Using the Gib

[ampermsn]

I can not find any clear direction on how to use the GIB when making adjustments of a hand. After you run the play of the hand down to the last card and check the GIB, we get a suggestion of (4) red down 1 and (1) red down 2, and (2) green = . What would a good Director adjust the hand as. I have been using the numbers as my guide that the most likely result would be down 1 (the 4 red 1's ) as the adjusted value. I have had experienced directors also tell me that I have to look at the declaring hand to see if they have the next card to take control and make the hand. So is there any guidance from BBO which tells me how to make the adjustment.

 

ampermsn

[diana_eva]

Actually you should replay the hand and try to determine what the declarer's line of play was. In general it's best to not adjust hands unless the result is crystal clear.

 

Read this for more details: How to use GIB when adjusting unfinished hands

 

This:

 

"(4) red down 1 and (1) red down 2, and (2) green = "

 

means that, if the suit marked with red down 1 is played, the contract is one down (on double dummy play). If the suit marked with red down 2 is played, then the contract goes 2 down, on double dummy play. If the suit marked with green= is played, then the contract makes = on double dummy play.

 

However people do not play double dummy, so you shouldn't rely on GIB analysis too much.

[bluejak]

GIB - or Deep Finesse, or any other Double Dummy software - is merely an aid. Rulings are given on the TD's view of how the play would or might go, not how a double dummy play will go.

[j_with_a_B]

I use GiB as an aid, not as an authority. But, that said, a few things I keep in mind when considering its advice are:

 

1. Always remember that the advice is given from the point of view of the declarer's outcome and not the opps'. (It seems obvious, but some folks I have trained to TD have needed to get that straight from the outset.)

 

2. Give players the benefit of the doubt that they have paid attention to the preceding tricks, and are trying to get the best outcome for themselves, that is, they are playing rationally.

 

3. In general, if the lead is from the declarer, then the benefit of the doubt is with him, and the better outcome for declarer is most likely the best to assume.

 

4. By the same token, if the opps are next to play, then they will try to set declarer and the worst outcome for declarer could likely be assumed.

 

5. Lastly, it helps when examining the possibilities, to ask yourself if you (or any rational player) would follow a course of action that is shown as an option. This applies more so to the declarer than the opps. For example, if declarer can play a sequence of high cards and sluff all the losers, why would he choose to lead a 2 from the dummy to his hand that contains only the 3, when the opps should each have higher cards in that suit? Also, if trump are not drawn, assume declarer would do so before playing a card in a suit he knows one of the opps to be void in, and likely to trump if given the chance. (Probably not always the case in the real world, but a reasonable thing to hope for...)

 

Even with these guidelines in mind, you can surely envisage possibilities that could result in a false assessment. The opening lead must have been made for GiB to even offer an opinion, and if the hand has only just had a very few tricks played, and the outcome is is not at all clear, then maybe consider that Ave== is more appropriate than any of the offered possibilities.

 

Any human will make mistakes at times when looking at a difficult hand to predict. Especially when you are TD'ing a larger tourney, or working alone and have many more tables to deal with after the current one and time is too short for a lengthy consideration of all the possible outcomes, then GiB may be very useful to confirm your own opinion quickly, or to show that no matter what is played the outcome will be the same. All the same, so very often I have watched a hand played from the start with GiB following it, and have seen the possible outcomes change not just from trick to trick, but from card to card within a trick.

 

If the world were perfect then GiB would never need to be used at all, since there would never be any adjustments to make in the first place. I have found that in the free tourneys, any one hand wrongly adjusted by a trick or two doesn't affect the prize money much anyway... :rolleyes:

 

It is certainly a two edged sword to use GiB or not, but I find it very helpful to use for the free advice it offers, but not as a crutch to rely on.

 

My opinion only, and I am used to others not always agreeing with me...

 

John