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Robot race strategies


cherdano

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  • 3 weeks later...
I am aware that claiming is not an option. but I am waiting for BBO to introduce the "concede rest" button. If I have already collected my 7 tricks in a 1NT contract I would like to have the option of conceding the rest of the tricks and move on to the next hand.
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The option to autoplay singletons is greyed out in my windows client. It is there as an option, but disabled. How do I enable it?

I think it will become enabled when you are at a table (perhaps only if you are sitting).

 

Fred Gitelman

Bridge Base Inc.

www.bridgebase.com

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Are the boards duplicated?

 

I guess not?

 

when I am still struggling, some other guys already run away with 5000+.

Step 1: Bid Your Slams

Step 2: Make Your Slams

Step 3: Profit

 

Grand slams especially...

 

Seriously...slams are where you make the big points. You don't want to be playing part scores at all.

 

Also, your game bidding should be very aggressive... a game needs to be only about 45% NV, 38% vulnerable, so even a bit more aggressive than IMPs.

 

If you're trying to place high occasionally (and accept also placing very low somewhat often), be even more aggressive.

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Are the boards duplicated?

 

I guess not?

 

when I am still struggling, some other guys already run away with 5000+.

Step 1: Bid Your Slams

Step 2: Make Your Slams

Step 3: Profit

 

Grand slams especially...

 

Seriously...slams are where you make the big points. You don't want to be playing part scores at all.

 

Also, your game bidding should be very aggressive... a game needs to be only about 45% NV, 38% vulnerable, so even a bit more aggressive than IMPs.

 

If you're trying to place high occasionally (and accept also placing very low somewhat often), be even more aggressive.

I tried this strategy a little while ago. I bid slams aggressively, and landed in the right slam a few times but invariably GIB overruled and went to grand which failed by a trick. Since then, I have learned from others that "never jump to a slam without using Blackwood first cuz GIB will put you in grand". Lesson learned.

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And jumping to 5 in a minor frequently causes GIB to put you in slam, sometimes off 2 aces.

 

I've had some pretty good luck opening hands that would be 4th-seat 2 bids (i.e. a good opening with a good 6-card suit) at the 4 level -- about 75% of the time I pick up a good dummy and make the game.

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  • 3 weeks later...

These robot races are addictive, aren't they!

 

The Biggest event in the history of bridge has inspired me to try them. I read all the good advice in this thread.

 

I have been passing most of my strong notrumps when not vul. Sometimes, the hand is passed out, and we go onto the next hand (good). Sometimes the robot opponents want to open the bidding on junk and slowly play a partscore (grr). But the interesting one is when partner opens 1M. I usually respond 1NT, partner bids a new suit, I bid 3NT, but the robot (ok, I admit he can't know that I have passed a balanced 15) invariably goes back to 4M on his 5 card suit.

 

Another strange GIB bid has happened twice. When we have been doubled at the 5 level, silly partner bids 6:

 

P    (1)  3  (4)

5    X    6  (X)

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  • 7 months later...

When GIBs are defending, I noticed they don't falsecard.*

 

(I only play MBT$1 best hand really, not robot race, though I think it's the same.)

 

So if QJ is out and East plays Q, as declarer you know they don't have J.

 

*I don't notice count that well. They may be falsecarding count. But I'm pretty sure about this part.

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It's so funny reading back at myself bragging about playing 23 or 24 hands. Ever since an upgrade or two to gib I get in 35 to 40 regularly now lol.

 

Also I made my openings a bit sounder over time. Now I open 18+ balanced NV (sometimes even pass 18) and 16+ balanced vul (sometimes pass 16).

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How many non-passouts? The most I've managed to play is 19. The most deals I've played is 34 (with 17 passouts).

 

I tend to open balanced hands only if I would accept an invite, so a minimum of 16+-17. But, it is frustrating getting passed out there so I've been thinking about bumping that up a tad.

 

I read in one thread or another that you sometimes open these ~17-18 point hands 2NT. Are you still doing that?

 

How is your success now compared to when you had the challenge match with Justin?

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I don't know how many non-passouts, but there are a lot of passouts.

 

I think it's completely wrong to upgrade those hands to 2NT. In fact I believe you are thinking of someone else.

 

My scores are a bit higher now (my highest is 13,280 or something and I've broken 10k several times) but I probably don't come in quite as well. I don't play in nearly as many any more, I play less in general and more ACBLs than robot races. Also I more often play while doing something else, not totally focused on playing as fast as possible like I used to be.

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I was referring to this.

That comment was facetious (about how I'll never learn), and my bid was both abnormal for me and completely tactical. I believe I was 2272 that hand.

 

I also mentioned in my first post in this thread that I think it's wrong to upgrade into 2NT in these tournament.

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I was referring to this.

That comment was facetious (about how I'll never learn), and my bid was both abnormal for me and completely tactical. I believe I was 2272 that hand.

 

I also mentioned in my first post in this thread that I think it's wrong to upgrade into 2NT in these tournament.

I hadn't read your first post in this thread (or at least don't remember reading it). I thought you might not have been serious about the 2NT opening, I can't imagine GIB not bidding to a too high level after mis-describing by an Ace, but well sometimes strange things are right in these tournaments.

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GIB frequently raises 2NT to 3NT with 4 counts, so stretching to open 2NT is clearly a bad idea.

 

I generally only open 1NT with 16 HCP, majors with 15 HCP, and minors with 15 HCP and something in the majors. I probably should bump those up a point. But it sure gets monotonous passing them out.

 

What I frequently wonder about this is how confused the GIB defenders get when I pass opening hands, then North opens, and I bid game. GIB deals out hands that are consistent with the bidding, but it doesn't know anything about these psychic passes. Do you think it makes them defend worse, so they're unlikely to find the killing defense if there is one?

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Funny, my impression is the opposite, that whenever I become declarer after having made a bid that GIB wouldn't have made (like opening 1NT with a 5-card major), it induces defensive mistakes.

 

This is probably ok though, the reason why it doesn't work as well against humans is that humans are not as good at counting as GIB is. Maybe if I played more against good defenders I wouldn't notice much of a difference, except when playing against humans who knew which of my bids they can't trust.

 

Of course it can happen that something impossible happens, like partner's count signal being inconsistent with declarer's bidding. Dunno about GIB, but what Jack would do is gradually to decrease the level of reliability of all actions until it finds at least one possible layout. I would expect GIB to do something different. (Newer versions of Jack will learn to distrust humans, i.e. if you generally bid undisciplined it will learn to trust other robots above you, whether as a partner or as opp).

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

So...GIB plays Blackwood, but it is RKCB?

 

Thanks everyone! These posts were great. I am a novice, and playing in the bot tourneys is teaching me a lot (some of it not so good, I am sure).

 

Also, for Best Hands, are all of the hands played different for all players? Do we all get the same hands? Not so for Random Hands? Robot Reward, too...same hands for all or not?

 

 

terri

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