[uva72uva72]

My link

IMPs, ACBL robot individual

North's bidding cost very few IMPs here. Still, I'm curious as to why North gave a false preference to 2♥, abandoning a known 8+-card fit in ♣s for what was almost certain to be a 7-card fit in ♥s. This matchpoint-oriented strategy makes no sense at IMPs, where the upside potential is a 1-IMP gain but the downside risk is a 4-IMP loss (5 if vulnerable).

[1eyedjack]

Yes, Pass rather stands out. It unilaterally gives up on game (2C can be quite wide ranging in my book, perhaps less so with GIB). Presumably a 3C rebid by opener (instead of 2C) would have been GF.

So North may be looking for an excuse to keep the auction open "just in case". If, say, South had 6-4 in Hearts and Clubs, you may be getting close. I agree that this is fairly rose-tinted, and not my choice, but I can see it working on some hands.

The third alternative is 3C. Not sure of GIB demarcation there, but likely promises more overall strength, except that 2S by North I think shows a sound raise in Clubs so maybe not..

[lycier]

To be fair,it really isn't necessarily 8-card fit in ♣.
1- For example: opener maybe hold 4522 with 2-2 distributions in minors,after forcing 1nt,opener should rebid 2♣ even with doubleton ♣.
2- Who is willing to play 2♣ as a final contract? In many many cases, If 2♣ is really a final contract,opps also will make a balancing bid,see your hand,opps maybe find ♠ fit.

[iandayre]

I would Pass 2C here, but I am sure there are some that would take GIB's action. Therefore, this is probably too minor an issue to worry about. First let's eliminate the GIB bids that no human player would dream of in a million years, such as the 4C bid in Goffster's current thread.

I believe GIB's parameters here are close to what I believe is correct. Pass here, raise to 3C (or take the 2M preference with a doubleton) with a slightly better hand, and bid 2S with 11-12.

This does remind me of a related issue that I have only recently noticed. After the auction 1M-1NT-2m, GIB's descriptions of opener's next rebid limit you to 16 HCP. This is clearly incorrect as many unbalanced hands would not jump shift with 18 or even 19 points.

[johnu]

I applaud GIB for taking a preference to hearts with 2 card support when you consider some the unbelievable preference decisions that have come up recently.