Master the Drury Convention in Bridge

Unlock the secrets of the Drury convention in bridge and elevate your game with strategic bidding techniques. Learn how to effectively communicate hand strength and avoid costly overbids, ensuring you and your partner make the best decisions at the table. Tune in now for expert insights!

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The Drury convention is an artificial bidding tool in bridge. It’s used by a passed hand to show a game-invitational raise in their partner's major suit opening. This typically happens after the partner opens with 1♥ or 1♠ when they’re in the third or fourth seat.

So, who can use it? Only a passed hand, someone who has already passed in the first round of bidding, can employ Drury. When the partner opens with a major suit, the passed hand responds with an artificial 2♣ bid. This bid indicates they have three or more cards in the major suit and about ten or more support points. That’s enough to invite their partner to a game, but not quite enough for a full opening hand.

Why is Drury important? In the third or fourth seat, players often open with lighter hands to compete for the contract. Drury helps the passed hand check if the opener has a stronger hand before they commit to a game.

Once the passed hand makes their 2♣ bid, the opener has a couple of options for their rebid. If they have a full opening hand, they can bid naturally, accepting the invitation. If they have a lighter opening, they might "sign off" by rebidding 2 of the major or bidding 2♦ as a negative response. This warns their partner not to go any further.

There’s also a variation called Reverse Drury. In this case, the meanings of the opener's rebids are swapped. For example, a 2♦ rebid would show a full opening hand, while a simple rebid of the major indicates a minimum.

Here’s a quick example to illustrate. Let’s say the bidding goes like this: You pass, your partner passes, then they open with 1♠. You respond with 2♣, using Drury. This shows you have three or more spades and ten or more support points. The opener then clarifies their hand strength with their next bid.

The Drury convention is widely used because it improves bidding accuracy. It helps partnerships avoid overbidding when the opener might not have a full-strength hand.

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