Learning or Teaching Bridge….not an easy task !

 

 Learning or Teaching  Bridge….not an easy task !

The other Day I read that the  World’s  richest person  Mr. Bill Gates of Microsoft Corporation donated  1 million Dollars to ACBL(American Contract Bridge  league) for setting up the facilities which will help new persons learn Bridge.Mr. Gates who is a  good Bridge player himself , is keenly interested in the game and has said in the confessionary style that

“  Bridge is one of the last games in which the computer is not better."

Ever since I came to know that  Bill Gates play bridge, I started feeling wealthy ! 

There is plenty of literature available for beginners to start learning this game but there are not many good  teachers because  teaching someone this sport is not an easy task. The business Tycoon precisely realized this and as a good gesture contributed from his side .

When someone  wants to learn a new sport  he or she is supposed to have observed  people playing  that sport  and they are expected to know  certain minimum things  about it.. Bridge is also a sport and  is no exception to this expectation. If someone wants to learn Bridge, he/she  is expected to observe the game  for sometime and know  certain  basics things. Trying to learn bridge, without knowing about any  card game is similar to try to learn a football  without ever  having any experience of kicking it…… Take the case of cricket……  Before someone starts learning cricket systematically he already knows what is  batting and balling. Any cricket coach or a trainer will surely ask person to quit if he doesn’t even know about a bat ,ball or stumps. Unfortunately bridge coach does not have this liberty or privilege to treat a beginner in that manner because he needs students more than students need him!  Most  persons who wish to learn bridge don’t have patience  to go through the process of observing the game and getting themselves acquainted about basic things. Even if they opt for that and make sincere efforts they gain little unless they have a thick skin. This is because unlike in many other games ,one is supposed to maintain absolute silence when the game is in progress with everyone sitting there with serious faces. When the deal is over invariably there will be some argument or minor verbal fights and the beginners who are kibitzing and have some queries are silenced by some rude person.  This is the status of the beginners who want to learn.

The status about coach or a trainer or guide whom I name “bridge enthusiast “ is also not encouraging. Bridge enthusiast is the one who knows bridge a shade better than rest of the people with whom he regularly plays the game. Over a period of time he proclaims himself expert though on most occasions   when he participates in the club tournaments, he is in the bottom half. His love for the game has however no boundaries and his only worry will be about organizing  assembly of  his bridge group  on weekends and holidays ! Whenever they run short of players they need someone who can be taught bridge. A beginner many times is almost forced to play the game at odd hours and is directly exposed to the complex bidding. Now tell me …Do you teach grammar of the language to a kid when it is   just 1 year old?.... Of course not. Grammar part of the language is learned by the kid much later .When we learn a new language we first learn new words of that language   while learning alphabets, then we understand some commonly used sentences….then we observe and listen to the language people speak   and only after that if we get some good feel, we start to learn the grammar of that language. Most bridge enthusiasts who play coach, however ignore this though they know that “Bidding”  is the language of bridge. It is the only permissible mode of communication between the partnerships while playing the game.  No doubt Bidding is as basic and important in bridge as grammar in any language but that does not mean one should  first teach bidding part  to the beginner.  Each bid in the process of bidding has certain pre-defined meaning and some rules and is like a grammar .Now when the beginners with limited exposure and still thin skin are taught directly grammar in the adverse conditions, learning process almost becomes  a monolog of an enthusiastic coach  followed by yawning of the  beginners. Within a short span confusion spreads. Even the snoring sound cannot stop the sole enthusiast!

Training or teaching session gets ultimately aborted when a better sense prevail. Only very few who will have either blind faith on their bridge guides or a real hunger to learn this sport, become bridge players. The rest of the people, who will be in majority will   give up after torturing experience of understanding complex meanings of various bids. These people not only give up but after giving up they start  spreading  all types  of nonsense about the bridge game which repeal many prospective new players. A bad perception about card game coupled by lack of good trainers for the game are the main two reasons for “ why bridge has not become a popular  sport”  among the youngsters . The common scene in India is, more than 60% of the persons who play bridge fall in the category of “senior citizens” may be because by that time they have a guaranteed thick skin!

