Reverse Drury

Reverse Drury

Nobody is vulnerable, you are in 3^rd seat, and it goes two Passes to you. Your hand is:

♠ AQ763

♥ 84

♦ K87

♣ 963

This is not exactly a thrilling collection, and a hand that you would not dream of opening in 1^st or 2^nd seat. If we did, Partner would be entitled to propel us to game holding just about any hand with opening values. So, in 1^st and 2^nd seat, we need to exercise some discipline when we open one of a suit, because Partner is still very much in the game.

But, in 3^rd seat, it’s a completely different story! Now, we can take some liberties, secure in the knowledge that Partner, as a passed hand, is limited, and that she will cut us some slack, she will view our 3^rd seat opener with some suspicion! So, the hand above is quite acceptable as a 1♠ opener in 3^rd seat. This bid has all sorts of ways to win:

(a) It may allow us to compete effectively for the part-score;

(b) It may get Partner off to a good lead, if we end up defending;

That’s all very well, but sometimes the 3^rd seat opener really has the goods and would like to initiate a constructive auction. How do we distinguish between the not-to-be-taken-too-seriously hand given above, and a sound opener, or even a strong opener?

The Solution

Reverse Drury to the rescue! After that 3^rd-seat opening, we use 2♣ to check back on the validity of that 3^rd seat opening:

You Pard

Pass 1♠

2♣!

In this auction, that 2♣ bid both tells and asks:

- It tells Partner that you have support for his major, and decent values (something at least close to a limit raise)

- It asks the simple question “Is your 3^rd seat opening genuine, do you really have opening values?”

If the answer is “No!”, then the light opener rebids 2 of the major, in this case 2♠. If the answer is “Yes, I have a sound opener, or, more to the point, I have an opener which could conceivably make game opposite a passed hand”, then the 3^rd seat Opener bids anything but 2♠.

Examples

♠ K542 ♠ AQ763

♥ AQ65 ♥ 84

♦ Q3 ♦ K87

♣ T82 ♣ 963

You Pard

Pass 1♠

2♣ 2♠

Pass

Here, the 3^rd seat opener is indeed light, and that 2♠ bid announces the fact … this auction stops very quickly! And, if that Heart finesse loses, you will be delighted that you were able to play this hand at the 2-level, thanks to Drury.

♠ K542 ♠ AQ763

♥ AQ65 ♥ J4

♦ Q3 ♦ K876

♣ T82 ♣ A6

You Pard

Pass 1♠

2♣ 4♠

Pass

In this auction, the 3^rd seat opener has a sound opener, with a little bit extra, so there is no reason to mess around here … just bid game and hope that you can make it!

Drury in Competition

If you play Drury, you and your Partner need to be on the same wavelength in these sequences:

You Opp1 Pard Opp2

Pass Pass 1♥ 1♠!

2♣

You Opp1 Pard Opp2

Pass Pass 1♠ Dbl!

2♣

Yes, we suggest that Drury is still on in these situations.

Why Reverse Drury?

When the original Drury convention was conceived up in the frozen North, many years ago, the weakness-showing rebid was 2♦, and all other responses showed sound opening values. But this treatment is hardly ever used nowadays, and the “Reverse Drury” treatment has become almost universal.

Two-Way Drury

Playing Drury, you give up the natural meaning of the 2♣ bid, sacrificing it to define better your major suit fit. A good trade in the opinion of most experts, the majors is where it’s at! Many tournament players also use 2♦ as Reverse Drury, further giving up on the minors to define better their major suit holding. This is known as Two-Way Reverse Drury, and it works as follows:

You Opp1 Pard Opp2

Pass Pass 1♠ Pass

2♣

This sequence shows a 3-card raise for Partner, and asks the same basic question “Can you conceive of game opposite my passed hand?”

You Opp1 Pard Opp2

Pass Pass 1♠ Pass

2♦!

Yes, it’s the same question, but here we show a 4-card raise.

This treatment gives rise to one more competitive situation that you and your Partner should be in sync on:

You Opp1 Pard Opp2

Pass Pass 1♠ 2♣

2♦!

The practical solution here is to play 2♦ as 3- or 4-card Drury.