARTNER HAS 15 POINTS, AND IF YOU KNOW YOU HAVE 10-11 POINTS..IN HIGH CARD POINTS, THEN YOU know THAT TOGETHER YOU HAVE 25-26 HIGH CARD POINTS AND YOU GO TO THE CONTRACT WHICH IS HIGHEST ON THE PYRAMID OF CONTRACTS…NOTRUMP.
RULE:
WITH 6-9 HCPS, DO NOT USE EITHER STAYMAN OR TRANSFERS. THE exception to this rule would be when your six or seven card major puts you into game reach with all your distribution points. Then and only then would you want to use a transfer with say 8or 9 points.
NOTES:
1 NT....two clubs...two spades shows a four card spade suit and DENIES A FOUR CARD HEART SUIT. TWO SPADES IS FOR MINOR SUIT STAYMAN, AND IT IS ONLY BID WITH GAME POINTS--10+ HCPs. IT’S PURPOSE IS SIMPLY TO GET TO SLAM IN A MINOR (CAN BE 5/5, 6/4, 7/3, NOT 8/2)
Put on your card: NON-FORCING STAYMAN AND MINOR SUIT STAYMAN (two spades is alertable as such and you would say “forcing and asking for a minor suit.” This is the way all folks play NON-FORCING STAYMAN WHEN THEY ALSO PLAY MINOR SUIT STAYMAN.
PARTNERS REBID OVER THE TWO SPADES IS EASY: IF SHE HAS A FOUR CARD MINOR SUIT SHE BIDS IT, IF SHE DOES NOT SHE BIDS THREE NOTRUMP. 95 PERCENT OF ALL MINOR SUIT STAYMAN SEQUENCES WILL END UP IN THREE NOTRUMP. FOUR OF THE OTHER FIVE PERCENT WILL END UP IN MAKEABLE SLAMS, AND THE REMAINING ONE PERCENT WILL END UP IN MINOR SUIT PARTIALS WHERE THREE NOTRUMP CAN NOT BE MADE!
EXAMPLES:
example 1:
1 notrump by partner...pass...TWO SPADES BY YOU...pass…THREE NOTRUMP BY PARTNER…ALL PASS: YOUR PARTNERS THREE NOTRUMP DENIED A FOUR CARD MINOR
example 2:
1 notrump by partner…pass...two SPADES BY YOU…pass...three diamonds by partner...pass…THREE NOTRUMP BY YOU SAYING ...sorry partner my really long minor is in clubs.
example 3:
1 notrump by partner...pass...TWO SPADES BY you...pass...three clubs by partner...pass...six clubs by you...all pass. Your six clubs said ..ALL I NEEDED WAS YOU TO HAVE FOUR CLUBS FOR THIS SLAM PARTNER.
EXAMPLE 4:
1 NT BY PARTNER...PASS...TWO SPADES BY YOU...PASS...THREE CLUBS BY PARTNER...PASS...FOUR NOTRUMP BY YOU…BLACKWOOD
ANNOUCING YOUR INTENTION TO BE IN PROBABLY SIX CLUBS WITH ENOUGH KEY CARDS.
EXAMPLE 5:
1 Nt by partner...pass...two spades by you...pass...three clubs by partner...PASS..THREE HEARTS BY YOU...THIS THREE HEARTS SAYS THE FOLLOWING:
SORRY PARTNER MY LONG MINOR IS IN DIAMONDS...SO WE SHOULD PLAY THREE NOTRUMP but I MUST WARN YOU...I HAVE HEARTS STOPPED BUT NOT SPADES.
This last bidding sequence will end up in either three notrump, four clubs or four diamonds and is the only exception I will let you make to putting the NT bidder back in control.
1 Notrump by partner...pass....TWO SPADES BY YOU...pass...three DIAMONDS BY PARTNER...SHOWING AT LEAST A FOUR CARD DIAMOND SUIT…
pass...THREE SPADES BY YOU SAYING:
PARTNER my long minor suit is in clubs...so lets play three notrump BUT WHILE I DO HAVE A SPADE STOPPER I AM WIDE OPEN IN HEARTS ....SO YOU DECIDE.
REMEMBER, you have done this bidding holding at LEAST 10 CARDS IN THE MINOR SUITS SO YOU MIGHT HAVE 7 CLUBS/THREE DIAMONDS AND THREE SPADES TO THE QUEEN LEAVING A VOID IN HEARTS.
TRANSFER BIDS:
We will only use TWO LEVEL TRANSFERS called JACOBY TRANSFERS FOR THE MAJORS:
THERE IS ONLY ONE GOOD REASON TO MAKE A TRANSFER
Note: Both stayman and transfers can BE USED OVER THE TWO NOTRUMP BID FOLKS, but the minor suit stayman can not, and that is to PROTECT YOUR PARTNERS TENACES.
