[benellis58]

This board was played 14 times and had the exact same result all 14 times: 6NT by West, making with an overtrick, for plus 1020 EW and a score on the board of 50 % for everyone.

6NT is certainly a reasonable, albeit fairly conservative contract, and when nothing bad happened in hearts, 13 tricks were cold. So why am I writing about it? Because I consider the EW auction to be quite poor, and even though the contract was okay, the robots reached it the way they often reach slams...with a blind jump.

But even worse is North's insane lead. It didn't cost, since declarer was always going to take 13 tricks anyway, but the GIBBO robot sitting North is so utterly clueless that he led the queen of spades...from Q7 doubleton (!)...against 6NT...INTO (!) declarer West, who had responded 1S (!) to his partner East's 1H opening!

https://www.bridgeba...HQ%7Cmc%7C13%7C

[benellis58]

Once North led a club and West guessed correctly to hook South for the spade queen, West was always going to take 11 tricks. On a different lead, NS could have taken one more trick. There was certainly a case for North leading the heart queen, but a case could also be made for his actual lead of a stiff club, so we won't criticize him for that.

But later, after he won his diamond ace at trick five, he...played another diamond at trick six! It didn't cost, because as previously explained, declarer was cold for exactly 11 tricks after the opening lead and his accurate trump plays...BUT...why, why, WHY do these GIBBO robots PERSIST with their unfathomably stupid habit of immediately returning DECLARER'S suit? Why are they SO oblivious to logic and common sense? Or, to put it another way, why are they so irredeemably hopeless at defending?

There's also some humour with a typically silly GIB definition. East's 4S is defined as "3+ spades; 2+ HCP; 3-8 total points". WHY must he have at least 2 HCP? His partner West basically FORCED him to do SOMETHING by doubling 4H. Wouldn't East still have bid 4S even with ZERO points? And where the Hell does GIB get the idea that East must have "3-8 total points"? Yet ridiculous as the definition is, it's even MORE ridiculous (AND inconsistent!) when you consider that East's THREE spade call was defined as "2+ spades; 8- total points". Why is the definition of his 4S call DIFFERENT from that for his 3S call? Both were basically FORCED by West's respective doubles of the North-South 3H and 4H bids. GIB definitions require HUGE improvements, because they are SO often a complete joke.

https://www.bridgeba...D5%7Cpc%7CHK%7C

[benellis58]

Over South's 3NT, North lazily and foolishly abandons any and all science, and stupidly (his specialty!) leaps to 6C. Sure, looking only at his hand, 6C could be the PERFECT spot...BUT: Maybe we have a grand slam...OR...maybe we have a small slam in NO TRUMP...OR maybe we have NO slam, which was the case here. What was his RUSH to LEAP all the way from 3NT to 6C, instead of using all the room he had over 3NT to investigate intelligently? Hopeless, as usual.

More humour: The logic-free GIB definition of South's 3NT: "3-5 clubs; 2-5 diamonds; 2-4 hearts; 2-4 spades; 17 HCP; 18- total points"; stop in hearts". Let's examine this typically nonsensical GIB definition piece by revolting piece:

"3-5 clubs". WHY? Why can't South have only two clubs?

"2-5 diamonds". Okay, fair enough.

"2-4 hearts". WHY? Why can't he have FIVE hearts (as unlikely as it might be, given West's 2H bid)?

"2-4 spades". Again, WHY? Why can't he have FIVE spades? True, with five, he might bid 3S rather than 3NT, but depending on his actual hand he might opt for 3NT even WITH five spades.

"17 HCP". WHY? His opening 1NT showed 15-17. There is no reason on Earth that he now magically must have 17. He HAS to bid over North's 3C, and if he has hearts stopped he will USUALLY be bidding 3NT...whether he has 17...OR 16...OR 15!

"18- total points". As is almost always the case with GIB definitions, they quote some random amount of "total" points with no actual justification. They just pull these numbers out of thin air, so they're almost always completely useless.

