Five-card Major Common?

Would you open 1NT with this hand? If so, check the box indicating that the partnership frequently opens 1NT when holding a five-card major suit.

Stayman Partner?

What would you respond with this hand if partner opens 1NT?

If the answer is 2 , the Stayman convention asking if opener has a four-card major suit, then check the appropriate box.

This is the first real “convention” encountered in this section. Notice that it’s in black. You don’t have to make any special announcement to the opponents if partner responds 2 to your opening 1NT bid. Almost everyone plays Stayman . . . or some variation of it (that’s what some of the red items are for). It’s likely the first convention you learned.

What If We Want to Use Transfer Bids?

If partner opens 1NT, what would you respond with this hand?

If you would bid 2 as a signoff bid, telling partner you want to play partscore in hearts, you don’t need to mark anything on the card. That’s a natural response, not a convention.

If you’d pass with this hand, you don’t have to check any boxes but you might want to review your bidding notes! Partner will have a tough time making 1NT opposite this hand.

If you would respond 2 , asking opener to bid 2 , you are using Jacoby transfer bids. Since the 2 response is artificial, saying nothing about diamonds, you have to indicate this on the card by checking the appropriate boxes for a 2 or a 2 response (as a transfer to spades).

Jacoby transfer bids are popular among club and tournament players. That’s why this section is in blue (grey) and not red. They are announceable but not alertable. If you are playing Jacoby transfer bids and partner responds 2 to your opening bid of 1NT, you would verbally announce “transfer.” The auction would then continue unless the player on your right wanted a further explanation. It’s quite possible that your opponents have never heard of transfer bids.

What If the Opponents Interfere Over 1NT?

Suppose you agree to play transfer bids and partner opens 1NT but the player on your right overcalls 2 , what would you respond with this hand?

You can no longer bid 2 to transfer to hearts but you still want to compete for partscore. The standard approach is to respond 2 as a natural bid. In other words, Jacoby transfer bids are “off” when an opponent overcalls and you revert to natural responses. Since this is standard, you don’t have to indicate anything on the convention card.

If you have some other agreement — such as doubling to show hearts — you can mark it on the card but will then have to alert the opponents when it comes up.

What if the player on your right doubles partner’s 1NT opening instead of overcalling? Some partnerships prefer that all conventional agreements are off after any form of interference. The double, however, hasn’t taken up any bidding room, so many partnerships agree to continue using conventions such as Stayman and transfer bids after the double. If that’s your agreement, you can indicate it on the card:

You could write “Double” or “Dbl” but bridge players like to use shorthand, especially given the limited space available on the card. An “X” indicates double. (It is used the same way when recording a result.)

How Can I Play in a Minor?

What would you do with this hand if partner opens the bidding 1NT?

This is a good hand to discuss with partner when filling in the convention card. You want to sign off in a minor suit. Because a 2 response is Stayman, not a signoff, you need an agreement.

Some partnerships agree to start with 2 , which opener will assume is Stayman. After opener responds, you rebid 3 to say, “I really wanted to play in clubs.” Unfortunately, in other partnerships this sequence is a slam try in clubs. Better get your methods straight!

A popular approach is to use extended Jacoby transfers. A response of 2 asks opener to bid 3 . Responder can then pass with clubs or convert to 3 to play partscore in diamonds. If your partnership uses this approach, you have to indicate it on the convention card.

In bridge shorthand this might be written as “•3C” but you get the idea.

Notice that this area is underlined in red, meaning you have to alert this convention. If partner responds 2 to your 1NT opening, you say “Alert.” That tells the opponents that the 2 response has a non-standard meaning. You don’t say anything else unless an opponent asks for an explanation. In which case you would say, “It asks me to bid 3 which partner can pass or convert to 3 to sign off in diamonds.”

Anything Else?

That’s it unless you have some other specialized responses. A jump to the three level in a suit, whether it is weak, invitational, or forcing, is not conventional provided it actually shows the suit. You probably want to fill in your range for a 2NT opening, likely 20–21, but your done with this part of the convention card.