[Mbodell]

Basically standard 2/1 system, no puppet stayman, IMPs.

Consider the sequence (opponents silent):
2♣-2♦ ; strong artificial: non-bust game force
2nt-3♥; 22+ balanced: transfer
3♠-4♥; complete transfer: ???
Also, consider:
2nt-3♥; 20-21 balanced: transfer
3♠-4♥; complete transfer: ???

Also consider:
2♣-2♦ ; strong artificial: non-bust game force
2nt-3♦; 22+ balanced: transfer
3♥-3♠; complete transfer: ???
and:
2nt-3♦; 20-21 balanced: transfer
3♥-3♠; complete transfer: ???

One school of thought says that these sequences all show 55 in the majors with one being game forcing and one being stronger. Otherwise it can be hard to show both 55 and 64 major hands over 2nt and 2♣-2♦-2nt sequences. Another school of thought says that these bids invite slam with 5 in the major (the bottom one allowing room to cue bid) and both allowing partnership to stop in 4M with a fit but slam reject (versus transfer and then 4nt to show the invite with 5M).

Which is standard? Which is best? Also how do you show 64 major hands? Does it change things if you do play puppet stayman, versus not playing puppet?

[FrancesHinden]

As in many things "standard" depends on where you live.

Standard in the UK for the second auction is not even mentioned in your poll: transferring to hearts and bidding spades shows 5 hearts and 4 spades, game forcing. This is (at least partly) because Smolen is unknown here. Transferring to spades and bidding hearts doesn't have a standard meaning, if someone here did it without discussion I'd assume 5-5 non-forcing.

What you ought to play depends on the rest of your 2NT system. You can't take two sequences in isolation, you have to consider all the hand types you want to show, and all the sequences available, and then fit one onto the other (as best you can). So in our 2NT system, which uses a form of muppet Stayman, all major 2-suiters start with 3C and these sequences are available for other things. We can fit all the major 2-suiters in the 3C bid, because we have 3C-3D-4m and 3C-3H (no major) - 3S available as artificial, because we have a different way of showing minor suit slam tries. And so on...

As for what I play, well I play game forcing transfers so accepting the transfer shows a fit. In that event 2NT-3H-3S-4H shows a 5332 mild (or better) slam try, and 2NT-3D-3H-3S is a relay forcing opener to bid 3NT after which responder shows a 5-card minor and a slam try.

[jallerton]

Playing 4-card Stayman, you have 3 sequences obvious available when you hold 5-5 in the majors:

2NT-3♥-3♠-4♥
2NT-3♣-3♦-4♥
2NT-3♣-3♦-3♠-3NT-4♥

One of these sequences should be forcing, one should be NF invitational and the other should be no slam interest. Which sequence shows which hand type is entirely a matter of partnership agreement.

[PhilKing]

 jallerton, on 2013-April-21, 16:23, said:

Playing 4-card Stayman, you have 3 sequences obvious available when you hold 5-5 in the majors:

2NT-3♥-3♠-4♥
2NT-3♣-3♦-4♥
2NT-3♣-3♦-3♠-3NT-4♥

One of these sequences should be forcing, one should be NF invitational and the other should be no slam interest. Which sequence shows which hand type is entirely a matter of partnership agreement.

But why why do you let your various partners make you play all six variants? (And potentially 24 if you play puppet )

[Zelandakh]

In my preferred (Puppet) structure:
2NT - 3♥; 3♠ - 4♥ is a strong one-suited slam try in spades
and
2NT - 3♦; 3♥ - 3♠ is cog; or clubs; or strong one-suited slam try in hearts

I wrote about showing 6-4 hands in this structure in a very recent thread.

In the areas of the UK where I played it was common to play 2NT - 4♣ as both majors, Texas style. If you have this club available then you might decide to use
2NT - 3♦; 3♥ - 3♠ as 5-5 majors with strong slam interest
and
2NT - 3♥; 3♠ - 4♥ as 5-5 majors with mild slam interest. Or take my trick and use the latter for a spade one-suiter. I doubt it matters too much how you shuffle the hands around, just that each sequence has a reasonable meaning that is logical for the overall structure.

[fromageGB]

I replied to the poll without looking at the OP, so assumed standard puppet stayman which rules out smolen. Hence I took the normal agreement of transfer to hearts then spades to be 45xx GF. With smolen, it might be 5 hearts general slam invitation. However, I don't think this is "standard" as played by "the typical pick-up partner", and don't think there is a standard.

I play 2NT 4♦ as 55xx, either just game or slam-going, but if that is not standard then there is a good argument that transfer to hearts then 3♠ is 55xx either GF game or slam-going, while transfer to either major then 4 of the other is a single 5 major slam invitation. Is that standard?
Edit - no, that doesn't make sense. What is standard?

This post has been edited by fromageGB: 2013-April-22, 05:12