If partner opens with 15 to 17 HCPs, she will have some tenaces. Your transfer bid PROMISES AT LEAST A FIVE CARD MAJOR and IT DENIES HAVING FOUR OR MORE IN THE OTHER MAJOR; SO YOU WILL BE MAKING A TRANSFER BID WITH A 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 card suit if and only if YOU DO NOT HAVE TENACES YOURSELF THAT NEED PROTECTING AND you will be making a transfer bid with only TWO POINT RANGES:
You will either pass with the weak hand -- bid two notrump with 10 + and five card suit
or bid three notrump with a for sure game and five card suit or bid four hearts with a six card or longer suit...and again game.
Notice that two notrump bid says: PARTNER I HAVE GAME IN HEARTS IF YOU HAVE GOOD SUPPORT. IF YOU DO NOT, I am not even sure if we have game in notrump. Partner’s real choice there is to bid four hearts or pass. Note: PARTNER DOES NOT HAVE THE CHOICE TO BID GAME IN NOTRUMP. Real support means FOUR CARD SUPPORT OR THREE TO A HIGH HONOR.
That leaves only two bids left:
NOTE: IF YOU FIND YOURSELF MAKING A TRANSFER BID AND THEN TAKING YOUR PARTNER TO GAME IN NOTRUMP... YOU JUST SCREWED THE POOCH. Do not first give away your hand to the opponents AND THEN PUT YOUR PARTNER IN A RISKY THREE NOTRUMP. IF YOU ARE GOING TO PUT HER INTO A RISKY THREE NOTRUMP…just BID THE DAMN THING AND DON'T GIVE NOTHIN' AWAY.
The three level bids:
any bid at the three level is SLAM INVITATION… AND THIS IS A MISNOMER
SINCE WE AIN'T GONNA LET PARTNER MAKE ANY DECISIONS RIGHT?
SO...LETS CALL IT ...SLAM PREPARATION.
EXAMPLE:
1 NOTRUMP BY PARTNER...PASS...THREE SPADES SAYS:
PARTNER DO YOU HAVE A GOOD NOTRUMP HAND POINT WISE AND FOUR SPADES OR THREE TO A HIGH HONOR? IF YOU DO BID SOMETHING OTHER THAN THREE NOTRUMP. PICK YOUR CHEAPEST FIRST ROUND CONTROL AND BID IT. NOW...GOOD NOTRUMP HAND POINT WISE MEANS AT LEAST 16 HCPs. THREE TO A HIGH HONOR MEANS THREE TO THE QUEEN OR BETTER
WHAT you need for this bid of three spades:
The positive response DOES NOT GUARANTEE SLAM. IT SIMPLY SHOWS THE NEED TO EXPLORE FURTHER FOR SLAM.
The bid is the same in all four suits…and in another lesson.
The above bids are alertable and should be put on your card as SLAM INVITATION.
THE JACOBY TRANSFERS ARE ALERTABLE AND YOU SIMPLY SAY: "TRANSFER TO HEARTS" OR TRANSFER TO SPADES.
All of the ABOVE CONVENTIONS OVER THE NOTRUMP OPEN ARE OFF WITH INTERFERENCE. INSTEAD OF THESE BIDS WE WILL BE USING LEBENSHOL.
THE only thing that the interference will disrupt will be our getting to a minor suit slam in clubs which is extremely hard to bid after notrump interference. Lebenshol will handle everything else, but we leave LEBENSHOL ALSO FOR ANOTHER LESSON.
CHECKBACK STAYMAN IS NEVER BID AFTER AN OPEN OF NOTRUMP
INSTEAD IT IS BID AFTER AN OPEN OF A MINOR
EXAMPLE 1:
1 CLUB BY PARTNER...PASS....1 DIAMOND BY YOU...PASS.. TWO NOTRUMP BY PARTNER (SHOWING 18-19 hCPS)...PASS..two CLUBS YOU (CHECKBACK STAYMAN)
YOU ARE ASKING PARTNER IF SHE HAS A FOUR CARD MAJOR
EXAMPLE 2:
1 CLUB BY PARTNER....PASS...1 HEART BY YOU...PASS...two NOTRUMP BY PARTNER....pass... THREE CLUBS BY YOU.
It is asking: partner do you have a four card spades suit? If not, do you have a three card heart suit? If not just bid three diamonds.
CHECKBACK allows you to ask partner for support when YOU HOLD A FIVE CARD MAJOR YOU HAVE BID. THE USE OF CHECKBACK STAYMAN is PREDICATED ON THE FACT THAT YOU UNDERSTAND THAT A PARTIAL OF SAY TWO OR THREE CLUBS JUSTS SUCKS ON THE PYRAMID OF CONTRACTS. IT IS ALERTABLE..AND YOU PUT IT UNDER OTHER TREATMENTS IN THE LOWER RIGHT HAND. IT IS only used in constructive bidding.