[onoway]

Ths hand was with a GIB and they do this sort of thing ALL the time (passing for two or three rounds and then getting into the bidding at the 4 or 5 level). SO I am wondering if I am wrong in thinking that this is a penalty X? GIB clearly thinks I am asking it to choose but I would be unhappy with a partner who cannot support at lower levels and then leaps in at the 4 level when I have decided that we have to defend and the opps are going down.

Maybe I need to bid this differently? Or just get used to chewing rocks when GIB does this? I know I didn't exactly show my strength when I didn't reverse to 3♦ but with the opps bidding and p passing I didn't want it to stretch into an unmakeable game if it really had nothing.


My hand 10♠AKQ53♥AQ5♣ and KQ73♦

BIdding goes 1♥X Pass 1♠
2♦2♠pass pass
3♥pass pass 3♠
X pass 4♥pass pass


GIB has 64♥652♠Ten82♦J9843♣
we are white vs red

[Stephen Tu]

You have a bizarro way of listing hands. Let me fix it. The standard is always to list in SHDC order, and you put the suit before the cards, not the cards before the suit. It's also a good idea to use T for ten, that way it's one character for all cards and people don't misread it as multiple cards.

onoway, on 2013-January-25, 18:27, said:

My hand ♠T♥AKQ53♦KQ73♣AQ5

BIdding goes
1♥ X Pass 1♠
2♦ 2♠ pass pass
3♥ pass pass 3♠
X pass 4♥ all pass

GIB has ♠652♥64♦T82♣J9843
we are white vs red

[Stephen Tu]

As for the bidding, by bidding the hand the way you did, you show a lot more length in the red suits than you actually have. GIB is supposed to think that you have some sort of strong 6-5 in the reds, thus bids 4h to make. The normal way to bid your hand is to double 1♠ (takeout, stronger than min), then double 2♠ again when it comes around again (much stronger than min). Partner should bid clubs over 2s-x, if they compete to 3s you should probably give up.

The general idea is to rebid your suits when you have more shape than promised, enough to warrant competing. When all you have is extra HCP, not extra length in your suits, you double with shortness in the opp's suit. This way you don't overstate your length in the red suits, allow partner to get to clubs with long clubs, allow partner to defend if that's what he wants to do.

[Zelandakh]

Thanks Stephen, the original hands were very difficult to read somehow. I agree with you about doubling 1♠ but I think it would have been ok if he had bid 3♣ instead of 3♥.

[FM75]

How about:
1♥ - (X) - p - (1♠)
2♦ - (2♠) - p - (p)
3♣ - (p) - ??

It seems to me that if you want GIB to choose a contract, paint a nice picture of your hand.
1=5=4=3 seems to be the most likely match for this bidding. Maybe 0=5=4=4...

The nice advantage of this distribution is that GIB can make a choice at the 3 level.
pass = part score in clubs, 3♦, or 3/4 ♥

Also GIB can "draw inferences" from the opponents failure to bid past 2 and your choice
to continue to the three level in a third suit opposite 2 passes. (Inferences being
generate a bunch of hands that match the bidding, evaluate them DD, and pick the most
effective bid - if I understand GIB programming correctly.)

I do not play with them much, so if this is bad GIB advice, or even bad bridge, feel free to say so.

Can you just seat some GIBs at a table, send this hand to the table, and experiment?

[FM75]

onoway, on 2013-January-25, 18:27, said:

BIdding goes
1♥ X Pass 1♠
2♦ 2♠ pass pass
3♥ pass pass 3♠
X pass 4♥


GIB has ♠652 ♥64 ♦T82 ♣J9843
we are white vs red

Presumably we could agree with GIBs actions up to your double.

So if you are looking at this hand, what are your thoughts?
Mine are along the lines of:
1) Opponents are 4-(45) in spades. Doubler did not bid so does not have 5. (Might have only 3, but that seems unlikely at his point in bidding)
2) Partner is medium strength to slightly stronger unbalanced hand (upper bound 22 points)
3) With 1 or 2 spades, 6 hearts, 4 diamonds, and 2 or 1 clubs and no spade stop.
4) The double is not likely penalty, but even if it is, I don't want to leave it in (no defensive value)
5) My hand has no roughing values except possibly in diamonds but only a 7 card fit.
6) My cheapest reasonable bid is to let partner sacrifice in 8 card heart fit.