Fortunately age is no bar to this wonderful game.…People who are 80 or even 90 are also active on the bridge table and some of them are superior in card handling skill compared to their grandsons who are excellent in their studies and developing complex software but often err in judging correct distribution of the missing trumps on the bridge table. There are no certainties in the game and so no fixed rules ….only some guidelines and rest is your own judgment or skill or intellect to which losers call   common sense.

When you play bridge …Never expect that you will not be blamed for any mistake you commit. Irrespective of who you are, your age, your sex, your status or your relationship with the partner on bridge table you will be criticized.  As a beginner you may be playing seriously and might have covered an honor as per instruction or might have removed all the trumps of the opponents as per another lesson of your partner coach. You will still find that your partner is blaming you because you had 4 carded king and you lost one ruffing trick in the dummy. If you want to improve your game you will have to listen to your partner’s sarcastic comments. During the postmortem of the deal you better understand only “what is said related to bridge” and for rest of the utterance thank almighty that you have two ears ! 

On the Bridge Table even Bill Gates does not have a privilege of not getting any blame when he ducks first round of suit and loses his sure winning Ace!

In India we do have “Ambanis” and “Tatas” and we too can have good coaching facilities for this fascinating game but on Bridge table if they err they will also not be spared ! .

            -------- Rajendra Phansalkar

                               12th July 2012

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Why Learn to play Bridge ?

WHY LEARN TO PLAY BRIDGE ?

Someone once said, “Learn Economics… not to know how to become rich but at least to know why you are still poor!”  

In the same style, I would like to state “Learn Bridge, not to know and enjoy the beauty of the game, but at least to know what you have missed in life so far.” 

Hundreds of articles are written on ‘Bridge’ and tons of papers are published on the subject. I therefore don’t mind contributing to the increase in weight, even if it is only by a few grams!

·         Bridge is a  Sport

The other day, I read that playing one good game of ‘Chess’  requires more energy than playing 45 minutes of Football! Yes…. it is now scientifically proven that harnessing your grey cells to their limit is a good exercise which will keep you fit and healthy. Like Chess, Bridge is one of the most entertaining mind games having endless variations, to the extent that one never repeats a deal in one’s lifetime. The similarity between Chess and Bridge however, ends here. Chess has been enjoying the elevated status of “A game of intelligent people” ever since its inception, while, it’s not so lucky colleague,” Bridge” took a long time to reach close to that status.  Why, even today, it is given step-motherly treatment and looked down upon, by the masses. And this is despite having the distinction of being the only card game which has been accepted in the category of ‘Sports’. Hence I, an enthusiastic player invite all my fellow-human beings to come on board and partake this intellectual offering – leave aside playing Bridge, just  knowing about this sport  will do you some good in your upper storey J , besides adding a feather to your cap of belonging to the ‘elite club’ and enhancing your knowledge. It is estimated that at any given moment of the day, more than 10,000 people are engaged in playing this brainy game, the world over. In the late hours of the evening,  this number escalates to 150,000 or more, in Europe and America. No other sport in the world can boast of such figures!!!

·         Choose your partner

I reiterate that playing Bridge is one of the best exercises for your brain and it sharpens your mind. The name says it all - ‘Bridge’ implies building a bridge between two minds using a special language of the game called “Bidding” .The two minds are obviously yours and your partner’s. Success in the game depends on how accurately two persons build the bridge of understanding. Some people tend to forget this very basic requirement! …..And at times, bid as if they are playing a diametrically opposite sport - Boxing! This is particularly observed when their partner is totally submissive and accepts all the blame for all the sins committed by the Boxer!  There is however a limit to the victim’s patience and after some sessions the inevitable happens – the disastrous partnership breaks up. ……Then the “Boxer” scouts for a new lamb to slaughter and his earlier victimized sheep has undoubtedly resolved never to play ‘Bridge’. The learning from this situation being, “If you are either too submissive or extremely aggressive then you might as well bid farewell to this game’. Fortunately, there always is a ‘mean value’ that lies between any two extremes, in our case between aggressive and submissive natures are the third category of people who are best described as ‘Assertive’.  Assertive people recognize and utilize constructive criticism, are open to logical arguments, can visualize possibilities in adverse situations and at times, they move forward after ‘agreeing to disagree’! Hence the chances of them succeeding in the game are high. Bridge is all about developing understanding with your partner. So choose your partner judiciously and stop behaving like a Lion or Lamb! Trust your partner implicitly and explore the new World of Bridge, in unison.

