[49fun]

What is the proper response to my partner's initial two no trump, when I am trying to show my Diamond long suit, without asking for Heart transfer. Also is there stay man ( three clubs) response proper to two no trump, if yes, when and how??

[Stephen Tu]

How to show diamonds depends on partnership agreements. There is no universal standard; predominant methods vary regionally. In the U.S. most methods would involve starting with a 3s response, which is unneeded to show spades if playing transfers. 3s showing one or both minors, slam try, is a fairly common gadget. Partner bids 3nt, then bid a minor, or bid a short major to show both minors.

Stayman definitely applies and is much more common, you would use it holding one or both 4 cd majors and wanting to find a 4-4 major fit. Some prefer stayman variants that also find 5-3 major fits, though I personally don't bother.

[akwoo]

Generally, there are very few ways to show a diamond (or club) suit after partner opens 2N.

The reason is simple: there are almost no hands that prefer a minor suit contract after partner opens 2N. Even if you have an 8 card suit, you will usually do better playing in no trump, especially at matchpoints where 430/630 for 3N making 10 tricks scores better than 420/620 for 5D making 12 tricks.

[Tramticket]

As Stephen says, Methods to show diamonds depends on partnership agreements.

Many in the UK will play 4♣/4♦ responses as natural. But this involves not playing Gerber (no great loss) and not playing Texas transfers (not common in the UK).

A method that is gaining popularity is to play two-up transfers. Under this method 4♣ transfers to hearts, 4♦ transfers to spades, 4♥ transfers to clubs and 4♠ transfers to diamonds. But this does require partnership agreement and trust to use the 4♥/4♠ responses artificially (so maybe I should not be advocating this on the B/I forum).

[apollo1201]

But most importantly for B/I, showing D is only worth if you have slam purposes and could make slam with a good fitting hand opposite. And be ready to play 4NT if opener declines your minor. So 9-10 HCP should be a min.

With less strength, your most likely game will be 3NT and you should just bid it. Yes, sometimes 3NT goes down while 5m makes, but it is not so common, and less frequent than the opposite. Making 11 tricks is usually much harder and requires more HCP than just shoot for 9.

Only with extreme shapes are you bidding 5m. For instance

x
Qx
xxx
QJxxxxx

Where 3NT could be troublesome if partner can’t get to your hand (Hx, AK tight...or singleton A or K😝)

[RD350LC]

akwoo, on 2019-January-20, 18:04, said:

Generally, there are very few ways to show a diamond (or club) suit after partner opens 2N.

The reason is simple: there are almost no hands that prefer a minor suit contract after partner opens 2N. Even if you have an 8 card suit, you will usually do better playing in no trump, especially at matchpoints where 430/630 for 3N making 10 tricks scores better than 420/620 for 5D making 12 tricks.

With this I agree. About the only time you would want to play in a minor after partner opens 2NT would be to play in slam.
If you REALLY want to play in a minor, I would simply bid 5 or 6 of the minor. I cannot remember the last time I did this, though.

[pescetom]

RD350LC, on 2019-January-21, 17:44, said:

With this I agree. About the only time you would want to play in a minor after partner opens 2NT would be to play in slam.
If you REALLY want to play in a minor, I would simply bid 5 or 6 of the minor. I cannot remember the last time I did this, though.

I would start off by defining your Stayman over 2NT in some detail (not just the initial rebids), and practising it until both play it correctly. Copy it from a good modern book or teaching notes, don't make it up. Then do the same thing for major suit transfers over 2NT and some gimmick to show minors. Slam seeking in minors is not a necessary skill for Novice-Beginner, although if logic says 12 tricks will probably make then do call it of course. Don't ask Aces over a minor unless you are sure you can handle all likely replies safely.

[ericba2006]

Stephen Tu, on 2019-January-20, 17:48, said:

How to show diamonds depends on partnership agreements. There is no universal standard; predominant methods vary regionally. In the U.S. most methods would involve starting with a 3s response, which is unneeded to show spades if playing transfers. 3s showing one or both minors, slam try, is a fairly common gadget. Partner bids 3nt, then bid a minor, or bid a short major to show both minors.

Stayman definitely applies and is much more common, you would use it holding one or both 4 cd majors and wanting to find a 4-4 major fit. Some prefer stayman variants that also find 5-3 major fits, though I personally don't bother.

Well mainly I prefer using 3♣ as Puppet Stayman.2NT opener can respond like this:
2NT - 3♣ - ?
3♦ = one 4-card major (3C bidder can bid one major to show the other)
3♥/3♠ = 5 cd suit
3NT = no 4-card major

[ericba2006]

What do you use for a strong hand like this? Would you open A) 2♣(NAT), B) 1♣(PRECISE), or C) other? Respond ASAP.
♠ AKQJxxx
♥ Ax
♦ x
♣ Axx