Bidding and conventions
Drury
A third-seat opening is not the same promise as a first-seat one, and Drury is the convention that lets the partner who already passed say "I have a good hand for you" without carrying the auction past two of the major.
Why third-seat openings are light
If two players have passed before you, game is unlikely — partner has already denied an opening hand.
So the reason to open in third seat is not to reach game. It is to interfere: take away the opponents' one-level bidding room, suggest a lead to partner, and make their own fit harder to find.
Because of that, experienced players open third seat on hands they would pass in first seat: 10 or 11 points with a good five-card major is a normal third-seat 1♠.
11 points. In first seat, a pass. In third seat, open 1♠ — it costs little and buys a lot.
Which creates a new problem, and Drury solves it.
The problem
You passed in second seat with 11 points. Partner opens 1♠ in third seat. You hold three-card spade support and a hand worth a limit raise.
11 points and three spades. A limit raise, but is partner's opening real?
Without Drury you must bid 3♠, the standard limit raise. Fine if partner has a genuine opening.
If partner has the 11-count above, your side has bid to the three level with a combined 22 points — going down where 2♠ would have made.
The alternative — bidding only 2♠ to be safe — loses the games you should reach when partner opened normally. You need a bid that asks before committing.
How it works
2♣ is that bid. It uses up no space — the auction is still below 2♠, and it hands the decision to the player who knows whether their opening was real.
| West | North | East | South |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pass | Pass | 1♠ | Pass |
| 2♣ | Pass | 2♠ | Pass |
| Pass | Pass |
Opener's rebids:
- Two of the major — a light opening. This is the signoff, and it is the bid that gives Reverse Drury its name: in the original version this rebid showed a real opening, and modern practice reversed it so the weak hand can stop lowest.
- 2♦ — a genuine opening, artificial, asking responder to describe further.
- Any other new suit — a real opening with a real second suit, and game interest.
- Game in the major — a full opening with no interest in slowing down.
What you need to bid Drury
- You must be a passed hand. This is the whole premise. In first or second seat, 2♣ is natural.
- Partner must have opened a major. Drury does not apply over a minor.
- Three or more trumps and about 10–12 support points.
- Third or fourth seat only, which follows from you having passed.
What it costs
You give up the natural 2♣ response as a passed hand. That is a small price: such a hand can bid 1NT and then clubs, or pass.
Set against the games reached and the partscores not overreached, it is one of the better bargains in the bidding.
The real cost is remembering it. Drury comes up only when you have passed and partner opens a major — perhaps one deal in twenty, which is often enough to matter and rarely enough to forget. Write it on the card.
A note on fourth seat
Fourth-seat openings are the opposite of third-seat ones. With everyone having passed, there is no reason to open unless you expect to make something.
The usual guide is the rule of 15: add your high card points to your number of spades, and open only at 15 or more. Spades, because whoever holds them controls the partscore battle.
Most partnerships still play Drury in fourth seat, though it comes up rarely, simply because "passed hand, partner opens a major" is one rule and easier to remember than two.