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Asking for Aces

#1 User is offline   debstander 

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Posted 2019-March-21, 20:48

Returning to BBO after a few years' absence and I'm having a lot of trouble with the robots during tournaments. There have been numerous times when I've made a bid that I thought was clearly a sign-off bid and the robot has taken it higher with the result that I can't possibly make the contract.

Today in a tournament I thought I had a possible small slam. The trump suit had been identified so I bid 4NT to ask for Aces. The robot responded 5 Diamonds, which I always thought meant 1 Ace. I had the other three so I bid the small slam. But when the Robot's hand went down, it didn't have a single Ace. So I went down one.

What does a 4NT ask mean for these BBO Robots? If it is not standard Blackwood, what is it? RKC Blackwood? Is there any place on the site where I can see what the conventions are?
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#2 User is online   smerriman 

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Posted 2019-March-21, 21:04

GIB plays RKC Blackwood, 0314. By hovering over (or possibly on some devices, tapping) a bid you will see a description of what it means to GIB while playing. The description of 4NT will say which suit it is asking about, and the description of the responses says exactly what they mean (including how many keycards, the queen of trumps, etc).

But there's an overall guide here too (not that it's 100% accurate): https://www.bridgeba...ystem_notes.php
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#3 User is online   johnu 

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Posted 2019-March-22, 15:01

I second what smerriman said.

Unless you are 100% sure about a GIB bid based on previous experience, you should check all of GIB's bids because there is frequently a slightly different or completely different meaning compared to standard expert practice. Sometimes it will work out in the end, but too frequently this will results in a complete disaster once a bid is misinterpreted.
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#4 User is offline   debstander 

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Posted 2019-March-22, 16:00

Many thanks to you both, Smerriman and johnu, for confirming that GIB plays RKC Blackwood 0134. Will have to brush up on it again. Awful how much you can forget when you leave off playing for a few years -- especially when you have only played for a few years to begin with.

I have in fact been hovering over the bids with my cursor to interpret them but even then, the explanations are not always totally clear.

Smerriman thanks for the link, I'll check it out now.

So appreciate your help, thanks again to both of you.
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