When partner opens in 3rd or 4th seat and we have a good hand, we do not want to go jumping around to show it – partner may have no game interest for their opening bid. We want to have an effective way of describing our good hands cheaply when partner opens in 3rd or 4th seat. When partner opens 1-Major and we have a maximum passed hand with a fit, then we want to be able to show this to partner without getting too high. This is what the Drury convention accomplishes.
One of the most important parts of bridge is raising partner. We try to raise Opener whenever possible. We may choose not to support partner immediately if we feel we have something more pressing to communicate, in which case we can respond in our own Major, use a negative double, or bid some number of notrump, but in general we strive to “support with support.”
Here we look at a 3C response to 1NT used as 5-card Stayman. I nice modern addition to your bidding system. This in combination with a 2C Stayman response created an effective system for communication.
When we respond to partner's 1NT opening it is nice to have transfer bids available. Here we look at an upgrade to 4-suited Transfers, called Size Ask, and see how it improves our bidding.
Suit Contracts play differently than Notrump Contracts. Specifically, in most suit contracts we are in control of the hand, because we have a trump suit. This allows us to count our losers instead of worrying about our more immediate winners. This week, we begin our discussion of suit contracts by taking a look at how this works in more detail.
In all contracts, but especially in Notrump, developing a long suit into winners is a highly effective way to make our contract. We will look at these options and compare them to establishing tricks the old fashioned way (with our High Cards) and see how we can combine these two skills to improve our play.
