Learning from GIB ... and

[calm01]

I enjoy playing with 3 robots because I can take a phonecall or make a sandwich in the middle of a hand. Also learning to cope with its foibles is a good mental exercise and particularly useful for exercising my bridge logic muscles.

 

There is one area that has stopped being much of a learning opportunity and become a source of much amusement - GIBs opening leads.

 

It is often difficult to guess what GIB has led from and so what declarer has got because:

 

- at NT GIB often likes to lead short suits in preference to a good 5 or 6 card

suit,,

- in a high level contract (5 or above) it likes to underlead side suit Aces,

- based on probably my biased perception, GIB seems to choose suits to lead

without any reference to partners bidding,

- it will lead x from J10x to block partners suit!

 

I accept all this experience of GIB choices of opening lead but can see several opportunities to dramatically improve GIB defending skills with little coding effort.

 

For example - the lead from J10x - new bridge players are taught some kind of standard lead system to minimise damage from too much thinking in their early bridge career. GIB can readily be given lookup tables for standard opening leads - differentiating between NT and suit contracts. Lookup tables are mothers milk to computer systems.

 

GIB desperately needs to start weaning in respect of opening leads.

[JoAnneM]

Today when gib was declaring a 3nt contract it had a choice in direction for a heart finesse. There was only one safe direction because of an open Kx in a side suit in dummy. There were no entry problems. Gib finessed the wrong way, lost the queen and the entire diamond suit. This is bridge 101