[benellis58]

Friend asking question: In your opinion, are the GIBBO robots good bridge players?

Me answering question: In my opinion? No. No. A thousand times no.

[benellis58]

This simple little auction shows how bad the GIBBO robots are.

Having bid 1S the first time, North should bid 2H the second time, giving his partner the choice between his two majors of equal length. Instead, being a GIBBO robot, he foolishly and unilaterally decrees that spades MUST be the strain...and as is so often the case, he was wrong. But even if spades HAD been best (as they rated to be 50 % of the time), he would have gained...absolutely NOTHING, because if spades HAD been right, South would have bid 2S over North's 2H. GIBBO robots are hopeless.

https://www.bridgeba...H6%7Cpc%7CD9%7C

[benellis58]

A question I've unfortunately asked several times before: Did a GIB robot sneak into West's chair? I ask because the GIB robots, who were even worse (!) than the new, improved GIBBO robots, were famous for LOVING to demonstrate their world class incompetence by stupidly leading singletons against NT contracts. Thankfully, Lorserker cured the robots of this massive ignorance - at least for the most part, but not always, as West's abysmally stupid lead on this hand shows.

https://www.bridgeba...D5%7Cmc%7C12%7C

[benellis58]

Let's examine the "logic" of the GIBBO robot sitting West:

"Let's see. I'm on lead against South's 3NT. I know that North, to my left, has at least five hearts. I know that South, to my right, has at least two hearts. I'm looking at five hearts in my own hand. Golly gee, I better lead a HEART immediately! Maybe I'll find my partner East with long, strong hearts! This is a great attacking lead!"

Then at the conclusion of trick three, having just won his club jack:

"Astonishingly, it looks like my partner East only had one heart, but how could I ever have known that? Yes, that's water under the bridge. 'Bridge', ha, ha - get it? Gee, I'm SO clever. I should become a professional comedian. Now, where was I? Oh yes, I just won trick three with my CLUB jack. There's no point in playing hearts again, so what should I do? Oh, I know! It's ALWAYS good to IMMEDIATELY return the suit DECLARER just played, so of COURSE I'll fire back another CLUB. That'll probably beat the contract by five or six tricks."

Then, after the game ends and he sees his score on the board:

"WHAT? Why on EARTH did I get a bad score? I made the best lead at trick one and the obvious CLUB continuation at trick four! I just don't understand!"

Well, at least his last four words were entirely correct!

https://www.bridgeba...D7%7Cpc%7CH9%7C

[benellis58]

The GIB definition of West's 1H opening begins "Major suit opening". Gee, thanks SO much, GIB, for sharing that VITAL piece of information that NO ONE would have figured out if you hadn't told them.

Later, the offensive and insulting definition states that the bid shows "11-21 HCP", which SEEMS reasonable...EXCEPT that West actually has only TEN HCP. His 1H call was NOT a psych, an aberration, or a once-in-a-lifetime bid. The GIBBO robots often do the same thing (often stupidly, it goes without saying) with similar hands, so since they do this frequently, the definitions should be changed to reveal the truth and accuracy about their point range.

West goes on to butcher the declarer play.

https://www.bridgeba...H6%7Cpc%7CHK%7C

[benellis58]

After the good club lead (bravo, Mr. West!), the "defenders" should take one club, one spade, and two diamonds, which already holds the contract to nine tricks...and that's assuming that declarer will find the heart queen. If he doesn't, he'll take only eight.

Instead, West FOOLISHLY pops his diamond queen at trick two and FAILS to continue clubs. Worse, he stupidly shifts to a heart (trump). WHY, pray tell? How will THAT ever help? All it succeeds in doing is to guarantee that declarer CANNOT go wrong in hearts. Declarer is then able to set up a pitch in diamonds for his club loser and emerges with TEN tricks - thanks to the laughably bad "defence" of the witless GIBBO robots.

https://www.bridgeba...HK%7Cpc%7CC7%7C

[benellis58]

This board was played 21 times.

18 times, including at my table, NS played in 4S and went down one because of the unlucky heart break. The 18 NS pairs shared a low-scoring top of 57.50 %.

2 times, NS played in 4S and went down two. Those NS pairs each scored 7.50 % on the board.

At the final table, NS played in 6H (!) and went down five, obviously scoring zero.

I'm not complaining about getting to a normal contract...but I am complaining about how we got there, which was unsurprisingly due to a TYPICALLY stupid bid by the TYPICALLY stupid GIBBO robot in the North, who TYPICALLY proved that he has no idea of how to bid intelligently.

Over South's 2H, North had a perfectly NORMAL invitational 3S bid, but he STUPIDLY jumped to FOUR spades, hopeless "bridge player" that he is.

But even WORSE than his stupid bid is the mind-blowingly IGNORANT GIB definition of his 4S call: "3 spades; 6+ HCP; 10- total points". This means that GIBBO systemically RECOMMENDS (!) LEAPING to FOUR spades with AS FEW AS 6 HCP! No wonder the GIBBO robots are such hopeless, horrendous bidders when they are constrained by such an astoundingly bad system and such ridiculous definitions. The definition of South's 2H was also ludicrous, but if I wrote about every lunacy that I see from GIB and GIBBO, it would take me ten lifetimes and I still wouldn't come CLOSE to detailing them all.