"Stop in hearts.> Okay, at least THAT makes sense. A rose in a garden of thorns.

https://www.bridgeba...S2%7Cmc%7C11%7C

[benellis58]

The GIBBO robot sitting North shows how witless he is with his stupid 4H bid. In addition to showing his near-zero knowledge of bidding, the robot, as is SO often the case, does not even respect his own GIB definition of 4H, which is "6+ hearts; 13-17 total points".

Be my guest, please: COUNT his points. Do you even come CLOSE to "13-17"? These robots are an embarrassment.

https://www.bridgeba...CS8%7Cmc%7C8%7C

[benellis58]

At trick four the GIBBO robot sitting North shows how clueless he is, and he (like all GIBBO robots) is VERY clueless indeed.

https://www.bridgeba...CCJ%7Cmc%7C9%7C

[benellis58]

The GIBBO robot sitting West makes one of his favourite silly leads, his stiff trump. He scores 14.3 % on the board. His NS opponents score 85.7 %...but I'm sure that the robot will continue making such leads.

https://tinyurl.brid...se.com/ycyrzhdr

[benellis58]

Hey, my prediction on the post immediately above was right...because on the very next board the GIBBO robot sitting West AGAIN led his stiff trump. Maybe I should start buying lottery tickets or betting on horses. Then again, maybe not...because those things are much harder to predict than the silly actions of a GIBBO robot!

This time the GIBBO robot did better at least. He scored 42.9 % on the board, while his NS opponents scored 57.1 %.

https://tinyurl.brid...se.com/45vzys5e

[benellis58]

The GIBBO robot sitting West actually finds the BEST lead of a spade. Well done, Sir!

Sadly for him, however, his partner, the GIBBO robot sitting East, after winning his spade JACK (!) at trick one,...SHIFTS, thereby undoing the excellent work done by West's fine lead, and allowing NS to take 11 tricks and score 85.7 % on the board. EW are "rewarded", thanks to East's REFUSAL to return the suit his partner led, with a score of 14.3 %. I wonder if the GIBBO robots hate having to partner another GIBBO robot?

https://tinyurl.brid...se.com/y68mrb9v

[benellis58]

North has what appears to be a natural club lead. Then again, he and his partner South BOTH bid diamonds (North via his 2H call). So, does he lead a club or a diamond?

The answer, of COURSE, is that he's a GIBBO robot, so he leads...NEITHER. He MUCH prefers yet ANOTHER of his favourite leads, a worthless doubleton, so of COURSE he leads his spade 6 from 65 doubleton.

Fortunately, the hand was GIBBO robot-proof, so NS beat the contract anyway and scored 85.7 % on the board, undoubtedly encouraging North to continue making his favourite leads.

https://tinyurl.brid...se.com/2p83da28

[benellis58]

Against North's 2NT, the GIBBO robot sitting East leads his...stiff king of diamonds. He lucks out when the AQ4 show up in dummy, so his lead HAPPENS to cost nothing, and he scores 39.3 % on the board.

https://tinyurl.brid...se.com/a546yrn9

[benellis58]

Another BBO player sent me a hand (linked at the bottom of this post) in which the GIBBO robots did NOT shine. He gave me permission to post the hand here.

He wrote: "Here's a hand where Robot declarer did not play it like Zia, but at trick 11 my robot partner found the third hand low play, turning a 98% into a 74% score for us."

I replied to him: "Third hand low is one of the idiocies that was supposed to have been eliminated with the upgrade from GIB to GIBBO."

The GIBBO robot sitting East certainly "did not play it like Zia", but his poor performance was overshadowed by the ASTOUNDING stupidity of the GIBBO robot sitting North in playing the SIX (!!!) of hearts rather than the jack at trick 11. This is WORLD-CLASS INCOMPETENCE...but sadly, it is no surprise at all when coming from a GIBBO robot. This is further evidence of why I so often state that I have never...EVER...seen even a single human player as hopelessly inept at all facets of bridge as the GIBBO robots.

https://www.bridgeba...SJ%7Cpc%7CDT%7C

[benellis58]

West, North, and East are all GIBBO robots.

