Bidding After 1NT Opener Responds 2 Hearts to our Stayman Bid and we have Invitational Values

This post will help practice what to do after our Partner opens 1NT, we respond 2♣ (Stayman) and Partner then responds 2♥ (I have 4 ♥ and I MIGHT have 4 ♠).

If you are not sure what Stayman is, please check out the previous Stayman posts before reading this one:
Introducing Stayman
Responding to Stayman

Let's practice our responses to Partner's 2♥ Stayman response when we have invitational values.

What is an invitational hand you ask? Basically a hand that knows that the partnership MIGHT have a game but is not sure. They need Partner to have 17 HCP rather than 15 HCP. If Partner opened the bidding 1NT these would be fairly balanced hands with about 8 or 9 HCPs.

In order to bid Stayman Partner must have opened the bidding 1NT (or 2NT but we'll do that later). We had a 4 card Major and decided to bid Stayman to see if we could find a 4-4 Major suit fit. In these examples Partner responded 2♥. That says "Partner I have a 4 card ♥ suit. I MIGHT have a 4 card ♠ suit." Now we have to decide what to do from here.

When Partner opened the bidding 1NT we knew they had between 15 and 17 HCP. We know that if we have between 8 and 9 points we MIGHT have enough for a game. It all depends on whether or not Partner had 17 HCP when they opened 1NT. If Partner has 17 HCP then we know that 17+8=25 or 17+9=26. That is enough for a game. However, Partner might have opened 1NT with only 15 HCP. Their 15 points plus our 8 or 9 points is only 23 or 24 points. That is not enough for a game. We have to somehow ask Partner if they are minimum (15) or maximum (17) for their bid. But we also wanted to know if we could find a 4-4 Major suit fit. We have quite a bit to do on these hands.

But when Partner responded 2♥ we might have found a fit. If you have found a 4-4 ♥ fit you need to bid 3♥. This says to Partner that we have found our fit but are unsure about whether or not we have the values for a game. (After all if we did have the values for a game we'd just bid game!) So Partner with only 15 HCP knows to Pass this bid. We do not have the values for game. But if Partner has 17 HCP they know to bid game -- in this case 4♥.

What happens if you didn't find a fit?

If you didn't have a 4 card major but had a balanced hand and Partner opened the bidding 1NT you would bid 2NT with 8 or 9 points. Partner knew to bid 3NT if they had 17 HCP and to Pass with only 15 HCP. Bidding 2NT after going through Stayman and getting Partner's response is the same idea -- only when you go through Stayman you have guaranteed a 4 card major. In this case you should have 4♠ since Partner suggested ♥ and you didn't like that.

So in this auction, if you did not find a fit you still need to try to bid a game. You can now bid 2NT. This tells Partner that you tried to find a 4-4 Major suit fit but couldn't. However you still are interested in game but you can't quite bid it yourself since you don't have enough points. Partner will Pass with only 15 HCP but should bid game with 17 HCP -- just like they would have if we didn't bid Stayman first.

So on ALL these hands Partner opened the bidding 1NT (15-17). You decided to bid 2♣ (Stayman). Partner then responded with 2♥. That response says that Partner has a 4 card ♥ suit. They also MIGHT have a 4 card ♠ suit. It says nothing else about Partner's hand. With that in mind it is your turn to bid. What will you respond?

Hand 1

♠J963
♥QJ7
♦J985
♣A9



Hand 2

♠73
♥K872
♦A763
♣J43



Hand 3

♠A876
♥76
♦T7
♣KQ742



Hand 4

♠AK96
♥Q7
♦873
♣8632



Hand 5

♠JT43
♥KJ74
♦A4
♣862



Hand 6

♠T973
♥KQ86
♦J83
♣KT



Hand 7

♠J9
♥A875
♦T82
♣A652



Hand 8

♠AJT5
♥QJ9
♦J6
♣T974



Hand 9

♠Q532
♥KQ95
♦85
♣JT5



Hand 10

♠8753
♥T9
♦AQJ53
♣J9



Hand 11

♠T7
♥QJ93
♦KQT74
♣J3



Hand 12

♠T742
♥T6
♦K9
♣AQ974



Hand 13

♠A7
♥QJ65
♦J9872
♣72



Hand 14

♠A987
♥Q7
♦QT5
♣J954



Hand 15

♠T98
♥KT94
♦AJ95
♣J3