·         No gambling or addiction

Most card games which are played by people can be categorized as “Gambling “ and  Bridge was no exception to that,  at least when it originally started  way back in the first quarter of the 20th century. This has created misconception about Bridge among those who feel that playing cards is a sheer wastage of time and money. Fortunately soon, gamblers realized that there are better ways of gambling! Today, gamblers prefer to play other games like Poker, Rummy or Flash instead of Bridge, not only because they lack the intellectual capacity required to play Bridge but also because Bridge is a game of partnership. Unlike most other games, Bridge tests your patience, intelligence, analytical skills, fast decision making ability etc. and yet gives you a feeling of enjoyment and fun. Anything which is in excess spoils the fun…  Bridge is no exception to this. The great Culbertson used to say “Those who know when to stop playing bridge know it better”. The irony is, he used to say so after playing for more than 12 hours! Unfortunately the labels of “ addiction “ and  “gambling” have got associated with this game  and even  today  that perception  lingers on. But the fact cannot be refuted -  “Bridge is the game of smart and intelligent people and not gamblers or addicts.”

·         Bridge on Internet

Since the good old days, Bridge has been mainly played in clubs and at homes (umpteen number of families will vouch for this). For playing Bridge, a minimum of two pairs of players are required. Logically this called for an assembly of 4 persons at one location. With the widespread use of Internet these days, lack of physical proximity is no longer a deterrent. A virtual presence from anywhere across the globe does the trick. And voila…any four Bridge Lovers are at it again, doing what they are best at – enjoying another game of Bridge at any given point of time. There are many websites tempting you to join in the game of ‘Live Bridge’ being played and you can pick your partner from any nook and corner of the world, through the ‘World Wide Web’.

·         Don’t quit !

By now, I am sure you have succumbed to my persuasive skills J Yes, you have decided to join the bandwagon to learn and play this game. At this juncture, my precious words of advice to you are ‘Don’t Quit half way through! One of the greatest masters of the game strongly recommended – ‘Play Bridge only for fun and for no other reason’.  It is said that the great “Charles Goren” started playing this game for the first time with his fiancée, as partner. She was better than him in card handling skills. At the end of many deals, his fiancée passed some sarcastic remarks about Goren. Alas! Goren took these comments to heart. However, he did not quit. Determined to acquire mastery in the game, he plodded on.  And Lo Behold! He reached the pinnacle of success and during this journey he invented a new style of playing Bridge. He introduced the ‘Point Count system’ which is faithfully followed by the entire Bridge Community, till date. Unfortunately, the fallout of this success was that Goren replaced his fiancée with the Game and remained faithful to his new love till the ripe old age of 90 and remained . a bachelor all through his life .

The longer you dwell on a  subject, the more you realize how little you know! There is no end to its depth, so just keep digging till you enjoy, ensuring that you gain knowledge and yet do not miss on the ‘fun’ aspect. You will come across many self-proclaimed ‘Experts’. Just appreciate them and then IGNORE them! J.  Bridge is a serious fun so enjoy it like music !

Never mind that you cannot sing like “Lata” or “Ruffi”, you still have every right to be a ‘Bathroom singer’!

    -------------------- R  J PHANSALKAR

                                May 30^th 2015

Why over bidding is not crime ?

In the game of Bridge when any  auction   ends , the  final contract  is either at  part game level, Game level ,Little slam level  or very rarely at Grand slam level. We all know that if a slam or Grand slam can  be scored there is no point in reaching up to only game level and score  over-tricks and the same is true when the partnership misses  sure  game  and bids up to part game level. This is because additional bonus marks are awarded only when the bidding is done up to that level  and the contract is scored successfully during card play.

part game will give additional 50 marks irrespective of vulnerability

Game will give additional 300 or 500 marks        ( Non vulnerable game  300  and vulnerable game 500)

Little slam will award additional 500 or 750 marks ( NV slam 500 and Vulnerable little slam 750 marks)

Grand slam will give benefit of additional 1000 or 1500 marks  ( NV grand slam 1000 vulnerable GS 1500)

More the risk more is reward! If the game can be scored but partnership bids only  up to part game level and scores overtricks it will not get those additional 300 or 500 marks . Similarly if Little slam can be scored but partnership fails to bid up to that level then it is deprived additional marks . Such type of bidding is called “Under bidding” and it defeats the primary objective of maximizing gain at bidding stage itself.

