[Fluffy]

♠QJ7
♥98643
♦-
♣AQJ10x

North is dealer and it goes

ps-(ps)-1♥-(ps)
2♣-(ps)-

2♣ is drury fit


Side question, would you consider opening 1♣?

[whereagles]

Not easy. Depends on where pard has his points.

If you have some gadget that helps here, use it. Otherwise I'll just take a flier and bid 4♥.

[Jlall]

2D is enough imo. We probably need a fourth trump to go anywhere. Sure we might have a perfect fitter opposite 3 trumps but it's not that likely. I think partner generally moves over 2D with 4 trumps, or 3 and the nuts, so that's pretty good.

I would never open 1C in a million years.

[whereagles]

for a "star" like you, a million years is such a short time... ahah

[hanp]

Agree with 2D.

[Fluffy]

are you moving if partner bids 2♥ over 2♦?

[hanp]

No.

[jdonn]

I agree with 2♦. I have learned that one of the few cases it doesn't pay to take an aggressive shot at game is when I have 5 bad trumps opposite 3.

Opening 1♣ on hands like this is something I used to try a lot and it worked badly. I saw Zia do it once and it also worked badly. I don't do it any more.

[mikeh]

While I know that many fine players, including Fred, who was good enough to share his thinking, dislike 2 way drury, it would help here....I'd bid game if I knew he had 4, and signoff if I knew he had 3. As it is, I bid 2♦ if it means what I'd like it to mean..if I were at the table, I'd have discussed this already. On this forum, I am guessing that this is at least the start of some form of try.

[gnasher]

mikeh, on Jan 8 2010, 11:31 PM, said:

While I know that many fine players, including Fred, who was good enough to share his thinking, dislike 2 way drury, it would help here....I'd bid game if I knew he had 4, and signoff if I knew he had 3. As it is, I bid 2♦ if it means what I'd like it to mean..if I were at the table, I'd have discussed this already. On this forum, I am guessing that this is at least the start of some form of try.

Isn't the idea that opener can ask about the number of trumps if he wants to know?

[mikeh]

gnasher, on Jan 9 2010, 04:52 AM, said:

mikeh, on Jan 8 2010, 11:31 PM, said:

While I know that many fine players, including Fred, who was good enough to share his thinking, dislike 2 way drury, it would help here....I'd bid game if I knew he had 4, and signoff if I knew he had 3. As it is, I bid 2♦ if it means what I'd like it to mean..if I were at the table, I'd have discussed this already. On this forum, I am guessing that this is at least the start of some form of try.

Isn't the idea that opener can ask about the number of trumps if he wants to know?

I have never seen a structure that allows opener to specifically ask for number of trump. On balanced hands, a natural 2N or 3N, if available, will ask whether responder prefers notrump or the suit, and that usually brings number of trump somewhat into focus (but a 4333 hand with 4 card support won't run from notrump). I don't for an instance claim there are no trump number asking methods, and would enjoy seeing a description....altho since I still stubbornly play 2 way drury, I doubt that I would adopt it.

[gnasher]

In this post Fred implies that pass-1M;2♣-2♦ effectively asks responder to jump to the three-level with four trumps, and do something else with only three. That's what I play too.

[nige1]

Fluffy, on Jan 7 2010, 08:31 AM, said:

♠ QJ7 ♥ 98643 ♦- ♣ AQJ10x
ps-(ps)-1♥-(ps)
2♣-(ps)-??
2♣ is drury fit
Side question, would you consider opening 1♣?

I would open 1♣ intending to treat ♥ as a 4-card suit. Partner has passed and I have 10 HCP, so it is quite likely that the hand belongs to opponents. If LHO declares notrumps, for example, I would prefer to see the lead of ♣K rather than ♥K.

[655321]

I really dislike a 1♣ opening. The hand is 5-5, there is a lot more to competitive bidding than bidding the suit with most HCP regardless of length, then lying back and thinking of England for the rest of the auction.

[Vampyr]

As a side issue, among those who play Drury, is Drury-fit more popular than standard Drury?

[Jlall]

Vampyr, on Jan 9 2010, 10:26 PM, said:

As a side issue, among those who play Drury, is Drury-fit more popular than standard Drury?

about 1000x more popular. few people have ever even heard about the non fit version these days.

[peachy]

Vampyr, on Jan 9 2010, 10:26 PM, said:

As a side issue, among those who play Drury, is Drury-fit more popular than standard Drury?

I do not know of anyone who plays Drury that does not promise a fit. In fact, only couple of years ago did I even learn that such an animal existed as "Drury with no fit". From my perspective, Drury with fit is common while nobody I know or have ever kibitzed (and I kibitz a lot) plays the other one. So I would say Drury with fit is s tandard and the other one is a dead dinosaur.

[gwnn]

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