[Antrax]

A) what is a help suit slam trial? I can't figure it out from the alert. What does it ask for or what does it show?
B) when gib makes a game try, again what is it looking for? Shortness? Honors? HCP outside? This I can't figure out even after looking at his hand after, it keeps changing.
C) how do you go about slam exploring when trump was agreed? GIB usually just bids game even on strong auctions and new suits aren't cues, and 3NT is to play. I have to blast BW and pray, most times.
D) Why is system off after NT over call of weak openings? For instance, (2♥)-p-(p)-2NT (p), now 3♥ is natural? Does that come up a lot?

[Antrax]

Also, does GIB have any meaningful lead rules? Any signals?

[Stephen Tu]

Antrax, on 2012-August-21, 05:05, said:

A) what is a help suit slam trial? I can't figure it out from the alert. What does it ask for or what does it show?

It's like a help suit game try, except that it's trying for slam. It's supposed to be a fragment with length and honors. So typically you want fitting honors in that suit, and devalue quacks in other suits since partner will often have shortness outside.

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B) when gib makes a game try, again what is it looking for? Shortness? Honors? HCP outside? This I can't figure out even after looking at his hand after, it keeps changing.

It's supposed to be a similar thing, honors in that suit are good, quacks outside suspect.

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C) how do you go about slam exploring when trump was agreed? GIB usually just bids game even on strong auctions and new suits aren't cues, and 3NT is to play. I have to blast BW and pray, most times.

This is too general a question. Give some example auctions. If trumps are agreed, new suits ought to be cues, if they aren't, there are likely bugs that have to be fixed.

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D) Why is system off after NT over call of weak openings? For instance, (2♥)-p-(p)-2NT (p), now 3♥ is natural? Does that come up a lot?

Bug? Post the hand, separate post. I think system should definitely be on here.

Antrax, on 2012-August-21, 06:58, said:

Also, does GIB have any meaningful lead rules? Any signals?

It leads the standard top of touching honors, supposedly will give an attitude signal at trick 1 to your lead? But it generally ignores your signals. It used to signal count more, but that might have been turned off, I haven't payed much attention to it.

[Antrax]

I wish I could post hands but I'm doing the iPad app thing so there are no hand records. I actually found several "bugs" (passing forcing bids, making bids that contradict the hand) but there's no way to show it. That's why I limit myself to general questions.
For C above, even on 1♠-3♠ (4c limit raise), opener's new suit is a slam-try, which I see requires a honor. So with AKQxxx x xxx AKx for instance, you're stuck.

Thanks!

[Stephen Tu]

Antrax, on 2012-August-21, 21:56, said:

I wish I could post hands but I'm doing the iPad app thing so there are no hand records. I actually found several "bugs" (passing forcing bids, making bids that contradict the hand) but there's no way to show it. That's why I limit myself to general questions.
For C above, even on 1♠-3♠ (4c limit raise), opener's new suit is a slam-try, which I see requires a honor. So with AKQxxx x xxx AKx for instance, you're stuck.

Even if you can't post entire hands you can probably post the auction.

Why are you stuck on your example hand? What's wrong with 4c cue bid?

[Antrax]

It׳s not a cue bid in his system, that's my point. It's a help suit slam try but you have 12 8-4-2-1 HCP so you can't bid clubs, and 0 in diamonds and hearts (the alert says it shows 2-11)

[Stephen Tu]

Odd. Maybe it should be redefined as 2-12 or 2-13. In any case it's OK to deviate slightly from the description, for either GIB or a human playing with GIB, so 4c will tend to work out acceptably well, even if AKx technically isn't in the description.

Though maybe it's a little over-aggressive on your example, if partner has xxxx Axx AJx Qxx it's hard to stay out after cue-bidding, if Jxxx Axxx AQx xx it's still only 50%. Trying out on my home PC GIB likes to have the K of diamonds in addition before it makes a slam try (it simulates bidding 4c/4d with lesser diamond holdings but rejects in favor of just signing off), although then its try is 4d not 4c.

[Antrax]

I'm not good at constructing examples. But add ♦K and it's a 2♣ opener, I think.