Scramble Stayman [Bennion]

You shouldnt have to settle for 1NT.

What if you partner opens 1NT (15 to 17) and you have a bad hand - say less than invitational values, no long biddable suit or has a shape like 4-3-4-2 or 2-4-5-2 or 3-4-1-5.

It might look like this: ♠K765 ♥J102 ♦3 ♣Q9642

When you learnt bridge you were taught to pass these hands, even though you might still have a major suit fit. In this book, Doug Bennion argues that you should look for these fits. Most of the time, the contract you scramble to will be much better than 1NT.

Scramble Stayman looks at:

1. Which types of hands qualify to scramble from 1NT
2. The scrambling technique to use (starting wth 2♣ Stayman)
3. How the various scramble contracts score compare to 1NT, measured over thousands of hands.

The book also features a 100-board match between one player staying in 1NT, and another scrambling to a (usually) better contract, which the scrambler decisively wins.