I have been playing in Robot tournaments for a few years and have kept up with the GIB system. Last month I was having one of my best starts. I was coming in 1rst or 2nd 25% of the time in the robot games. Shortly after the middle of the month my ability to win, or place high up in these games was dramatically reduced. I felt that I was playing well and that something was not right. When I compared scores at the end of a session and went over the hands of the other players I noticed that when the bidding was the same by different players on the same hand, the GIB opening lead was not always the same. Since this intrigued as well as annoyed me, I decided to do some more analysis. I rented the advanced robot for a few days and analyzed the hands played at each table. The experiment study confirmed my initial findings. I then decided to contact BBO. MY QUESTION: "Could you please explain to me why, when all bidding is equal, GIB’s bids and opening leads vary from table to table?" BBO REPLY: "The robots are all programmed by the same software but also have the capability of choosing their line of play or defense, including the lead." If you read the BBO reply carefully you will see that it not entirely correct. GIB robots do not have free will. They can only do what they are programmed to do, and a certain amount of randomness has been programmed into their selection of opening leads and play of the hand. The question that needs to be asked is why, and more importantly, is it fair to the player paying to play in what is supposed to be a game of skill, albeit with some level of chance. Playing in Robot tournaments has been reduced from a game where a person with some level of skill and a basic understanding of the GIB system can strive to do well, to in what can be more accurately described as a random crap shoot. As of the beginning of this month I no longer play in Robot Tournaments. If anyone can confirm my observations I would like to hear from you.
