wbartley

I agree. If 3NT is a possible landing place, what hand should North have to bid it if not this one?

This is robot bidding at its best! https://tinyurl.com/syay8l9

This is clearly a bug which nobody will look at.

I wonder what 3♦ would have meant, in place of the 2N call.

This is from a free daylong match points tourney. [hv=pc=n&s=sajt92haq9dj8caq2&w=s7643hj63d32ck654&n=shk7dakqt65cjt983&e=skq85ht8542d974c7&d=w&v=0&b=8&a=p1dp1sp2cp2hp2np4np7dppp]399|300[/hv] Setting aside the kooky 2NT call after my fourth suit forcing bid rather than rebidding clubs, any ideas why GIB is jumping to 7D over the quantitative raise to 4NT? The bid is explained as quantitative and my hand more or less fits the description given. Perhaps GIB is filled with regret after having failed to rebid clubs over 2NT or maybe it's just another symptom of the same short-circuit that caused the 2NT bid.

BBO should remove the minimum of ten tournaments for computing completion percentage and make the completion rate for someone with no history 100%. I doubt this would noticeably degrade the experience in tournaments with a minimum completion percentage.

IMP game. Human South. [hv=pc=n&s=sqj3h9864dq765cjt&w=st94ht73dt98c9742&n=s72hkqj52daj43ckq&e=sak865hadk2ca8653&d=e&v=b&b=10&a=1spp1n2cp2sdp2nppp]399|300[/hv] North has a good 16 count, a suit-oriented hand with five good hearts and a weak doubleton spade.

In case anyone is interested. With North holding the given cards and South holding a 20-21 balanced hand, 6N makes 97% of the time. This means that the odds of you being off two aces are so small as to possibly make asking for aces before bidding 6 worse than not asking, given that East might have a chance to double for the lead. Just a thought.

This is IMPs scoring. Basic robots. Human is South. [hv=pc=n&s=st9874h8543d54c74&w=sa6hajt6d6ckt9852&n=sj52hk72dj9872cj3&e=skq3hq9dakqt3caq6&d=s&v=e&b=3&a=3sp4sppp]399|300[/hv] GIB is practically holding the entire deck and can't find a double of 4♠

I could post the exact hand but I'm pretty sure this has been pointed out before. After a preemptive 3♥ opening bid, I double. It goes, pass on my left and my GIB partner, holding KT85 J4 AK5 T872, bids 4♣. How is this still going on after so many years?

I could post the exact hand but I'm pretty sure this has been pointed out before. After a preemptive 3♥ opening bid, I double. It goes, pass on my left and my GIB partner, holding KT85 J4 AK5 T872, bids 4♣. How is this still going on after so many years?

Even if this bid isn't forcing, a false preference to 3♠ seems like a standout. Surely 3♦ promises at least five spades.

All I can say is, wow.

Your explanation makes sense. I've always been a bit perplexed by the disconnect between GIB's bidding explanations and GIB's actual bidding logic. Normally when a bid is undefined, and by undefined I mean that no followup rules are in place to deal with it, GIB simply repeats the previous description. But this time it indicated that 4NT was an invitation to 6NT. Perhaps there is no disconnect. It doesn't decide whether to go to slam based on the quality of it's own hand relative to its own bidding to this point but combines its assets with those previously advertised by me and can't get to 32 or 33 "points" or whatever it needs. In the human bidding world, if I were North and my partner invited me to slam, I might wonder how he/she managed to dredge up a slam invitation after having only bid 1S initially but I would bid 6NT in any case because there's no point in being overly pedantic. My partner heard my bid and presumably knows that it was merely invitational to game. If I go down in 6N I won't be ashamed to show my hand. I'm of the opinion that 1♦=1♥=1♠ will be passed about as often as a reverse, that is to say, only when partner has a sub-minimum 1♥ response with three spades - the same sort of hand one would have to pass a reverse. I will pass 1♦=1♠=2♥ if my hand is Qxxxx Qxx x xxxx. There's no way I'm passing an opening bid of 1♦ with this hand and I have no qualms about passing 2♥. I did some simulations where I examined sub-minimum responses to a 1♦ opening holding 4+ hearts and 4 spades and it was wrong to pass 1♠. With, Qxxx Qxxx x xxxx, it turns out that it's correct to raise to 2♠ after 1♦=1♥=1♠. What's the point of all this? I think the upper limit of 18 "points" for the 1♠ bid is too low. There's no reason to consume bidding space by bidding 2♠ with mild distribution since your partner will only pass 1♠ with a sub-minimum and 3 card support.

