July 2023 - 38

RULING THE Game
Q
Q
My partner and I play that a 3c response to 1NT
is puppet Stayman, asking opener for four- or fivecard
majors. Partner says that the rules changed,
and you don't have to Alert puppet Stayman anymore. Our
club director told us we do. Who is correct?
Partner has taught me to play four-way transfers,
which I have come to enjoy. The one part I keep
forgetting is that a 2NT response to 1NT is now
a transfer to diamonds. This means that when I have a
balanced 8-9 HCP and want to invite partner to bid 3NT,
I bid Stayman, asking if partner has a four-card major
even though I don't have one myself. Then I rebid 2NT
over partner's answer. Our opponents called the director
recently when the auction went (with just our side bidding),
1NT-2c; 2s-2NT; 3NT-Pass. They led, and I put
down my dummy of:
sQ 7 5 hJ 8 dA J 9 7 c8 7 4 3.
They said that we had to tell them I did not have a fourcard
major. I did not think I needed to tell them what my
hand was. Are they right?
Q
A
There is a pair in my club who play no conventions
at all. Not even Stayman. I've told them they have
to Alert this treatment, and they object. Our club's
regulars are all familiar with this pair's system, but visitors
are not. Can I make them Alert a natural, non-forcing
2c response to 1NT? Should I?
Before the ACBL Alert Procedure overhaul, which
gave us a new procedure effective at the beginning
of 2021, the committee previously made a small
change to the procedure which made the lowest club
response to a notrump opening bid or overcall (or equivalent
sequence) no longer Alertable, provided it asks about
major-suit holdings. This led some players to understand
that the rule became, " Don't Alert puppet Stayman. " Note
that the new rule says that we don't Alert when it's the
cheapest level of clubs above notrump. In your system, 3c
over 1NT is a jump bid, not the cheapest, so it is Alerted.
What about when Stayman does not guarantee a fourcard
major? Our procedure says this treatment is also
Alertable. The catch is - when? If you Alert every time
Stayman comes up, it will confuse the opponents. To find
this provision in the Alert Procedure, look in the part
MODERATOR: MATT KOLTNOW
NATIONAL TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR
rulings@acbl.org
about " Artificial Bids. " The default rule for this section
is to Alert all artificial bids except for those in the list.
In that list are provisions to make a 2c response to 1NT
or a 3c response to 2NT, in each case whether overcall,
opening bid, or opening notrump sequence, not Alertable
when it asks about the notrump bidder's major-suit
holdings. It then goes on to say that you must Alert any
follow-up bid that reveals that the 2c or 3c bidder may
not (or did not) hold a major suit for the bid. That means
we Alert a natural bid that reveals that the earlier Stayman
bid might not contain its own four-card major suit.
Some of the treatments this applies to include puppet
Stayman, where responder might have just a three-card
major and is checking for a five-card major in opener's
hand. It also includes any time 2c is used as the way to
bid an invitational 2NT - generally used because 2NT has
been assigned some artificial meaning. In your example,
Alert 2NT because the 2c bidder may or may not have
four hearts for this sequence. In the specific case of a
3NT rebid after 3c puppet Stayman, the 3NT rebid by
opener would be a " Delayed Alert " when playing face-toface
(immediate Alert online, where there are no Delayed
Alerts); it's at or after opener's rebid and is a bid of 3NT (or
higher). Tell the opponents at the end of the auction before
they lead that 3c might not contain a four-card major.
As to that pair who play 2c is natural and non-forcing,
the committee considered making this Alertable but concluded
that this treatment is very rare, so adding a rule for
it seemed unnecessary. Your club is permitted to use any
Alert procedure it wants to use, including making this bid
Alertable. We suggest not. Players in your club will find
out about this pair's system soon enough, and they are
unlikely to forget the auction the next time they encounter
it. As with the Announcement of " 15-17 " (Yes! Still
the rule!), we tournament directors suggest that players
will be better served by having to follow the same rules at
tournaments and at their club.
In sum: 3c over 1NT as puppet Stayman is Alertable.
Opener's answers to any puppet Stayman that show fivecard
majors are Alertable. Opener's 2d/3d answer that
shows rather than denies a four-card major are Alertable.
Rebids by opener or responder that reveal that the
2c/3c ask did not contain a four-card major, Alert. A 2c
natural response to 1NT, no Alert. A 2c/3c response to
1NT/2NT asking about majors, no Alert no matter what
form of Stayman. t
38 | Bridge Bulletin | July 2023
July 2023

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