[UdcaDenny]

Playing 2 over 1 I open 1NT with 16p and a 5card ♠suit. My P transfer to ♥ and then bid 2♠. As there is a good fit I jump to 4♠ which he passed and we missed slam. He said 3♠ would have been a stronger bid but I thought that would be inviting game as he could have only 8points. What is the standard bidding in this case as we hadnt agreed how to bid.

[lowerline]

UdcaDenny, on 2015-February-26, 23:19, said:

Playing 2 over 1 I open 1NT with 16p and a 5card ♠suit. My P transfer to ♥ and then bid 2♠. As there is a good fit I jump to 4♠ which he passed and we missed slam. He said 3♠ would have been a stronger bid but I thought that would be inviting game as he could have only 8points. What is the standard bidding in this case as we hadnt agreed how to bid.

2♠ is an invite. With a stronger hand your partner should have started with Stayman.

S.

[UdcaDenny]

lowerline, on 2015-February-27, 03:56, said:

2♠ is an invite. With a stronger hand your partner should have started with Stayman.

S.

Forgot to say we use puppetstayman if that make any difference

[lowerline]

UdcaDenny, on 2015-February-27, 04:40, said:

Forgot to say we use puppetstayman if that make any difference

If you mean 3♣ as Puppet Stayman together with 2♣ as Stayman, it doesn't make a difference. If you mean 2♣ as Puppet Stayman instead of Stayman, it does make a difference. In the latter case standard bidding will not help you and you need advice from fellow "2♣ Puppet Stayman" bidders on how to bid with 5-4 in the majors. Frankly, I don't know how they do it. That is one of the reasons I don't play that convention myself.

S.

[Trinidad]

lowerline, on 2015-February-27, 03:56, said:

2♠ is an invite. With a stronger hand your partner should have started with Stayman.

S.

That is a common agreement, but it isn't universal. Many play 1NT-2♦; 2♥-2♠ as invitational (45) and non-forcing, some play it as forcing to game with 55, others play it as invitational (45) or better, forcing for one round.

I think it is a generally a good idea in these forums to assume that partner didn't misbid. (Otherwise it is easy to pinpoint the mistake.) In a similar way, it is good to assume that there was no disagreement about basic agreements (another trivial way to lose at bridge).

So, let's assume that 2♠ was

A ) forcing for one round, invitational or better
Opener needs to show that he accepts the invitation and that he has an excellent hand. A cuebid of 4m does the trick. This presumably cannot be a cue in support of hearts. If opener would have had an excellent hand for hearts, he would have super accepted the transfer to hearts. Alternatively, one could assign meanings to 3♣/♦ as "too good to simply bid 4♥/♠".

B ) Game forcing
Simply bid 3♠. It is stronger than 4♠.

Rik

[P_Marlowe]

3H / 3S are certainly NF, unless the seq. used by your p was already gf,
those bids simply show the fit.
One could use 3C / 3D as strong raises for responders major.

With kind regards
Marlowe