Bergen Drury

The undisputed bridge expert Marty Bergen came to the conclusion that surrendering the 2 bid as being a natural bid would be a small sacrifice to pay, then surrendering the 2 bid also would be a small sacrifice in order to allow the responder to describe his hand more accurately. Marty Bergen concluded that a 2 response by his partner, who is already a passed hand, could show a 3-card support for the opening Major suit with 10-12 points, and that a 2 response by his partner, who is already a passed hand, could show a 4-card support for the opening Major suit with 10-12 points. Although this seems immaterial at first, let us take two examples to show the difference and importance of this form of auction.

You hold 74 AQ9 854 KJ875 and Partner opens 1 in 3rd/4th seat

You hold 74 AQ95 85 KJ875 and Partner opens 1 in 3rd/4th seat

With the first holding, Marty Bergen suggests bidding 2 to indicate 3-card support after the bid of 1 by the opener

With the second holding, Marty Bergen suggests bidding 2 to indicate 4-card support after the bid of 1 by the opener.

Upon examining the two hands, one concludes that Hand 1 has one more loser than Hand 2, which could mean the difference between a part-score and game. With this additional information, the opener has a better chance to reach game, knowing that there is a 9-card trump suit instead of an 8-card trump suit.