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Do you double Stayman and transfers?


Walddk

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If you double an artificial bid you always give the opponents more room to manoeuvre. Pass and redouble are now options. I see way too many doubles of Stayman and transfers, and the other side should take advantage.

 

Double of Stayman:

 

Pass: At least 1 club stopper *)

 

Redouble: To play!

 

2: 5-card suit, no club stopper.

 

2/: 4 cards in that suit, no club stopper.

 

*) Redouble by responder will now make the NT-system proceed.

 

And thank you for doubling. We now know if NT is the right spot or not.

 

Double of transfers:

 

Pass: No fit for responder's major (doubleton) *)

 

Redouble: To play!

 

2/: 3+ cards in responder's major.

 

*) Redouble by responder will now ask opener to bid the major responder has.

 

And again, thank you for giving us the chance to discover, at the 2-level already, if we have a fit or not. That may help our side in a competitive auction, and it will also make it easier for responder to judge the subsequent auction.

 

Roland

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Nice system, but I don't agree you should never double stayman or NT.

Assuming stayman is doubled:

This system tells you whether or not NT is safe, given that you are expecting a club lead. However, without the x, you would probably not be getting a club lead so the x may have taken you out of a making 3NT (in practice after poor lead) and into either a bad 4M/5m game or only a part-score.

So in my opinion 'don't double stayman or xfers' is too strong a statement. I agree that they should not be doubled just for the fun of it.

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Nice system, but I don't agree you should never double stayman or xfers (MY correction, rw).

Please read my post again. I did not say that you should never double Stayman and transfers. I said that I see way too many doubles.

 

Roland

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Depends on the strength of the NT opening. Against 1NT 12-14 a X of Stayman shows a good hand, not Cs.

 

Also Xs of transfers should show hands willing to compete in the suit, not some sort of crappy hand. eg I would X a 2H transfer every day on

Ax

KQTxxx

Kxx

xx

or similar, especially against a good pair or you can be robbed blind.

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You can make even better use of the intervening double. After a transfer, give up on the business redouble and instead play that it shows 3-card support and a hand that would accept an invitation. That way, after say 1NT - 2D - * - 2H, responder with invitational values can comfortably pass while after 1NT - 2D - * - **, responder can jump to game (retransfering if he wishes). In either case, the opponents are in the dark as to responder's strength.

 

A similar scheme can as be employed over a double of Stayman.

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I personally haven't noticed an increase in the amount of doubling of stayman and transfers. What I am getting pretty sick of is unalerted extremely light openings and

overcalls. Hardly a day goes by without someone making a 2-level overcall against me in second seat with like 6 or 7 points. Miraculously, their partner always has support and never overbids...hmmmm. Makes you wonder. I always think..."ok..this guy has

to have that card to have his overcall but let's play this way. DOH! Wrong again.."

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what do you bid with 3343 or 3334 or (32)44 with no club stopper if they X stayman?

Sorry, I should have written:

 

2: Any hand without a club stopper and no 4-card major.

 

The bottom line is that you pass if you have a club stopper and bid if you do not.

 

Roland

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After a transfer is doubled I like to use the extra calls for something similar but different to Fasteddy...

 

1NT (P) 2 X

 

Pass no heart fit

 

Redouble and 2 both show a heart fit one shows a hand that is happy if partner competes to the 3-level if there is subsequent competition and the other shows a more defensive hand.

 

You can do it either way.

 

I think this solves a more useful problem since given the (lead-directing) double it is quite likely that you will have further competition.

 

Wayne

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Certainly I prefer redouble to show a good fit for the suit I transfer to, rather than being to play, since I've only once been able to a) redouble and :) have partner pass it. And even then it wasn't cold.
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