Puppet Stayman Bridge Convention - Bidding and Responses

By Marc Smith EBU Grand Master, teacher, and authorThe BasicsA balanced hand with 4-3-3-3, 4-4-3-2, or 5-3-3-2 shape should generally open 1NT if the point count falls within your designated range. This means that sometimes you will have a five-card major when you open 1NT. The same is also true when you hold enough points to open 2NT. Obviously, a 2NT opening takes up more bidding space, but you still need to be able to investigate both 4-4 and 5-3 fits in the majors. The popular solution is to play a variant of Stayman known as Puppet. How Does Puppet Work?As with regular Stayman, responder uses a Three Clubs response to 2NT to initiate the conversation. Responder may hold one or two four-card majors in search of a 4-4 fit. Or he may just have three-card support for one or both majors.Examples of hands that might respond Three Clubs opposite an opening 20-21 HCP 2NT: Hand A 7 5 A Q 8 6 8 5 4 Q 8 6 5 Hand B J 2 9 7 3 5 3 K Q 10 9 4 3 Hand C K J 9 2 9 7 3 8 6 4 K 10 5 Holding four hear...