When to Use Stayman: A Clear Guide to the Convention That Changes Everything

Updated March 2026, reviewed for accuracy with current ACBL standards and modern bidding trends.

If you’ve been playing bridge for more than a few weeks, you’ve heard of Stayman. It’s one of the first conventions most players learn after the basics, and for good reason. Used correctly, Stayman can find major suit fits that would otherwise stay hidden, dramatically improving your results.

The problem is that “when to use Stayman” isn’t always clear. Players know the mechanics (bid 2♣ after partner’s 1NT, partner shows a four-card major or bids 2♦ to deny) but struggle to decide when the convention actually helps and when it’s the wrong tool.

This guide gives you the full picture.

What Stayman Actually Is

Before the “when,” let’s nail down the “what.”

When your partner opens 1NT (typically showing 15-17 HCP in standard American bidding), and you respond 2♣, you’re asking one specific question: Do you have a four-card major?

Partner answers:

2♦ = No four-card major
2♥ = Four (or five) hearts
2♠ = Four (or five) spades

That’s it. The 2♣ bid says nothing about clubs. It’s completely artificial — which is why it requires an alert.

After partner’s response, you can:

Pass (if you have a long club suit and a weak hand, rare)
Bid your major suit if you have one (to find a fit)
Bid 2NT or 3NT to invite or commit to notrump
Make other descriptive bids

For a full overview of Stayman and related conventions, see the Bridge Conventions Guide.

See our complete list of bridge conventions for more on this and other popular conventions.

When to Use Stayman

1. You Have a Four-Card Major (or Both)

The core use case. You hold a hand like:

♠ K J 8 4
♥ Q 7 2
♦ A 5 3
♣ 8 6 4

Partner opens 1NT. You have 8 HCP — enough to invite game (or commit to game with an upgrade). More importantly, you have four spades. If partner also has four spades, playing in 4♠ beats playing in 3NT. The major suit fit allows you to ruff losers, which notrump can’t do.

Bid 2♣. If partner bids 2♠, you’ve found your fit. If partner bids 2♦ or 2♥, you know there’s no spade fit and can bid 2NT (invitational) or 3NT (to play).

Key point: You don’t need both majors to use Stayman. One four-card major is enough.

2. You Have Enough Points to Invite or Force to Game

Stayman works across a range of hand strengths, but you generally need 8+ HCP to use it. Here’s why:

If you have 7 HCP or less (a “weak” hand), you usually just want to pass 1NT or make a weak transfer. Using Stayman with a weak hand puts you in a tricky spot after partner’s response, you might be forced higher than you want to go.

The standard breakdown:

8-9 HCP → Use Stayman to invite game (bid 2NT or 3 of the agreed major after finding a fit)
10-14 HCP → Use Stayman to force to game (bid 3NT or 4 of the major)
15+ HCP → Use Stayman to investigate slam after finding a fit

3. You Have a Game-Forcing Hand With Both Majors

♠ A J 7 4
♥ K Q 8 3
♦ 6 2
♣ A 5 3

This is 13 HCP facing partner’s 15-17. Game is certain. Slam is possible. You have both majors.

Bid 2♣. If partner bids 2♥, raise to 4♥. If partner bids 2♠, raise to 4♠. If partner bids 2♦ (no major), bid 3NT. Clean, efficient, and you’ve found the best contract in every scenario.

When NOT to Use Stayman

1. You Have a Weak Hand With No Four-Card Major

If you hold:

♠ 8 5 3
♥ 7 6 2
♦ J 9 8 4 3
♣ 6 2

You have 2 HCP and five diamonds. Bidding 2♣ Stayman here makes no sense. You don’t have a major to bid. After partner responds, you’re stuck. The right call is a weak 2♦ transfer (if you play Jacoby transfers) or just passing 1NT.

Rule: Don’t use Stayman unless you have a four-card major and a plan for every response partner might make.

2. You Have Only a Five-Card Major (No Four-Card Major Alongside)

If you have ♠KJ873 and nothing else interesting, Stayman isn’t your tool — a Jacoby transfer is. Transfer to spades (bid 2♥, partner bids 2♠), then decide how high to go based on your hand strength.

Stayman asks about four-card majors. If you have five spades and three hearts, there’s nothing to find with Stayman that a transfer doesn’t handle better.

3. Your Hand Is 4-3-3-3 With a Weak Major Suit

Sometimes you have four cards in a major but they’re weak: ♠ 7 5 4 2 with a 4-3-3-3 distribution. In that case, even if partner has four spades, a 4-4 spade fit might not play better than 3NT — especially if your major suit is ragged.

This is a judgment call. With a weak four-card major and a balanced hand, many experienced players skip Stayman and go directly to 2NT (invitational) or 3NT (to play).

The Garbage Stayman Exception

There’s one interesting use of Stayman with a weak hand: Garbage Stayman (also called “crawling Stayman”).

Your hand: ♠ J 8 7 3 ♥ Q 9 6 4 ♦ 7 5 3 ♣ 8 2

Only 4 HCP. You don’t want to be in 1NT, especially not if the opponents can run a suit. But you have four cards in each major.

Bid 2♣. Whatever partner bids — 2♦, 2♥, or 2♠ — you pass. If partner bids 2♦ (no major), you then bid 2♥, and partner passes (treating it as a sign-off in a suit).

This requires partnership agreement. Make sure your partner knows this is in your system before you try it.

Stayman in Practice: Walk-Through Examples

Example 1

Partner opens 1NT. You hold:
♠ K Q 7 4 ♥ 8 5 2 ♦ A J 3 ♣ 9 7 4 (10 HCP)

Bid 2♣. If partner bids 2♠: raise to 4♠ (game found).
If partner bids 2♦ or 2♥: bid 3NT.

Example 2

Partner opens 1NT. You hold:
♠ A 4 3 ♥ K J 8 5 ♦ Q 7 2 ♣ 9 8 4 (9 HCP)

Bid 2♣. If partner bids 2♥: bid 3♥ (invitational — partner can pass with minimum or bid 4♥ with maximum).
If partner bids 2♦ or 2♠: bid 2NT (invitational to 3NT).

Example 3

Partner opens 1NT. You hold:
♠ J 7 5 3 ♥ K Q 8 4 ♦ 6 5 ♣ 9 8 3 (6 HCP)

Skip Stayman. This hand is too weak. Pass 1NT or transfer to your longer major if you have a five-card suit.

Building Stayman Into Your Bidding System

Stayman doesn’t stand alone. It works alongside Jacoby transfers to give you full coverage of responses to 1NT. Together, they let you:

Find 4-4 major fits (Stayman)
Show five-card majors (Jacoby transfers)
Make weak sign-offs in a suit (transfers)
Invite or force to game in all scenarios

For a deeper look at how conventions fit together, see the Essential Bridge Conventions guide.

Practice Makes the Pattern Stick

The decision tree for Stayman becomes automatic with repetition. Do I have a four-card major? Do I have enough points? Do I have a plan for every possible response? If yes to all three, bid 2♣.

Want to practice these concepts with an AI coach? Try Brian at app.bridgetastic.com. You can work through 1NT auctions with Stayman and transfers until the patterns feel second nature, no live opponents needed.

Stayman is one of those conventions that, once you really understand it, you wonder how you ever played without it. The Bridge Bidding Improvement Guide has more on building a complete bidding system from the ground up.

Master Stayman and you’ve unlocked a major upgrade to your partnership’s auction toolkit.

Ready to practice these concepts? Try our Bidding Practice tool to test your skills against realistic hands.