A useful way to play 4-way transfers without having to bid Stayman when you don’t want
to hear partner’s majors.
♠️A2 ❤️82 ♦️K9743 ♣️J976
A good old fashioned 1N-2N asking partner to bid game with a maximum would be
perfect for this hand. Playing basic 4-way transfer we would bid: 1N-2C-2x-2N (alerted).
Expert standard in this case: 1NT-2♠️ = 6+ clubs or Range Ask. Opener's replies:
2NT Minimum (15-16)
3♣️ = Maximum (16-17)
♠️KQ4 ❤️KT43 ♦️AK93 ♣️76
1NT-2♠️-2NT opener's minimum
♠️AJ92 ❤️AKQ2 ♦️QJ2 ♣️93
1NT-2♠️-3♣️ opener's maximum
♠️A2 ❤️82 ♦️K9743 ♣️J976
1NT-2♠️-2NT-Pass opener's minimum
♠️A2 ❤️82 ♦️K9743 ♣️J976
1NT-2♠️-3♣️-3NT opener's maximum
♠️642 ❤️2 ♦️432 ♣️QT9763
1NT-2♠️-2NT-3♣️ sign-off with clubs
♠️K2 ❤️2 ♦️Q432 ♣️AJ9763
1NT-2♠️-3♣️-3❤️ Transferring to a minor and
bidding a new suit at the 3 level shows a singleton or void.
Whenever we have a 4-card major and a longer minor, we start with Stayman. So transferring to a
minor and bidding a major doesn’t need to be natural.
1NT-2NT Diamond transfer. Opener's replies:
2♣️ I don't like diamonds
2♦️ I like diamonds. Maximum OR a good fit.
♠️AKJ2 ❤️Q82 ♦️K93 ♣️K43
1NT-2NT-3♦️ I like diamonds
♠️AQJ2 ❤️Q82 ♦️K94 ♣️K43
1NT-2NT-3♦️-3❤️-3♠️ Partner showed heart shortness. The 1NT Opener should avoid
bidding 3NT and proceed with the most natural bid they can.
Here we should show partner how strong our spades are. If partner has a hand with 3 spades to go
with their singleton heart 4♠️ could easily be the best game.
♠️Q2 ❤️82 ♦️K43 ♣️AJ9763
1NT-3NT Wrong hand to transfer. We only transfer to clubs when we are planning to
pass 3♣️ or if we want to tell partner about shortness.