Responding to Drury

First Rule: Don't Forget. Responding to a third hand major suit opening, there is the possibility opener has a weak hand.  Rather than a direct Limit Raise to 3© or 3ª , we use the Drury convention. Drury will prevent us from getting too high in an auction which can be won by a two level bid. We use it only with the major suits.

N	E	S
P	P	1ª	South can be sub-minimum.
2§*	P	2ª	North tries Reverse Drury; South is weak.
P	P		Stopping at a good place.

North	South
ª xxx	ª KQJxx
© xx	© Ax
¨ Kx	¨ xx
§ AQJx	§ xxxx

This usage is called Reverse Drury because we reverse the original bid, in which a rebid of the suit indicated a real opening strength hand. With Reverse Drury, any other bid than a rebid of the opening major suit indicates a real opener, and bids a legitimate suit as well.

Example Reverse Drury Sequences:

N	E	S
P	P	1©	South opens a major in 3rd seat.
2§ *	P	2©	North tries Reverse Drury; South is weak
P	2ª	P	. . . and a balancing East finds the E/W Spade suit.
P

North	South
ª xx	ª Ax
© Jxx	© KQJxx
¨Kx	¨ xx
§ AQxx	§ xxxx

---

N	E	S
P	P	1ª	South opens (light ?) in 3rd seat.
2§*	P	2¨	North tries Reverse Drury; South isn't weak.
3ª	P	4ª	North invites and South goes.

North	South
ª xxxx	ª KQJxx
© xx	© Ax
¨KJx	¨ AQxx
§ AQJx	§ xx

(c) Robert D. McConnell, 1998  All Rights Reserved