The Bridge Guru Mr.Ely Culbertson used to say that “ Under bidding is crime” This was perhaps  in line with the famous quote “Not failure but the low aim is crime’. This is because the partnership  in this case does not  even make an attempt to maximize its gain. When a partnership does under bidding  no one enjoys the deal as defenders don’t  have sufficient strength while for declarer it is a cake walk and no card handling  skill is required to win the under bided contract. The card play becomes exceedingly boring  and there is no fun for anyone.  .Besides having fun the  objective of any partnership   must be  to win maximum possible marks which is also equivalent to loosing minimum marks.

If the partnership is winning the contract  it must do so by bidding up to an appropriate level  to score maximum marks , alternately it should aim to loose minimum marks by giving tough time to opponents at bidding stage and during card play. Good bridge pairs always either try to score maximum possible marks against opponents  or try to loose minimum marks to the opponents. They always aim to extract best possible result for them from any deal and that must be the objective of any pair .

Now to state  the  objective  is  quite simple task but for achieving  the task consistently  most partnerships   spend  their  lives. Those who achieve the objective  more consistently  are called experts !

At the same time there is absolutely no  prudence  in bidding  to the higher level without adequate strength and lose the contract particularly when opponents are not competing. The partnership which overbids when opponents are quiet  finds itself a biggest looser . Such an over bidding is  bad  and loosing a sure game in an attempt to score impossible slam is not good bridge  however  not all overbids are bad .  Over bidding is  not criticized so vehemently  for two reasons .Unlike in under bidding  case  in “over bidding”  at least opponents enjoy the game  and secondly the over bidding  perhaps could be intentional planned action which shows courage .( and many  times it gets rewarded  also)Overbidding shows daring attitude and the  braves are respected  while  cowards  are disliked … that is why over bidding is not the crime !

There  are  two cases when over  bidding happens in a deal.

1        In the  first case  over bidding could be because of misunderstanding  with the partner or because of stiff competitive bidding of the opponents or over confidence of the bidder and it is unplanned action.

2        In the  second  case  over bidding is  intentional .It is done  to prevent the opponents from playing at an appropriate level which could be   a  game , little slam or grand slam level  as the case may be. More often intentional over bidding is done even  to prevent opponents  from scoring a part game.

If   the contract is lost by only one  trick  then people will comment   “ Never mind ….one down is gentleman’s down” . Some generous people will even say “well tried “ and  the opponents  will start boasting about  their  skill of successfully defending the contract“. For a marginal one down ,  the  Partnership will  attribute the defeat to” bad luck”  for getting either the  tough lead or  bad distribution of the cards. . However if instead of one down if the contract gets defeated  by  2 or , 3 tricks then  most people will  think twice before commenting..In fact   when   partnership   goes  down by two or  even 3 tricks sometime they are praised !.No Joke ! Why  they are   appreciated ?  That is the beauty of this wonderful game !

When  the partnership  loses the contract and  it is found   that  it has successfully prevented their opponents from scoring the sure game  (or slam) its overbidding action  must be appreciated  as it  achieves the  objective of  losing minimum marks . Such an over bidding is called intelligent bidding  in the bridge world because such  an over bidding is  literally calculated planned move. The important thing here is  that  if   the contract is lost by larger margin(more than 2 or 3 tricks)or no sure game or slam existed for the opponents  then the objective of losing minimum marks gets  defeated and then the over bidding is wide open for criticism . This means for correct over bidding one not only requires daring but a judgmental skill of trying to loose minimum marks to the opponents.

We  will now discuss two types of bids, which  help partnership to minimize their losses  . These bids  are effective tools at bidding stage and  most  bridge players practice  them liberally but very few accurately !

