Parrish the Thought Newsletter
February 2025
Aloha! I’m in Hawaii for the Honolulu regional, playing with Greg and some good friends from Denver. We’ve been having a great time and doing reasonably well at the bridge table. They’re going home on Monday after the tournament, but I’m staying for an extra week. Two of my students who live on the Big Island have been imploring me to come visit for years, so I’m finally taking them up on it. Looking forward to a great trip.
A reminder to those of you in my Monday and Thursday classes that they’re meeting at Noon ET this week so I can do them early in Hawaii, before the tournament starts.
I had a busy January. I saw a couple of operas and Broadway shows and some great classical music concerts. And of course I’ve been doing my Leveling Up project. I’ve bitten off a lot, so part of the process is figuring out what’s realistic and where I need to cut back. So far the reading and VuGraph study have been the most useful, so those are the areas I really want to focus on.
A reminder that I have created a Leveling Up partnership desk for those of you also wanting to Level Up your game this year. No guarantees, but I’ll do my best to match up compatible people.
It's GNT season, so remember to find out when your District is holding their event. For those of you not familiar with the GNT, it’s a really great event. There are four flights—Open, A, B, and C—so you’re competing against your peers. It’s usually run as a Swiss and/or Knockout at the District level, and the District winners get to go to the Nationals in Philadelphia this summer for the finals! I really encourage you to play if you can. In New York, the Open flight is Presidents’ Day weekend, and the other flights are the following weekends.
If you have friends you’ve always been wanting to get to learn bridge, my student (and partner for the Mixed Pairs in Memphis!) Marla Lawson is teaching a free beginner class on Learn Bridge Online, the platform where I teach my classes. Marla is a great teacher, and this is a great opportunity to get some new people learning.
The class is Monday, February 3 and Monday, February 10 at 6:30pm, NY time. You can join live and/or watch via replay.
My Monday "Expert Thought Process" and Thursday "Thinking Through Declarer Play" classes are both at 12:00 Noon ET this week while I’m in Hawaii. You can get information about both classes here: https://learnbridgeonline.com/adam-parrish/
Upcoming topics in my Monday class are (schedule always subject to change if things take extra time):
February 3 Defense February 10 Lebensohl Review February 17 Lebensohl Review Part 2 February 24 Declarer Play
I’ve gotten a lot of comments and questions this month, as people think about and react to what I’m doing with my Leveling Up program. I’m so excited that this is sparking a conversation. Please keep the emails coming!
Why do we play different versions of Puppet Stayman over 1NT and 2NT?
Hi, Adam,
Over 1NT, I play the “Low Information” Puppet Stayman, where 3♣ asks whether partner has opened their 1NT with a 5-card major. 3♦ says I don't have a 5-card major, but doesn’t say anything about a 4-card major.
Over a 2NT opening is there any reason why the answer to 3♣ cannot have the exact same meaning?
Yes, there is. The problem is responder's hands with 4-4 in the majors. Over 1NT, responder uses regular Stayman at the 2-level with these hands, so we don't have to worry about them in our Puppet Stayman auctions. Over 2NT, these hands present a problem. After 2NT-3♣, if 3♦ just says "No 5-card major," and then responder bids a major to show 4 in the other major... What do they do with 4-4? When 3♦ promises a major, responder can bid 4♣ and 4♦ with 4-4, knowing there is a fit. (4♣ shows slam interest, 4♦ is game only.) You can't do that if opener doesn't promise a major, since you can't afford to go past 3NT. So you need 3♦ to promise a 4-card major and have to use 3NT to show no 4- or 5-card major.
Hope that clears it up. To partially solve this problem, I just play regular Stayman over 2NT (this allows for Smolen, which is great), but I add a wrinkle: 3NT shows 5 spades. Doesn’t cost anything, and gets you half of the benefit of Puppet Stayman.
Adam
What’s my advice for newer players trying to Level Up their game?
Dear Adam,
I have been playing/learning bridge for 15 months. Our club has beginner classes, which I have been taking. I am interested in practical advice on how to develop the skills needed to be competitive at the 299er level.
