Low Information Puppet Stayman

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You don't want to help your opponents find the right defense against your contracts.  Sometimes a Stayman auction helps the defenders find the right lead and the right defense.  Take a look at the auction below.

 
West holding ♠872 ♥QJT3 ♦QJT3 ♣K5 is on lead against 3NT.  The Stayman auction tells West that South has 4 hearts and less than 4 spades.  North has 4 spades and less than 4 hearts.  Because the auction disclosed South has 4 hearts, West chooses to lead the ♦Queen, top of an honor sequence.  

A typical hand for North might be ♠A943 ♥K4 ♦942 ♣A872,  North has game forcing values and wants to play in 4♠ or 3NT.  North wants to learn whether South has 4 spades.  If so, North places the contract at 4♠.  Otherwise, North will place the contract at 3NT.  North doesn't care whether or not South has 4 hearts.  So there is no reason to have South show or deny holding a 4-card heart suit.  That information can help East-West with their lead and their defense, but has no value to North.

Wouldn't it be better if North had a way to ask South if they held 4 spades without revealing anything about South's heart holding?

Low Information Puppet Stayman is a convention designed to allow a responder with game forcing values and exactly one 4-card major to learn whether opener has 4-card for their major without opener revealing their holding in the other major.  

Let's look at the above auction playing Low Information Puppet Stayman.

1.  North's 3♣ bid was Low Information Puppet Stayman, showing a game forcing hand with at most one 4-card major
2. South's 3♦ bid was artificial, denying holding a 5-card major.  It doesn't  show or deny a 4-card major
3. North's 3♥ bid is artificial, showing 4 spades and denying 4 hearts

On this auction, West, holding ♠872 ♥QJT3 ♦QJT3 ♣K5, doesn't know whether South has 4 hearts or not.  So West must guess whether to lead from their heart honor sequence or their diamond honor sequence.

Contrast the Low Information Puppet Stayman auction with a traditional Puppet Stayman auction.

1.  North's 3♣ bid was traditional Puppet Stayman, showing a game forcing hand.  Could have 0, 1, or 2 four-card majors
2. South's 3♦ bid was artificial, showing at least one 4-card major
3. North's 3♥ bid is artificial, showing 4 spades and denying 4 hearts

On this auction, West has the same information as on the regular Stayman auction.  West knows South has 4 hearts and less than 4 spades.  West knows North has 4 spades and less than 4 hearts.  So West, holding ♠872 ♥QJT3 ♦QJT3 ♣K5, prefers to lead the ♦Queen, top of an honor sequence, avoiding South's 4-card heart suit.

How Low Information Puppet Stayman Works

When your partner opens 1NT and you have a game forcing hand with exactly one 4-card major, you would like to learn whether your partner has a fit for your major without disclosing information about your partner's holding in the other major.  Using Stayman will often disclose the 1NT opener's holding in the other major which helps the defense with their lead and the play.  

We recommend playing Low Information Puppet Stayman to make it more difficult for your opponents to find the right lead and the right defense.  Playing Low Information Puppet Stayman, responder's jump to 3♣ over an opening 1NT bid is a game forcing version of Stayman used with at most one 4-card major.  Responder's 3♣ bid is artificial, and asks whether opener has a 5-card major.  

1.  North's 3♣ bid was Low Information Puppet Stayman, showing a game forcing hand with at most one 4-card major

Opener's rebid shows or denies a 5-card major.

 
If opener shows a 5-card major, bidding proceeds naturally.  If responder has 3-card support for opener's 5-card major, they know they have an 8-card fit and can play in opener's major.  

If opener rebids 3♦, denying a 5-card major.  Responder can look for a fit in their 4-card major by bidding 3 of the other major.

1.  North's 3♣ bid was Low Information Puppet Stayman, showing a game forcing hand with at most one 4-card major
2. South's 3♦ bid was artificial, denying holding a 5-card major.  It doesn't  show or deny a 4-card major

Responder rebids 3♥ to show 4 spades and deny holding 4 hearts.  A 3♠ rebid shows 4 hearts and denies 4 spades.

 
Bidding proceeds naturally after responder shows their 4-card major.  When opener has 4-card support for responder's major, opener should show it at the cheapest level.  On the auction below, South's 3♠ bid shows 4-card spade support.  It says nothing about whether they are a maximum or a minimum.  South shouldn't jump to 4♠ to show a minimum opener with 4-card spade support.  

1.  North's 3♣ bid was traditional Puppet Stayman, showing a game forcing hand.  Could have 0, 1, or 2 four-card majors
2. South's 3♦ bid was artificial, showing at least one 4-card major
3. North's 3♥ bid is artificial, showing 4 spades and denying 4 hearts

North's hand is unlimited.  South's 1NT opening bid, limited their hand, and made North the Captain of the Auction.  North as Captain can use Fast Arrival.  South cannot.  Bidding 3♠ allows North to use the 4-level to look for slam if they have a strong hand.  If North doesn't have slam interest.  North will place the contract at 4♠.  

Responder Shouldn't Use Low Information Puppet Stayman When

• responder doesn't have game forcing values
• responder has 4+ spades and 4+ hearts (use regular Stayman)
• responder doesn't have at least one 3+ card major