1  Pre-emptive bids

Whenever you can describe your hand completely with a single bid, you should do so. Pre emptive bids describe the hand quite clearly and in every bidding system there are preemptive bids . The pre- emptive bids are used to prevent opponents from reaching to game level (or little slam level or grand slam level) by destroying the available communication space.  Typically preemptive bids are opened at directly 3 levels. for major suits and 3 or 4  level for minor suits. These Preemptive bids describe the hand completely indicating 7 carded suit and 6 to 10 high card points. For making pre- emptive bid one need not have adequate strength in High card points but instead of strength you must have length  of minimum 7 cards in the suit with preferably minimum two out of top three honors . For higher level preemptive openings one must have more than 7 cards in the suit.

Remember once you preempt , do not bid again unless you are forced to do so by your partner.

When you have adequate strength (HCPs 11+)then with long 7  carded suit you should never  start bidding at 3 level as it will not give correct   information to your Partner  Never forget is that when the communication space is destroyed for your opponents it stands destroyed for your partner also. Preemptive bids are therefore usually avoided  after 3 passes to you .After your preemptive bid if Partner has the strength he  will get clear idea of how many tricks can be scored by the partnership and may take part in the auction accordingly.

While  opening at 3 level , it is generally safe to assume  that one trick will be obtained from partner’s hand  and your own six sure tricks will give you total seven tricks. If everyone pass your 3 level bid, at the most you will go down by 2 tricks. So in case , if you are vulnerable you will loose 500 marks and  if you are not vulnerable at the most you will loose 300 marks (Assumption here is opponents will double your 3 level opening bid)Avoid making pre-emptive bid if you  see that you will loose more than 300 marks if your opponents are not vulnerable (and  more than 500 marks when your opponents are vulnerable.) The idea of making pre emptive bid is to loose less number of marks compared to when opponents score the game or slam. So the  strategy of making pre emptive bid is different in the different conditions of vulnerability. The traditional practice is to overbid two tricks vulnerable or three tricks non vulnerable. The effect of vulnerability  is  illustrated  in the table at the end.

Responses to preemptive bids

·         When responding to a preempt, think in terms of the tricks  you can provide, not point counts.

·         Do not bid 3 NT with a singleton or void in partner’s suit unless you expect to win 9 tricks alone.

·         A new suit response below game is  forcing by an un passed hand.

2   Sacrificing  bids

The sacrificing bid is an intentional over bid after the opponents have reached to their intended  level . When such bid is done opponents are in trouble as they cannot win if they bid further. If they don’t bid further  they don’t have sufficient strength to defeat your contract by larger margin.In either case they loose unless your judgment is wrong.The intention of  Sacrificing bid is   to prevent opponents from playing and allowing them to score more marks  .

The  pre-emptive bidding is the action to prevent opponents from reaching to appropriate level while Sacrificing bid is made when opponents have reached to their intended level. Both bids try to achieve the objective of “minimum loss”.

The  calculations part of “how many marks will be lost in the event of going down  visa a vis how many marks will be scored by opponents” is  same so the  vulnerability again  plays critical role .If the opponents have reached 4Hearts contract and you are unlikely to defeat the contract and you have sufficient logic to believe that your 4 Spades  or 5 in minor suit  cannot be defeated by more than  2 ( or 3 tricks )then it is appropriate to bid  and sacrifice . Your opponents will be now in the trouble as  they will have to bid at 5 level to score and their chances of scoring  get reduced. If they allow you to play even after challenging by double they will get lesser marks. Their gain is thus minimized.

The important  thing  before venturing in sacrificing bid is you should be reasonably sure that you don’t have sharp teeth to defend , if you do then it is better to avoid sacrificing bid .Unlike Pre-emptive bid Sacrificing bid is difficult to judge and if it is  employed at wrong time it  can be disastrous and backfire  to  ruin your chances.

Time and again it is observed that accurate   preemptive bids and sacrificing bids are the main  factors which  decide losers and winners  !