Simply terrified that he will never score his spade queen unless he pops it immediately, West does so, thereby winning trick two. At trick three, he plays...of COURSE...another spade, because the GIBBO robots LOVE to lead, continue, and return DECLARER'S suit.

East wins his spade ace at trick three, and to his credit makes the BEST shift, to diamonds. His king holds the trick, at which point he probably says to himself, "Oh no! What have I done? I must have lost my mind! Why, oh why, did I not make my FAVOURITE play of returning DECLARER'S suit? I'm so ashamed! My partner, West, will probably never forgive me! HE was wise enough to immediately return DECLARER'S suit. Otherwise I might NEVER have scored my ace of spades. Well, at least I realized my error quickly. I'll play another spade (DECLARER'S suit) right now and hope it's not too late!" And with that, he returned his spade seven from his remaining holding of J7.

The human declarer won his 10 from his remaining K10 and took all the rest of the tricks on a pop-up squeeze against West.

The robots scored zero percent on the board, but immediately agreed that they must always return DECLARER'S suit immediately, as they have been doing for so long. The kibitzers, a truly heartless bunch, did not tell the robots that their LOVE for returning DECLARER'S suit is actually NOT usually a good idea.

https://www.bridgeba...D8%7Cpc%7CCJ%7C

[benellis58]

What does the GIBBO robot sitting West lead against South's 3H? EASY question! West is a GIBBO robot, so of COURSE he leads DECLARER'S first suit, clubs, INTO declarer.

https://www.bridgeba...CC6%7Cmc%7C9%7C

[benellis58]

4S made, resulting in a score of 100 % on the board, but in spite of that success I question the wisdom of North's JUMP to THREE spades with his weak holding of 982 opposite a South hand KNOWN to hold only four spades.

Furthermore, as is so often the case, North's bid does not match his own GIB definition of "2+ clubs; 2-3 diamonds; 4 hearts; 3 spades; 10 HCP; 11+ total points; partial stop in spades; forcing". He does NOT have "2-3 diamonds" - he has a stiff 8. He does NOT have "10 HCP" - he has 9. Yes, that's very close, but if he is allowed to do it with 9, then CHANGE THE GIB DEFINITION TO "9-10 HCP" so that it's honest and accurate!

And why should this be "forcing"? Invitational makes MUCH more sense!

https://www.bridgeba...S6%7Cmc%7C10%7C

[benellis58]

Another hand where the result was fine (6C making 7 when EW failed to lead a diamond and NS therefore lost no diamond tricks), BUT the bidding of the GIBBO robot sitting North seems inconsistent and questionable, successful though it was.

He makes an invitational but PASSABLE bid of 3C...but then when his partner South accepts by bidding 5C, North now raises to 6C. Perhaps the problem was the initial 3C response. The North hand, I think, should have responded 2C (game force) rather than 3C (invitational) to his partner's 1S opener. Despite holding "only" 10 HCP, North's hand is too good to merely invite.

https://www.bridgeba...D2%7Cmc%7C13%7C

[benellis58]

Very questionable 2NT call - asking West to bid his better minor...AFTER West has shown at LEAST 5-5 in the majors! Regardless of East-West's (BAD) result (scoring ZERO percent on the board!) on the random layout on this random hand, it just seems like a better general strategy to bid 2S with the East hand and hope for the best.

https://www.bridgeba...DT%7Cpc%7CD9%7C

[benellis58]

Illogical and inconsistent auction by the GIBBO robots sitting EW:

After East bids 2C, West knows that East has at least 5 hearts and 4 clubs. West, with a stiff heart and FIVE spades (the suit that his RHO South overcalled!) should realize that the hand is very likely a misfit. He should also realize that if EW have even a semblance of a fit anywhere, it's probably in clubs. East has shown no particular strength other than having an opening bid. His 2C rebid was not forcing. West should just pass. Instead, as these foolish GIBBO robots often do, he stupidly tries to rescue (?) his partner by bidding 2D. WHY? Based on the auction so far, they appear to have no game, and East is likely to be short in diamonds, so the attempted "rescue" rates to lead to disaster. And naturally, disaster DOES come, as the East-West contract goes down THREE.