If this is an accurate description of what happened at the table then it's clearly a bug. GIB acknowledges it's in a cue bidding situation but bypasses cheaply showing its first round heart control in order to show a second round club control? By the way. I've had auctions with GIB where it had TWO first round controls and didn't show either of them in an acknowledged cue bidding situation and the explanations were just like those in your example, "no A of hearts, no A of spades," when it had both of those cards.

IMP game. Human South. [hv=pc=n&s=sak98h5dakt632cj2&w=s765hat43dqct9853&n=sq42hk976d754cak6&e=sjt3hqj82dj98cq74&d=e&v=e&b=6&a=p1dp1hp1sp2np4nppp]399|300[/hv] Forget about South's bid. That's just me goofing around. The 2NT call was described as one might expect - balanced invite; 11-12 HCP. The 4NT was describe as quantitative and invitational to 6NT. Now, I challenge anyone to come up with a better hand that matches North's bidding to this point - Qxx in spades, 3 card support for both of partner's suits and 12 solid high card points. I'm wondering whether it's possible to construct a hand where GIB bids 2NT and accepts an invitation to 6NT.

Matchpoint game. Basic robots. Human South. [hv=pc=n&s=s842hkt864dt3ckt9&w=st53hqdkj8542cqj5&n=sqj97haj953d9c763&e=sak6h72daq76ca842&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=1np3cp3dp3hd3nppp&p=h6hqhah2sqsas2s5d7d3djd9d8c3dqdtdas4d4h5d6s8dks9d5c6c8c9d2c7h7h4cqh3cactskh8s3s7c4ckcjh9hksthjc2htc5sj]399|300[/hv] GIB bids 3NT with a weak doubleton heart after partner shows a singleton heart. Luckily, GIB North shifted after winning the first round of hearts. Next time I'll lead the ♥K from KTxxx when GIB doubles for the lead.

GIB also undervalues AKx AKxxxx Axx x. I'm pretty sure I don't want to stop short of game when I open this hand and partner bids 1NT.

There are a lot of funny things about this, not the least of which being that GIB doesn't continue clubs in spite of the fact that the only legitimate chance of beating the hand is that it gets in with the queen of diamonds. But it knows that South has the king of diamonds and that playing AK will drop its queen, so it gives up.

Again, I am not playing. The result was from another table. Most people passed the jump to 3♥ and made four after GIB East comically led the ♦T when in with the fourth trump. But one intrepid South was rewarded when he bid 3NT over 3♥. [hv=pc=n&s=sq43h8dkj943c7543&w=sj97h62dq8ckqjt98&n=sak6hak9743da52c2&e=st852hqjt5dt76ca6&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=ppp1hp1np3hp3nppp&p=ckc2c6c3s9sas5s3d2d6djdqcqh3cac4sts4s7skdadtd3d8d5d7dkh2d9h6h4h5d4cjh7s2h8c8hahqhkhtc5c9s6s8sqsjc7cth9]399|300[/hv]

No. An unblock is to force an entry to a different hand and not via normal promotion of honors. Unblocking is when you jettison a card to keep from winning a trick with it.

I think you mean to say that if South started with specifically A54 of clubs, the play of the Q is necessary to force an entry to East's hand (the eight of clubs). It's technically not an unblock. In fact, it's the opposite of an unblock.

This is in the free matchpoint game. I was not playing. Human player is South. Here's an example where human psychs a double and GIB goes horribly wrong in the play. [hv=pc=n&s=s6ht8743dj652ca54&w=sjhakq2dk93cqj763&n=sq3hj965dq8ckt982&e=sakt987542hdat74c&d=e&v=n&b=2&a=1sdr3c3dp3np4sppp&p=cac6cts2sas6sjs3skh3c7sqstc4h2h6s7h4d3c9s8h7c3h5d4d2d9dqd8dtd5dkhah9d7htcqc2s9c5s5h8cjhjs4djhqckdad6hk]399|300[/hv] With 14 tricks off the top, GIB finesses the diamond 9 because it KNOWS South didn't double with 10 HCP. South HAD to have 11.

I must be missing something. With a hand full of good spades, what reason does East have to unblock?

Does anyone besides me think it's a bad idea to force to slam with zero keycards?