Table illustrating minimum loss conditions for Game or part game

	Your bid	Opponents’  problem	Vulnerability	Result after play		Your loss	Your loss if opponents score the  game or part game
Game Level hand	preemptive 3 spades	Could not find the heart was the matching suit for them particularly when it was 4 carded in each opponents’ hand. Opponents could not bid 3NT	Both non vulnerable	2 down 3 down		300 500	420  (or 400)
			Both vulnerable	2  down 3 down		500 800	620  (or 600)
			Opponents vul You are NV	2 down 3 down		300 500	620  (or 600)
			You are Vul Opp NV	1 down 2  down 3 down		200 500 800	420 ( or 400)
Part game Level hand	Sacrificing 2 Spades  bid over opponents’ 2 Hearts	Opponents don’t have strength  for going to the level of 3 Hearts Opponents are  in dilemma  whether to double or not  as it can award you a game	You are Non vulnerable	Un-doubled	Down 1 Down 2	50 100	Your loss if opponents score  2Hearts is 110 irrespective of opponents vul or not
				Doubled	Down 1 Down 2	100 300
			You are vulnerable	Un doubled	Down 1 Down 2	100 200
				Doubled	Down 1 Down 2	200 500
Game level hand for opponents	You bid 4Spade over opponents 4 H (Or 5Clubs over opponents’ 4S)	Opponents if bid at 5 level they are most likely to get defeated. If they allow you to play their gain is not maximum	If you are NV and opponents are vulnerable then you must not go down 4 and even down 3 will bring good result for you	We assume that your contract will be doubled	Down 1 Down 2 Down 3 Down 4	100 300 500 800	If both sides are vul then you can afford to go Down 2 and when vulnerability is not favorable  then at the most 1 Down result will tilt the things in your favor.

1        (lesser  loss  conditions are high lighted “  ) 2        In equal vulnerability situation  two down gives  good results 3        In  favorable vulnerability  situation  even 3 down gives good results 4        In Unfavorable vulnerability condition only 1 down can give favorable result 5        In  part game, sacrificing  overbidding  related judgment is tough and  may not be attempted if you are vulnerable . 6        Readers can study the  standard bridge card and find out the number of  short tricks  which will still give them good results when opponents are sure to score  little slam or Grand slam .Even if you go five down or  six down  in a deal in which  opponents are scoring sure grand slam…you will be praised for your over bid . Intelligent Overbidding is not the crime !

                                                                          R J Phansalkar ,284 HB estate  Nagpur 

Stayman and Jacoby transfer bids

                              

When the auction ends and conduction of the deal  starts, dummy player has no role and all other 3 players can see 26 cards. If dummy is strong in  HCPs(high card points) then opponents can see almost all  missing high cards and get advantage in defending .It is therefore important for the partnership to bid in such a manner that dummy is weak compared to Declarer . Stayman and Jacoby Transfer bids help in  doing  exactly that. Both Sam Stayman and Oswald Jacoby were great players of their times and their conventions are now almost universally accepted and adopted by most players .Stayman convention and Jacoby Transfer bids are solid foundation for exploring 8 card major suit fit.

Sir Charles Goren used to recommend that bidding must be as natural and as simple as possible to enjoy the  game . More there are unnatural bids there will be more complexity and fun part of the game can get lost. However there are certain conventions which are devised so carefully by old masters that though bids are   unnatural , today they have become an integral part of the bridge. “Take out Double”, “Blackwood” , “Stayman” and “Jacoby Transfer”  are some of those types of conventions which have stayed for over last  60 years now , unlike so many other short lived and less accepted conventions. It will be therefore worthwhile to know them even though one does not want to use them.

 It is said that  one should not  insist on  using  the chop sticks  while taking Chinese food for the first time  Certain things can be acquired gradually  but at the same time swimming cannot be learned by only reading books and sitting on the edge of the swimming pool ! . So for those who really don’t know much about “Stayman and “Jacoby“the details  given in the table could be taxing and there is every possibility that their “fun Part “ will be reduced for some time. New Partnerships are therefore advised to start using these conventions with caution and give time to themselves before they can harvest the benefits.

Both Stayman and Jacoby Transfer bids are used only when one of the players open his hand with 1NT or 2NT .  1NT shows 15 to 17  HCPs  and balanced hand, meaning no void or singleton suit and no two doubleton suits.  2NT shows balanced hand and 18 to 21 HCPs. As such 1NT describes the hand so clearly that opener has generally no need to describe his hand further and since the strength is clearly told ,onus of reaching to game or not , and if yes ,which game to settle in , primarily now on  the responder. When Stayman or Jacoby transfer conventions are used opener’s further bids are almost dictated by the responder who can more precisely see the combined strength of the partnership unlike when the opener bids some suit for which  his  HCP range is quite wide. We will understand  Stayman and Jacoby transfer bids for 1NT. For 2 NT opening , responses will be similar  in principle .  One believes that Common sense, though  is said to  be quite uncommon , can help  people understand logical responses to 2NT opening.

