Stayman is a convention used after partner opens the auction with a no trump (1NT). Its purpose is to place a 4-4 fit in hearts or spades. A two-club response is Stayman, asking “Partner, do you have four hearts or four spades?” To use Stayman, responder must have at least a four-card major suit (hearts and/or spades) and 7 high card points or more (the equivalent of an ace and a king).
Stayman’s purpose is to use hearts or spades as trumps, if the hands play better than in a no-trump contract.
If your partner doesn’t have four hearts or four spades, you must rebid two diamonds. With a four card heart suit, he should rebid two hearts. And with four spades, he should rebid two spades. Note that with 4-4 in both major suits, partner must bid two hearts. After hearing his partner’s bid, the responder can bid naturally.
Stayman can also be used after an initial bid of two wins with no trumps (2NT). A three suit response is then Stayman.
The Stayman convention was popularized by Sam Stayman, a wealthy businessman and bridge expert in the mid-20th century.
Blackwood is a convention for bidding on slam contracts. It is used when a trump suit has been agreed upon and a player thinks a small slam or a grand slam is possible. A bid of four no trumps (4NT) asks partner how many aces he has.
Partner must bid five clubs with 0 or 4 aces; five diamonds with 1 ace; five hearts with 2 aces; and five spades with 3 aces. A five trump follow-up bid asks partner how many kings he has. Partner must bid six clubs with 0 or 4 kings; six diamonds with 1 king; six hearts with 2 kings; and six spades with 3 kings. The five-trump bid should only be used if there is a possibility of a grand slam.
After listening to the partners’ responses, the subsequent offers from the Blackwood bidder are natural.
There are certain times when 4NT is No black wood The most common example is when partner opens the auction with one, two or three trumps. In those cases, then a 4NT response invites opener to bid slam slam (6NT) with full force.
Blackwood has a reputation for being an abused convention; It should only be used when there are no other good bids available to seek slam.
Blackwood is named after Easley Blackwood, a bridge expert and contemporary of Sam Stayman.
