Players have known for a long time that it is wise to open
very aggressively in third seat. It is
not uncommon to open 1S on a hand like this one.
♠ KQ875
♥ A74
♦ 984
♣ J10
Bidding 1S makes life tougher for the opponents and it may
help you on defense, but it comes with a downside. If your partner has a maximum passed hand she
may start jumping around, getting you too high.
When your partner opens one of a major in third or fourth
seat, you need a way to show your good hands.
Often you will have a hand worth ten or eleven points in support of
partner’s suit. You might like to jump
to three of the major but if she has a weak or sub-minimum opening bid you may
go down.
The answer is this.
If you have a limit raise for partner’s major, bid 2C instead of jumping
to 3 of the major. This is artificial,
stating that you have a maximum passed hand, a limit raise, with at least
three-card support. This converts the
jump to 3 of the major to weak instead of a limit raise. Because the 2C bid is
artificial and says nothing about clubs, it is alertable, as is the jump to 3
of the major.
QUIZ
W N E S
P P
1S P ?
ONE TWO THREE FOUR
♠ KJ84 ♠ J72 ♠ J10754 ♠ 974
♥ Q83 ♥ AK983 ♥ 34 ♥ 64
♦ Q983 ♦ K6 ♦ QJ8 ♦ AQ43
♣ J3 ♣ 732 ♣ Q108 ♣ KQ97
Hand One:
2S. Make your normal bid. You need ten good support points for a Reverse
Drury bid.
Hand Two:
2C. This is the Reverse Drury
bid. It says nothing about clubs. It says you have better than a normal raise,
typically a good ten points and up. Do
not bid 2H. Your partner may pass a two
over one bid when you are a passed hand.
Hand Three: 3S. The jump raise is weak but it promises long
trumps without much else.
Hand Four: 2C,
Reverse Drury. You do have three trumps
and you have eleven high card points along with a doubleton
OPENER’S REBIDS AFTER PARTNER’S REVERSE DRURY BID
2D or 2H: Opener
says she has a full opening bid and is interested in game if responder has a
good Reverse Drury hand. It is possible
that opener has a very big hand and is waiting to see what responder does
next. Opener may have real diamonds but
she may not and just be waiting to see what responder thinks. If she bypasses
diamonds and bids hearts, she has at least 4, but still promises a full opening
hand.
2 of the major: In this case, 2S. If opener rebids her major, it shows a weak
hand and denies any possibility of game.
Responder should pass.
This is called Reverse Drury because originally the way to
show the full opener was to bid 2 of the major suit by opener and the bid of 2D
by opener showed the weak hand. When this was changed, the use of 2D to show
the strong hand was called “Reverse” Drury. Most people just refer to now it as
Drury because I don’t know anybody who plays it the original way.
Opener can bid other things besides 2D or two of the major. Other bids confirm a full opening bid, too. For
instance, a rebid of 2N by opener should promise 18-19 HCP.
QUIZ
W N E S
P P
1S P 2C P
?
ONE TWO THREE FOUR FIVE SIX
♠ AKJ87 ♠ Q9874 ♠ J9874 ♠ KJ98743 ♠ QJ874 ♠ KJ763
♥ 87 ♥ 3 ♥ AK ♥ 2 ♥ KQJ ♥ KQ
♦ Q87 ♦ AK108 ♦ 92 ♦ AK7 ♦ KQ9 ♦ Q98
♣ 873 ♣ K105 ♣ AQ84 ♣ AQ ♣ AJ ♣ Q104
Hand One:
2S. You have less than an opening
bid and want partner to pass. When
opener rebids the major, responder always passes no matter how good his passed
hand happens to be.
Hand Two:
2D. Counting distribution you
have better than a minimum. You are
willing to go to game if partner has a maximum hand. If partner has a minimum Reverse Drury hand
he will bid 2S and you will pass.
Hand Three:
4S. Counting distribution you
have around sixteen points and your partner has ten or more with spade
support. Bid game. Do not bother bidding clubs. Why tell the opponents something you prefer
they do not know?
Hand Four:
4NT. Ask for aces and bid a slam
if partner has one or two aces. You have
about 22 HCP now that spades have been supported.
Hand Five:
4S. Just bid a game. You have a big hand but East has a maximum of
eleven points. When you know game is
worth bidding and when you know there is no slam, do not waste time making bids
that you do not have to make.
Hand Six:
2S. This is a 13 HCP hand but it
is balanced and minimum and it has poor quality points, (queens and
jacks).
If you have a hand with clubs and no support for partner’s
major, you cannot bid 2C because that would promise support for partner’s
major. Bid 1NT and hope for a sane
result. Conventions all come with
benefits but they all have the occasional drawbacks too.
