Technical Flaws of 5-Card Major Systems – Part 5

Ron Sutton • July 13, 2026

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July 13, 2026

Goodbye: The Drury Convention (3rd and 4th Seat Considerations)

When a responder has previously passed, they have denied opening values. However, they may still hold a prime simple raise, a maximum limit raise, or a specialized 11–12 point intermediate hand without support. When partner opens light in the 3rd or 4th chair to compete or apply pressure, it becomes incredibly dangerous to climb to the 3-level on a guess.

To solve this, the traditional Drury convention used an artificial 2♣ response by a passed hand to show a limit raise with exact trump support, preventing the partnership from overbidding. However, players frequently suffer from systemic amnesia, leading to the dreaded phrase: “Sorry partner, I forgot we were playing Drury.”

The Universal Nature of Extensile 2♣

In Modern Majors, Extensile 2♣ is played from all seats, completely eliminating the need for a separate passed-hand convention. You never have to alter your systemic approach based on seating arrangements. 2♣ after a 1-Major opening is always Extensile. The only minor modification when responder is a passed hand is that it can no longer represent a 13+ HCP game-forcing club hand.

In standard systems, a passed hand trying to show an invitational 10–12 HCP without support is forced to jump to 2NT. This consumes immense bidding room and vaults the partnership to the 3-level when a pass is inappropriate. Utilizing Extensile 2♣ keeps the auction low, while allowing us to preserve our Compressed Bergen 2NT bid to show a passed-hand 4-card raise with less than opening strength. This is a massive competitive weapon in 3rd and 4th seat auctions for locking the opponents out of the 2-level.

Passed-Hand Options with 3-Card Support or Fewer

With fewer than 10 points as a passed hand, your choices are clear: make a simple raise or bid a non-forcing 1-over-1 (such as 1NT, or 1♠ if partner opened 1♥).

When holding roughly 11 points, the system shines:

With 3-card support: The 2♣ bid is perfectly comfortable. You know the correct strain, and you are cleanly inviting your partner to game or part-score based on their opening weight.
With less than 2-card support: You must proceed with caution, remaining fully aware of a potential misfit and anticipating a final destination in no-trump.

Bidding an artificial 2♦ game force is technically an “impossible” bid because you have already passed. We treat a passed-hand 2♦ response as a natural, long diamond suit—resembling a classic weak 2-bid that simply could not be opened in first seat due to positional tactics, natural and not forcing. This approach provides excellent partnership discipline, preventing players from making dangerous, undisciplined competitive balancing bids at the 3-level.

Similarly, a passed-hand 2♥ response over a 3rd or 4th seat 1♠ opening retains its exact identity. It remains Two-Ranges, showing invitational values with 5+ hearts, and leaves spade support open.

Conclusion: The Modern Majors Edge

Modern American Majors eliminates the structural leaks that have plagued 5-card major systems for decades. By fixing the dual-range flaws of 1NT and standard 2-level responses, stabilizing the minor suits, and unifying passed and unpassed hand structures, it delivers a massive competitive edge. It is easy to teach a new partner on the fly, yet deep enough to deliver expert-level tournament results. Modern American Majors is a clear winner, easy to start, and provides a route to expert results.

Summary of the Entire 5-Part Series

This quick reference table illustrates how Modern Majors cleanly maps out every response range compared to traditional styles:

Responder Hand Type…………Traditional 2/1 / SA Approach……….The Modern Majors (MM) Solution

Weak Hands (6–9 HCP)……….Stranded in Forcing 1NT or………………….Strictly Non-Forcing 1NT

…………………………………………………guessing minor shifts…………………………..(Safe escape velocity)

Invitational (10–12 HCP)……..Overloaded into 1NT or………………………..Extensile 2♣

………………………………………………..wide-range 2-level bids………………………..(Low-level precision engine)

Game Force (13+ HCP)………..Scattered across synthetic/………………….Artificial 2♦ Catch-all

………………………………………………..short minor bids……………………………………(Preserves maximum space)

4-Card Major Fit (6+ HCP)….Split between Jacoby 2NT and……………..Compressed Bergen 2NT

………………………………………………..complex Bergen jumps