Drury is played in different ways.
Bridge World Standard, for responses after a third or fourth hand opening bid of 1
or 1
, says
Passed-Hand Situations: These methods apply to responding to a major-suit opening by a passed hand:
(a) one notrump is semiforcing (6-12 points);
(b) two clubs is a strong raise (a hand too strong for a single raise, but unsuited to a higher bid);
(c) three clubs is natural, similar to two diamonds but with long clubs;
(d) a jump-shift other than three clubs is a strong raise with length in the suit bid;
(e) a double jump-shift is a splinter raise.
So 2
is Drury, 2
is not Drury.
We also have to decide when Drury is on. Say we open 1
in third position and fourth hand enters the auction. My own preference is that if 2
is available as a bid then 2
is Drury. I am not sure what BWS says about that.
Anyway, here is a hand:
Q5
KJT73
K96
A84
Matchpoints, nobody vul, three passes to you, you open 1
.
Opponents stay out of the auction
Pass 1
2
2
2
2NT
3
What now? The 2
shows a full opener, or, as I like to think of it, a hand where it seems at least possible that we should be in 4
.
I was playing with robots so they told me that 2
showed at least three spades headed by the Q or better.
I intended my 2NT as passable, I think that is reasonable, but the bots claim it is forcing to 3
.
And the bots tell me 3
shows at least 3 diamonds headed by at least the Q.
Ok, maybe the bots and I were not on exactly the same page. The way I see it, the bot could have bid 3
, so bidding 3
should be a hand with a little more than a minimum 2
call.
So should I bid 3
or 4
?
Part of my reason for posting is so others can comment on whether they think 3
should be more encouraging than 3
.
Well, I bid 4
. I made 4
. But it required a bit of luck.
A864
854
AQT7
97
Q5
KJT73
K96
A84
So: Did we overbid? And if so, who?
It seems useful to have some hands where it is maybe not certain whether or not we belong in game and discuss what to make out of the Drury bid and the follow-up.