A bit of history first... When the Drury convention was first published it was considered an Asking Bid and its purpose was to discover if partner had opened with a good hand or a bad hand. A 2
response was artificial and
promised support. Originally the opening bidder would rebid his suit to show a good hand,
and rebid 2
with a poor hand. Some people still use it this way,
but like many of the older conventions it has been modified by today's players. Reverse
Drury, as you will find on player's convention cards, requires the opening bidder to rebid his
suit when he has a poor hand. Any other bid promises a full opening bid.
Two-way Drury is another modification on the original convention; a response of 2
indicates 3-card support while 2 promises
4-card support. In both cases, responder promises a hand with near maximim point count after
initially passing. Either a simple raise or a jump raise is often used with a weak hand
of 5-8 points just to make it difficult for the opponents.
But is Drury useful in a Club System?
Nope. Well, not in the original context, anyway.
Asking if your partner has a good hand or a bad hand after you have passed really isn't needed -- You know partner has between 11-15 points, and may have a bit less in 3rd seat. Game is not likely since you are already a passed hand, so why ask?
Still, as an Informational Bid instead of an Asking Bid Drury might be useful if we make a few changes.
Let's make these agreements when partner opens a major in 3rd seat -
- 2 shows 4-card support with 5-11 points
- 2 shows 3-card support with 9-11 points
- A simple raise can have 4-card support with less than 5 points
- Or, a simple raise can be 3-card support with 5-8 points
Subsequent Bidding
These responses are informational bids and allow the opener to make a decision about the final contract. Responder has shown her hand and can let partner decide.
One little bit left...
After responder bids 2
showing 4-card support with a wide range of
points, the opener can ask if the hand is near the top or bottom. Opener rebids
2 to ask, "Are you near 10 or 11 points?"
If you are the responder you can bid game with 10 or 11 points and just support the opening bid with less. With 9 points, a sort of in-between hand, give your partner a raise to the three level.
And finally, if you are the responder you can bid a new suit in response to the 2
asking bid. What's that, you ask? Agree that it's a
singleton or void with about 6-8 points. (With 9+ points you could have jumped with
your first bid instead of bidding 2, which would be a mini-splinter.)
Don't these bids give a good picture of your hand?
Having read this short essay on Drury, you really should read about other responses by a passed partner. Other Responses