Responses  to  1 NT  using  Stayman  Or Jacoby Transfer 

·         Responder should bid 2C only when he has both the major suits with  distribution  either 4-4  or  5-4 or 5-5  and has minimum 5 counts

·         When the responder has 6 carded major suit he should bid Jacoby transfer bid (2 Diamonds  to show his  Heart suit and 2 Hearts to show his  spade suit ) There is no need to bid Stayman         

 2 Club  to explore major suit  . Minimum 2 cards in each major suits are definitely available with opener meaning combined 8 card major suit  with partnership is  visible to responder.

·         When responder has only one (at least 5 carded) major suit he should use Jacoby Transfer bid.

·         When Responder is very weak and his hand is not suitable for No-trump he should use Jacoby transfer bid  if 5 carded major suit  is there and  then Pass  in the next round  else he can pass and pray !

·         If responder has no major suit and less than 7 HCPs he should bid 2 Spades showing partner one of the minor suits. Partner is supposed to bid 3C ……….if club is really the suit of responder then responder must pass in the next turn else bid 3D.

·         If responder has 8 or 9 HCPs and  no  two major suits or  no  5 carded   suit  he should bid 2NT

And with 10 to 12 HCPS he can bid 3NT.

·         If responder has 13 HCPs He must ensure not that game level is reached by jump bidding in his best suit if  Stayman and  Jacoby bids are  not possible. 

·         If the responder has interest in slam he should make forcing bid after the transfer is completed by opener or straight a way use Blackwood 4 NT to know aces

What opener should do  after Stayman Or Jacoby response ?

·         After 2C bid of the responder , a no trump bidder  has to  inform whether he has any major suit or not and if yes  which major suit .. if he has at least four cards in  both major suits  normally responds in hearts, as this can still allow a spade fit to be found.  Variant methods are to bid the longer or stronger major, with a preference given to spades, or to use 2NT to show both majors. ( Please recall that a opener cannot  have either a suit longer than five cards or more than one 5-card suit since an opening 1NT bid shows a balanced hand. )

·         Absence of major suit is shown by bidding 2D meaning at the most opener has 3 cards of major suits ( combination of major suits’ distribution can be 2-2 ,3-2 or 3-3 )

·         When responder bids Jacoby Transfer 2D ,  opener should exercise no other option except to complete the transfer. He has to bid 2 Hearts on partner’s 2 Diamond response and when partner requests to transfer to spades by bidding 2 Hearts he has to do that. If suit matching is excellent, meaning opener can see 9 card suit matching he can super accept by bidding either 3 Hearts or 3 spades telling partner that  he indeed  has a 5 carded suit.

·         When responder bids 2 Spades opener should bid 3 clubs , a simple transfer.

One sincerely feels that information given above is sufficient to start using the Stayman and Jacoby conventions and needless to add that  for further bids a simple common sense will be of great help. After all any bidding system (a set of agreed conventions)should ensure a sole objective of Trying  to score maximum points (which also means  loosing  minimum points) in a given deal and ensure that partnership

1.       Reach appropriate level  i.e  part Game level ,Game level, little slam level or Grand slam level.

2.       Preferably ensure Stronger hand does not become dummy.

When the partner opens 1 Nt , first assess what is the combined strength of the partnership and based on that respond using  Stayman and Jacoby Transfer bids . By simple mathematical calculations considering first highest 17 HCPs  and then the lowest 15 HCPs of your partner, you will get the clarity on  maximum and minimum  combined HCPs of the partnership. (you should add your counts in 15  and see the total and then you should add your counts in 17 and see what is the total .) If in both the cases you find that the total is less than 25 then you can score only part game . If you definitely see figure of 25 or more in both cases then a definite Game level is existing. However if you see  25 counts  in one case and not in another case then use your common sense or “ gut feel “ or “intuition” or  whatever your experience with your partner  can help you take appropriate action!  Bridge is  not simple mathematics and” decisions  of bidding” when one is  not clear on the combined strength are not easy . Never mind about committing mistakes. Many  people do “ under bidding “ or “over bidding “even after amassing large experience .  Remember decisions are never right or wrong .

