This Week in Bridge
(585) Modified 2-Way Reverse Drury
©AiB Robert S. Todd
Level: 10 of 10 robert@advinbridge.com
General
The concept of having a conventional bid like Drury available to show a limit raise in support of partner’s Major suit when we are a passed hand is a regular part of most partnerships’ passed hand bidding structure. Given that making a 2/1 bid into a minor suit is not that attractive (or even possible!) by a passed hand, it makes sense to allocate both 2♣ and 2♦ as artificial raises of Opener’s third seat (or fourth seat) Major suit opening bid. Many partnerships that play Drury play 2-Way Drury, using one bid to show a 3-card limit raise and the other a 4-card limit raise. But a more sophisticated structure can allow us to describe even more hand types in the same bidding space.
Modified 2-Way Reverse Drury
Let’s look at a better structure for using two conventional raises by a passed hand.
Example 1
P 1M
__?
2♣* 4-card raise (constructive, 7-9 points OR limit, 10-11 points)
2♦* 3-card limit raise, 10-11 points
2M 3-card constructive raise, 7-9 points
3M 4-card weak raise (this should have some shape since Opener could have a 4-card Major)
Note: With a 3-card weak raise we bid as if we have 2-card support (same way as a passed hand or unpassed hand) – limping our way into 2M by bidding 1NT first (semi-forcing) and later bidding 2M.
After a 2♣* 4-card raise, if we want to know partner’s strength, we make the cheapest bid (2♦) to ask.
Example 2
P 1♠
2♣* 2♦*
__?
2♠ 4-card constructive raise (partner can continue using normal game try structure)
Other 4-card Limit raise, bidding location of cheapest collection of honors (place where we would accept a game try).
Note: Playing this Modified 2-Way Drury, we still play a Reverse style, meaning that bidding 2M (our suit) is the weakest action.
This modification to Drury allows us to add a third hand type into our bidding structure: the 4-card constructive raise. By categorizing our raises based on the size of our fit (♣ = 4-card; ♦ = 3-card) we are able to immediately let partner know about the size of our trump fit. This can be useful in allowing Opener to apply the Law of Total Tricks (LOTT), especially if the auction becomes competitive.
Conclusion
A 2-way Drury structure is a good use of the relatively unused 2m bids by a passed hand after partner’s 1M opening bid, but the traditional 2-way Reverse Drury does not incorporate as many hand types as it should. If you and your partner would like to improve upon the number of hand types you can show, consider this modification.