TheKurgan

Hi, Barmar. Will you check my profile. It even logged me out OF THE FORUM. I am at a loss as to why this is happening. Is it just because there are so many people playing? Charles BBO Handle: TheKurgan

Personally, I have the following opinions: 1) Some players enjoy playing up so that the learn. I regularly play in A/X events because I enjoy the challenge. They belong in whichever event they choose to play. 2) Legal or not, if you have to psych to get good results against a weaker pair, then maybe you're not as strong as you think you are, no matter how many points or trophies you have. 3) If you live by the sword, you're going to die by the sword too. Case in point. Some schmuck decided once to psych a 1H opening bid, vul vs. not, against me. Holding eight hearts to the AQJ and a total of 21 HCP, I passed. Partner, holding nine points, reopened. I, of course, passed. Schmucko had a heart void. To his credit, he took his assigned phone number like a man. Psyching is part of the game; I agree. On average, I MIGHT throw one every 18 months, on a lark. As you know, though, Law 40 states that you can't psych if it's part of a partnership understanding. As frequently as you psych, you might run into problems with this.

Not only did GIB err by not bidding Michael's, GIB didn't trust me. GIB's hand: S - A 8 H - A 6 4 3 2 D - 9 C - A 10 9 5 2 My hand: S - K 9 4 2 H - K J 5 D - A 10 8 5 C - Q 6 West was dealer and opened 2S. GIB's first error was not bidding Michaels, which would have let me get to the 4H game, which loses only two tricks. Anyway, GIB overcalled 3C. I looked at my hand and saw one, if not two spade stoppers and one, if not two, diamond stoppers. I bid 3NT, which GIB should have PASSED. GIB bids 4H. The explanation when I hovered over the bid said it was 5+ clubs, 4+ hearts. I didn't want to play in a Moysian fit with the distinct possibility of spade ruffs from East, so I bid 5C, thinking GIB was likely void in diamonds and pulled my 3NT fearing transportation issues. No such luck. As you can see, 5C loses a club, a heart, and a diamond. First of all, Michael's should be automatic over 2S. Why cloud the issue by bidding 3C? I agree that GIB shouldn't bid 3H with that barren ewheat field of a suit, but 3C is terrible. Worse, GIB showed no trust in my judgment in pulling 3NT, which makes at least four (four clubs, three hearts, two spades, and a diamond). Against bad defense, it also makes 5. That would have given me +7 IMPs instead of -5. A 12-IMP swing would have put me in the running. Thanks for all you do, but GIB needs constant improvement! Charles Dalmas (aka TheKurgan)

BTW, I'm sorry I posted this here. I did not realize there was a section devoted to GIB.

When I held the cursor over the bid, it said "Forcing 2/1 response ..."

Has anyone else noticed the BBO GIB robots doing REALLY stupid things lately? Like the following: My hand: S - Void H - x x D - A K 9 8 C - A Q 10 9 8 x x Partner's hand: S - x x x H - Q J 10 9 D - J x x x C - K x I open 1C. Lefty says 1S. GIB partner doubles. So far so good. Righty bids 3C, and I double. Lefty PASSES. Instead of passing, partner BIDS 3H! WTF? Case in point #2 My hand: S - x H - J 10 9 D - A K J 9 x C - K J 10 x I open 1D, lefty passes. Partner gives me a 2/1 2C, game forcing. Righty passes. I bid 3C. Lefty now chimes in 3S. Partner bids 4C. I bid 5C. Partner bids 6C. Here's what I suspected partner had: S - x x x H - A x D - Q 10 8 C - A Q x x x What partner REALLY had: S - A x x H - Q J D - x x x C - Q x x x x Yes, not only did GIB give me a 2/1 response with 9 HCP, it bid AGAIN after interference. Now, I'm not the type to complain, usually, and I'm willing to live with a few bad choices made by a bot. That's part of the game. But such egregious errors are beyond the pale. Who else is in this boat? TheKurgan