Just the fact that you’re taking classes and asking questions like this means you’re on the right track. Keep it up!!
In the bidding, focus on the final contract rather than the "right" bid. Do you have a game? Do you have a major-suit fit? Those two questions will steer you right most of the time.
Keep the ball in the fairway. Bid your games, take your tricks. Bridge is a game of mistakes; if you can keep the silly mistakes to a minimum, you’ll be amazed how well you score.
Focus on your declarer play and defense. It's enticing to learn new conventions, but those can come later. Declarer play and defense have long, slow learning curves. Start now and keep working on it.
Adam
What do you do when your partner doesn’t want to play the system Adam recommends?
Dear Adam,
When I start with a new partner, I often try to get them to play the Two-Way New Minor Forcing and Responses to 1NT systems you have taught us in your Monday class.
I have played with a new partner recently and he sent this in response to your 1NT system; have you ever heard this?
In 4-way transfers opposite partner’s opening 1NT bid, I don’t like using the 2♠ bid as an ambiguous “Size Ask or clubs” bid because it does not give much information. When do we critically need to know whether opener is +/-1 point away from 16 high card points? Almost never, is the honest answer. In my mind, if I am sitting with a 6+ card minor suit and partner opens 1NT, the first question that pops into my head is “Will my long minor suit run?” So instead of “Size Ask or clubs,” I prefer a 4-way transfer convention that asks the question “Do you have Axx or Kxx in my suit?” In this version of 4-way transfers, responder’s 2♠ shows clubs and 2NT shows diamonds, and opener must super-accept with at least 3 cards in responder’s suit that include the ace or king. Opener’s second-round, one-step response is the super-accept (i.e., 1NT-2♠, 2NT shows opener with Axx or Kxx in clubs and 1NT-2NT, 3♣ shows opener with Axx or Kxx in diamonds) and a two-step response is the normal acceptance of the transfer (i.e., 1NT-2♠, 3♣ and 1NT-2NT, 3♦). If I hear a super-accept and hold a 6-card minor to the king or ace, then there is a pretty good chance that my minor suit will be worth 6 tricks. Playing Swiss Teams, especially, I as responder would bid 3NT with as little as 6 high card points. And if I hold a strong hand, then I can show slam interest in the same manner as I would playing the “Size Ask or clubs” convention (i.e., bid my singleton at the 3-level, jump to 4NT, or jump in my suit to the 4-level). But don’t abuse the convention. If responder has a 6-card minor suit and 9-11 points, responder should just raise opener’s 1NT to 3NT and be done with it.
I disagree with your partner's "When do we critically need to know whether opener is +/-1 point away from 16 high card points? Almost never, is the honest answer." As long as people have been opening 1NT with a 3-point range, responder has needed a way to invite. That used to be 2NT. With 2♠ Size Ask, it's 2♠. Playing traditional 4-way transfers as your partner suggests—which is how I learned them 20 years ago, by the way—responder has to use Stayman on the 9-point hands that want to invite, whether they have a 4-card major or not. I HATE that! It gives away a ton of information (now the defenders know about declarer's major-suit shape), and can lead to some really ugly misunderstandings. (If it goes 1NT - 2♣, 2♥ - 2NT, does responder have 4 spades? Do they have to bid 2♠ with 4 and an invitational hand? That means you can't use 2♠ for something else—most experts play it as invitational with 5 spades.)
Sure, there are times when finding out about Hxx in your minor is really great. (I would also suggest super-accepting with 4-card support, whether there is an honor or not.) Every convention you choose has trade-offs. But as your partner says, most hands with a 6-card minor are just bidding 3NT. Or they are signing off no matter opener’s holding.
Fifteen or twenty years ago, most experts played some variation on what your partner suggests. Today, basically all expert pairs play the 2♠ Size Ask. That's usually a good indication that it's the better method.
Adam
That's all for now. I encourage you to send me questions about my column or anything else at adam@adamparrishbridge.com. Maybe they'll end up in the next newsletter!