West, however, is not the only hopeless bidder in the partnership, because East now inconsistently (and, as usual for GIBBO robots, foolishly) JUMPS to three hearts! Consider: Over West's 1NT response, East had bid a non-forcing, passable 2C. Now, all of a sudden, he thinks his hand has magically become SO good that he can JUMP a level! WHY? What changed? How is that a hand that earlier would presumably have had no problem being passed out in two lowly clubs NOW feels that it must JUMP? West's 1NT and 2D both promised in their respective definitions the exact same strength: 8-11 HCP and 12- total points. If anything, East should now feel LESS optimistic about game chances than earlier, because he now knows that West has length in spades and diamonds and has at MOST two hearts. If East NOW thinks he has a good enough hand to jump, why didn't he feel that way earlier? An auction of two partners who are both GIBO robots is often a BAD auction, as this one indicates.

https://www.bridgeba...CS9%7Cmc%7C6%7C

[benellis58]

Result was fine, but no thanks to North's strange and foolish 3D call. He knows, according to his own GIB definitions, that his partner South has "4+ clubs" and "4+ diamonds", so why is he (the North GIBBO robot) bidding three DIAMONDS (defined as "invitational with support...") when he has J932 of CLUBS...and a pathetic 862 in diamonds...in a very FLATTISH 4-2-3-4 hand with 11 of his 12 HCP in the majors?

Okay, I've asked the question. Now I'll provide the answer: He's doing it because he's a GIBBO robot and therefore has very little idea of how to bid intelligently.

https://www.bridgeba...DT%7Cmc%7C11%7C

[benellis58]

As of right now when I am writing this particular post, the SIX threads IMMEDIATELY below THIS long thread are:

"ROBOTS ARE AWFUL"

"GIBBO having a bad day on attack"

"GIBBO having a bad day on defence"

"Bot's poor judgement DISASTER"

"Off shape double by GIB"

"Dubious calls and worse explanations"

What that means is that the most recent SEVEN THREADS posted here (this one you are currently reading, plus the six named above) are ALL highly critical of the GIB and GIBBO robots. You know, maybe that means that there is a LOT of dissatisfaction with the fact that the GIB and GIBBO robots are so consistently and STUNNINGLY bad at all facets of bridge! Since the GIBBO robots are a major (perhaps THE MAJOR) ingredient of BBO, this is not good! That the GIB robots have been SO bad for SO long is also not good. The one positive in all this is that Lorserker has recently made some improvements, because as bad as the GIBBO robots are (and they are VERY bad indeed), at least they are better than the even MORE woeful GIB robots were. So let's cross our fingers and hope that Lorserker will be able to make some further GREATLY needed improvements to these still highly incompetent robots.

[benellis58]

A fellow BBO player has once again sent me a hand and given me permission to post it here.

He wrote: "I open 1NT with 17 and a 5 card major, but I could have had 15 and a 4 card major. Ox does his thing and I bid 3NT showing nothing beyond my 1NT bid. He rockets to 6NT where we have 31 HCP but could have had 29. East chooses to discard a Spade at his first opportunity, West later discards a club and we are +1470 for 94%. Most common spot was 3NT when South opened 1S perhaps thinking the hand was too good for 1NT."

When he wrote "Ox", he was referring to the GIBBO robot sitting North.

My verdict: Poor bidding by the GIBBO robot in the North, and weak defending by the GIBBO robots sitting East and West. In other words, just a typical day at the races in GIBBO's world.

https://www.bridgeba...CJ%7Cmc%7C13%7C