No Trump Bidder's Answer
The opening no trump bidder's responses are straight forward. If she has a 4-card major, she bids it. If she has both of them she bids 2 hearts, giving her partner the chance to show spades if he has them, but not hearts. If she has neither major suit, she bids 2 diamonds. Easy-peasy. There is no chance that she will be 5-4 in the majors, because she would not open no trump with that holding.
Stayman Bidder's Rebid
Let's first consider what happens if the opening no trump bidder responds 2 diamonds. This bid is artificial. It doesn't promise anything in diamonds other than what an opening no trump bid would promise. The Stayman bidder can't leave his partner there. He has to bid on. He can bid 2 NT to invite game in no trump or 3 NT to put the team in game. There is also the chance that he is interested in slam, but we won't worry about that, today.
Similarly, if the Stayman bidder held just the 4-card heart suit, and his partner responded with 2 spades, he would need to either invite game with 2 NT or bid 3NT.
These sequences illustrates why the Stayman bidder must be at least strong enough to invite game in order to make the initial Stayman inquiry. If the opening NT bidder doesn't have the Stayman bidder's suit, he must at least invite game in NT.
There is an unusual exception. If the Stayman bidder has a 5-card diamond suit and BOTH 4-card majors, he can bid Stayman with 0 points. He can safely pass any response by the opener.
Should the no trump bidder respond with 2 hearts and the Stayman bidder has spades, but not hearts, he should bid 2 spades over the heart response. The opener might have both and bid the cheaper one first.
Of course, there is the chance that the opener bids your suit. Great. Now what? You either invite game or bid it in the suit fit that you just found. DON'T PASS.
Opener's Rebid
If the Stayman bidder bid game either in NT or the 4-card suit that the opener showed with her Stayman response, she should simply pass. The Stayman bidder knows how strong the opener's hand is and has set the contract. No negotiation is required.
Similarly, if the Stayman bidder invited game, the opener should either bid game with a maximum no trump opener or pass with a minimum. Yeah, there is that middle-valued hand of 16 points. You need to make a judgement call.
What about a sequence like this?
Opener: 1NT
Responder: 2C (Stayman inquiry)
Opener: 2H
Responder: 2S
Here, the opener doesn't know if the Stayman bidder has enough to force game, or not. She does know that her partner has enough to invite, game though. Therefore, if she is on the top of her 1NT opener, she should bid game, either in spades if she has 4 of them or in no trump if she doesn't. If she is on the bottom of her opening bid, she should show that by making a minimum raise of 3S with 4 cards in spades or 2NT without the spade support.
Opening bids of 2NT and 3NT
The Stayman response works the same way opposite a 2NT or 3NT opener, it just happens at a higher level. The Stayman bidder needs enough strength to force game, since any bidding sequence that doesn't show an immediate fit will end at game level.
Opposite a 1NT overcall
A 1NT overcall shows the same sort of hand as an opening 1NT bid. A 2 club response is still the Stayman convention, and all sequences are the same as above.
Versus Interference
If the left-hand opponent of the opening no trump bidder throws in an overcall, the 2 C bid will not be available to the responder. There is a bid to handle that situation. It is known as "cue bid Stayman." If the responder is strong enough to force game, he can bid the same suit as the overcall at the 3 level. If the overcall was a minor suit, this bid can show either 4-card major. If the overcall was a major suit, it specifically shows the other major.
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