[1eyedjack]

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MP, best hand South, Instant, Pro GIB 32.

Playing in Instant tourneys provides an interesting insight into the development of GIB between versions. It is early days, and by no means scientific, but my gut feel is that version 32 is a noticeable improvement over version 30. I so conclude from the fact that in the last week I have been finding it harder to score well in Instants, due to the robots' better judgement as opponents at my table.

Anyway, this hand is perhaps not the finest hour for version 32. I took the maximum tricks (11) for just under 40% of the Matchpoints. Taking 12 or 13 would have scored no better.

The reason for the poor score is that the other tables, playing an earlier version of GIB (version number not known), played in 2HX after East passed throughout, South protected and North stood it. There were a smattering of 500s but most were going for 800. And we had an opportunity to defend a level higher.

I don't know how much opprobrium to heap on my North partner. I had room to be a bit weaker, when 3N may still be makeable but 500 more normal in defence.

I think perhaps that East's 3H should come in for some stick, for all that it worked against us, and that is the only departure of the auction that we can definitively state resulted from the GIB version upgrade. We can only speculate whether my North would have stood a double at the 2 level (with East silent) or whether the other Norths would have stood one at the 3 level (East raising).

I hope that North would have passed at IMP, a rather more clear-cut decision. Anyone have the means to test that?

[Bbradley62]

So, there are several questions that could be addressed:

• Why does East v32 raise whereas earlier version passed? (Do we like this change?)
  
• Would North v32 have passed after (2♥)-P-(P)-Dbl-(P)?
  
• Would North v32 have passed your actual auction at IMPs. (Would East have bid 3♥ at IMPs?)

I expect that somewhere in the calculations is the explanation that a balancing double of 2♥ shows 12+ whereas a direct double of 3♥ shows 14+; in the first auction North is less likely to believe that his side has game, and therefore he's more content to accept +200 or +500 instead of his partscore.

[iandayre]

Good stuff guys. For me, no, I don't think E should be raising on this hand. Except when they are my opponents.