BTW, just to dispel the theories of anyone who naively thinks this is a "woe is me" post, it's not. Even if North had made the simple, easy, correct, obvious, NORMAL call of 3S, we still would have reached the doomed game...but on a SENSIBLE auction.

https://www.bridgeba...CC8%7Cmc%7C9%7C

[benellis58]

Stupid lead by East at trick one.

Stupid shift by West at trick two.

Stupid continuation of diamonds (the suit DECLARER just played) by West at trick four.

https://www.bridgeba...S9%7Cpc%7CS4%7C

[benellis58]

Regardless of result, and with the eternal caveat that leads are often guesses and their success or failure can depend on luck and on the random layout of any random hand, why on Earth would the GIBBO robot sitting North lead a HEART, declarer's other KNOWN suit (besides diamonds) INTO declarer?

https://www.bridgeba...SK%7Cpc%7CSA%7C

[benellis58]

The astoundingly hopeless GIBBO robot in the East FAILS to take his club ace at trick two! A truly ridiculous play - EVEN for a dimwitted GIBBO robot! He NEVER gets the ace, as he is later squeezed out of it, since he can't keep his diamond guard AND his club ace. What a simpleton!

https://www.bridgeba...CK%7Cpc%7CH2%7C

[benellis58]

Not impressed with the lead. Not impressed with the "defence". NOT impressed with the GIBBO robots!

https://www.bridgeba...H9%7Cpc%7CHK%7C

[benellis58]

North's 2H bid looks downright weird, but it's reasonably "correct" according to the truly bizarre (and truly pathetic and antiquated) GIBBO system, because this is the GIB definition: "5+ spades; 10 total points". But: Why not a simple, normal 2S, thereby reserving 2H for something - anything (!) - more useful?

https://www.bridgeba...CD8%7Cmc%7C9%7C

[benellis58]

NS and EW each scored 50 % on this board. The GIBBO robot did well (in practice, at least) to double 3D in the passout seat, since NS had five top losers in 3D and therefore had to go down one for minus 200. Obviously it would have been only minus 100 had West not doubled, so kudos to him.

BUT: Look at the GIB definition of his double: "4+ hearts; 10+ HCP; biddable diamonds. Now look at his hand: AK96, 96532, 3, 1074!

Do YOU see "10+ HCP"...or do you see, as I do, a mere SEVEN? Do YOU see "biddable diamonds"...or do you see...the STIFF THREE, as I do?

If he's GOING to double with hands like this, to which I have no objection, then...the definition MUST be changed (!), both for accuracy and honesty!

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

[benellis58]

10 tricks and a score of 94.12 % on the board for NS, but that's not why it appears here. It appears because: East wins his heart king at trick one, and at trick two fires back his...THREE of hearts, thereby allowing SOUTH to win his FOUR and then set up the entire suit after knocking out East's ace.

https://www.bridgeba...S3%7Cmc%7C10%7C

[benellis58]

North did well to sac over East's 4S, as down two not doubled was only minus 100 and NS scored 80.95 % on the board, losing only to one NS pair who were allowed to play in "only" 4H and went down "only" one.

BUT: North did NOT do so well earlier in the auction. Why not bid FOUR hearts over West's 2S, rather than his cowardly and ineffective THREE hearts?

https://www.bridgeba...CC5%7Cmc%7C9%7C

[benellis58]

One of the MANY stupid items in the hopelessly antiquated and just plain bad GIBBO system: It's stupid for many reasons to play 2NT in this sequence as "Artificial 2NT, any weak hand...". I've written in greater deal about this utter NONSENSE in the past, but suffice it to say that it prevents North from actually describing his hand usefully, wastes space, and potentially wrongsides the contract. There's more, but I have better things to do than go into detail about the numerous flaws in so MANY of the GIBBO bidding structures.

https://www.bridgeba...D8%7Cmc%7C10%7C

[benellis58]

Herman Melville's "Moby Dick" begins with the words "Call me Ishmael". If the GIBBO robot sitting East ever writes his autobiography, a good title would be "Call Me WIMP". Check out his timidity on this auction:

https://www.bridgeba...SA%7Cpc%7CS8%7C

[benellis58]

On the same hand described in post # 897 immediately above, the GIBBO robot sitting East was even MORE cowardly at other tables, where South bid only THREE hearts. Maybe he should title his life story "Call Me SUPERWIMP".

https://www.bridgeba...S2%7Cpc%7CHJ%7C

[benellis58]

More sheer COWARDICE from ANOTHER craven GIBBO robot. This time the wimp is North. What's happened with these losers lately? Historically they've been overbidders, but now they seem to be turning into spineless, ridiculous underbidders.

Facing a strong NT and looking at SIX hearts and NINE HCP...including two ACES, this absolute reject in the North begs to be DROPPED in a mere three hearts! They've ALWAYS been hopeless bidders and they're STILL hopeless...but in a different way from before.

https://www.bridgeba...S9%7Cmc%7C11%7C

[benellis58]

No harm done, since we got to the best and normal spot, but I think North's 4H bid is a very poor choice, since it totally jams the auction, needlessly and foolishly wasting a ton of bidding space...when he has FIVE trumps, a heart VOID, second-round controls in BOTH other suits, and a potentially big trick source in diamonds. Go SLOWLY, Mr. North, and USE the space you were given!

https://www.bridgeba...S8%7Cmc%7C10%7C