Decision is  the best course of action  ( or inaction )taken at a time in a given situation. Advantage to you is situation always changes  in the  Bridge ! So develop some skill to argue your point even if you are wrong ! There is  great enjoyment and advantage  in learning with the partner after some misunderstandings and minor fights which is  the real fun . No need at this stage to go through details and burden  yourself if you have not yet started using these conventions . For experienced players,  understanding more  details of responses  with their partners  will be better than reading this  article written by an  average bridge player !      

 Soon you will learn how to use chop sticks so better enter the swimming pool and learn to swim !

I have nothing to add now except   some examples in the table.  The information given in the  table  could be of use not only to those who are understanding Stayman and Jacoby for the first time but also   to some experienced players who  may be living in  fool’s paradise thinking they are using Stayman and Jacoby Transfer bids effectively.  Examples are limited because there can be no end to variations .

Examples  when opening bid is 1 no-trump

Description of the responder’s hand	Responses	Opener’s Further Respomses
HCPs  are in the range of 3 to 5  and both major suits(less than 5 counts  and both  heart and spade are at least 4 carded  suits ) Example 1                  Example 2 S    Q 10 7 6 2           S   K Q 8 7  H    10 7  4 3 2          H   J 10 7 6 5 D    J 10                     D   9 C    2                          C   7 6 4 In example 1 response will be 2H and in example 2 response will be 2D	Bid for transferring to longest and strongest major suit. Bid 2Heart if spade is the longest suit and bid 2Diamonds if Heart is the longest suit. If both are 5 carded suits bid for a better major suit. When opener completes the transfer then pass in the next round as the strength is poor	Completes the transfer Opener bids 2 Spades if responder has bidded 2 Hearts   and bids 2Hearts if responder has bidded 2 D.
HCPs are in the range of 7 to 9 and one 5 carded major and another 4 carded major suit Example  3                        Example 4 S   A J 9 7                           S   J  10 7 4 H  Q 10 9 5 3                     H   J 9 7 2  D  J  4  3                           D   A 3  C  9                                   C  K 7 5	Bid  Stayman…..  Bid 2C Stayman bid asks opener to select the best major suit. In example3 opener responds 2H  responder can bid 4 Hearts in the next turn . Responder cannot pass 2D answer of opener  to Stayman bid	If opener has no 4 carded major he bids 2D else he bids his best  major suit . In further round  If opener has control in both the minor suits and has 17  HCPs he can go for 3NT as responder has promised minimum  7 HCPs support and ready to play any major suit.
HCP 8 or 9  two major suits Example 5                                 Example 6 S  A Q  8 7                                  S  A 9 5 3 2 H Q J 9 8 7                                 H K Q 10 8 7 D  4 2                                          D  10 7 C    5 3                                        C   4	In example 5  Bid Stayman 2C  If opener bids 2H or 2S agree to that suit by raising 1 level and let P know you have either 8 or 9 HCPs . For 2D denial of  Major suit bid 2  NT telling you don’t have singleton and just 8 or 9 HCPs .if opener has bare 15 HCPs he will pass In example 6 bid 2D  Jacoby transfer and when opener completes the transfer  bid 2 S telling both major suits are  5 carded .	For stayman response bid best major suit. If no major suit is available bid 2D. For Jacoby transfer response simply complete the transfer. Depending on the further response decide whether to play in suit or no trump and at what level In example 5 with 16 or 17 HCPs 3NT bid is the best bid . In example 6 since opener cannot have 2 doubletons  8 crd suit match gets revealed so play in that suit at 3 or 4 level
Example 7                             Example 8 S  K Q 8 7                       S  K 10 9 5  H  J 7 8 4                      H  8 4 3 2 D  A 7                             D  A 9 7 C  10 7 8                        C   A 7	In exam[;e 7 Bid Stayman 2C  If opener bids 2S then go for 4 Spades.If opener bids 2H bid 2S telling your Hearts are weak . In example 8 bid 2C  if response is 2Spade then bid 4Spade If response is 2Hearts  bid 3NT	Select best major suit for 2C response. For further To 2S response from responder  decide whether to play  game in suit or in no trump

AUTHOR        R J PHANSALKAR   284 HB ESTATE , NAGPUR  440022