ACBL Robot Tournaments

[kady1981]

I like to play in the ACBL Robot tournaments but notice that the robots do not play the same way with each participant. I have seen where a robot was in a contract that was winnable depending on the opponents play and it differed from table to table. Have others noticed this and if so since it is a sanctioned game shouldn't the robots all play the same way?

[Foxx]

I've noticed this too observing GIB over the years.

 

Robots frequently use simulations to make their decisions. Simulations are performed by randomly visualizing all unseen hands depending on the known information. My guess is that the random batch of hands varies from one specimen to the next. While I don't know how big the batches of simulated hands are, the differences could be enough to induce different plays unless the sample sizes are very big.

 

Unlike a human player, GIB does not possess the fear of "looking silly" in taking an unusual action. Therefore GIB often makes plays that look brilliant when they work well, as well as plays that look really stupid when they don't.

[barmar]

Welcome to the forums, kady!

 

Another thing that can affect GIB's play is the auction that led to the contract. When GIB does its simulations, it deals hands that it thinks are consistent with the auction. This can bias its choices. If you have one table where a player made a game try that was accepted, and another table where the player just jumped to game, GIB will defend differently.

 

BTW, this forum is for general bridge discussion, not discussions specific to BBO. There's a whole section category of BBO forums down below, and it includes "GIB Robot Discussions", specifically for discussion of GIB issues.