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James Vickers

Drury in England ( 13:10:23 FriMay 9 2003 )

Country: UK

Drury is a bidding convention in which an artificial 2C response to 1H or 1S third hand opener asks partner to define the strength of their opening bid. It is useful for partnerships which employ light third hand openers.

My understanding is that the EBU banned this convention (or at least severely restricted its use) for a while to stop players from using it to prevent self-inflicted damage when opener has psyched 1M. (I'm sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.)

I had always assumed this ban to be still in force, as I had never come across players using the convention in England until this week. A check in my Orange Book revealed to my surprise that it is in fact allowed at levels 4 and 5.

I would like to know, in view of the regulation banning conventions used to field psyches, whether there are any additional caveats to its use. For instance:

(1) Must players using Drury undertake never to psyche a third hand major, or ensure that they rigorously adhere to the rule of eighteen?

(2) Must Drury only be used on truly borderline hands, i.e. must hands with game potential opposite even a minimum opening bid be bid some other way?

If the above or similar don't apply, how should the director act if they discover a partnership has psyched and bid Drury?

James

RMB

19 posts
bridgetalk member

Re: Drury in England ( 15:04:15 FriMay 9 2003 )

Country: England

James

Drury is allowed at level 2, see OB 12.3.6 "Other permitted conventions:"
"Support bids:
Any call which shows support for partner and the values for game opposite a non-minimum opening is allowed. This includes calls that could alternatively contain game values."

Drury was previously Restricted Licence, and you have to look at the level 4 text to see that Drury is explicitly permitted at level 2!
OB 14.2.4 [subject to changes in English Bridge, October 1998, p29]:
"Examples of conventions covered by [snip] 12.3.6 (previously Restricted Licence).
[snip]
Drury"

There are no caveats to the use of Drury beyond the normal methods of controlling concealled partnership understandings. I think the EBU is not worried as much about abuse of Drury as perhaps it once was.
(1) If partnerships are psyching 1M with long clubs and passing the Drury 2C response, and this is recorded, perhaps a pattern of abuse will emerge.
(2) The regulation, OB 12.3.6, explicitly allows the response to show both invitational and game going values (with support).

Robin

James Vickers

Re: Drury in England ( 13:01:20 MonMay 12 2003 )

Country: UK

Thanks for your reply, Robin.

Ye Gods, is this Orange Book confusing! Under L2 permitted conventions it says that a 2C response to 1M may be played as one of: "natural, forcing or non-forcing, or natural, 3+ cards, forcing" (12.3.3 and 12.3.4). Later support bids are also listed as permitted, under which Drury certainly falls (12.3.6), but Drury is not listed as an example of such a convention (I would have expected it to be top of the list). Then under L4 Drury is given as an example of a convention covered by 12.3 which refers to level 2 conventions! (14.2.4)

Maybe I've uncovered a conspiracy to keep Drury out of English bridge by making the regulations concerning its use as difficult to follow as possible. It certainly seems to be working.

Or does anyone have a better theory as to why virtually NO-ONE in England plays Drury, a very popular convention in other parts of the world?

James

bluejak

427 posts
Forum Host

Reply

Re: Drury in England ( 15:58:05 MonMay 12 2003 )

Perhaps we should stop trying to help people?

If you want to play a 2

response to 1

then the only sensible way is to look in the book and see at what level it is permitted. No doubt anyone has done so will realise Drury is Level 2 if it guarantees a fit, Level 3 otherwise.

To try to make it easier for people to go from one Orange book to another, and for no other reason, conventions that are no longer listed separately because they are now under blanket permissions or because they are now disallowed are shown for one Orange book only have a little section to show where they have gone. So if you had been playing Drury at Level 4 in the previous book we let you know where to find it now.

Surely if you decide to take up the Robin Barker 3

response to 1

you will look and see whether it is covered under the rules for responses to 1

? OK, if you want to play Drury, please do the equivalent.

---
David Stevenson <laws2@blakjak.com>
Liverpool, England, UK
http://blakjak.com/lws_menu.htm

James Vickers

Re: Drury in England ( 17:43:00 MonMay 12 2003 )

Country: UK

Quote: bluejak at 15:58:05 Mon May 12 2003

If you want to play a 2 response to 1/ then the only sensible way is to look in the book and see at what level it is permitted. No doubt anyone has done so will realise Drury is Level 2 if it guarantees a fit, Level 3 otherwise.

Not "anyone". I asked the chief TD at a recent competition (an EBU National TD) about Drury; he looked it up in the OB and assured me it was allowed at level 4 and above, but not otherwise. I admit I should have spotted that Drury is covered by 12.3.6, but I was certainly confused by the reference under level 4 conventions.

And since you ask, I would feel happier if you would stop trying to help people, and delete the reference to Drury at 14.2.4. If you need to mention the convention specifically, why not at 12.3.7 where it belongs?

James

bluejak

427 posts
Forum Host

Reply

Re: Drury in England ( 21:04:33 MonMay 12 2003 )

It is only for continuity - and it was not Level 2 in the last Orange book.

I think your Chief TD wants shooting! :smile:

If you are playing a convention now which is listed separately then I think you will have difficulty next time if it seems to have disappeared.

---
David Stevenson <laws2@blakjak.com>
Liverpool, England, UK
http://blakjak.com/lws_menu.htm

Frances Hinden

Re: Drury in England ( 10:54:43 TueMay 13 2003 )

Country: UK

I play Drury, as do quite a lot of people I know. We don't use it so much to control very light 3rd-in-hand openers (we play it opposite a 4th hand opening as well) but to get over the problem when responder has a good 3-card raise and responds in a minor preparatory to raising the major, but opener passes.

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bluejak

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International Bridge Laws Forum

If you need help with the Laws or rulings from any country in the world, this is the place!Hosted by David StevensonSenior Consultant DirectorEnglish Bridge Union

If you need help with the Laws or rulings from
any country in the world, this is the place!

Hosted by David Stevenson
Senior Consultant Director
English Bridge Union