[JLilly]

I was playing the robots and opened with 1♥, raised by robot-ptr to 2♥, and had xxx in ♠ and an invitational hand so I bid 2NT as a help-suit / long-suit game-try. Robot had 8HCP (incl. a ♦Jx), Qxxx in ♠ and bid 4♥ anyway. What explains this?

Somehow the record reset and so I don't have the exact hands available, but IIRC it was something like:

N (robot)
♠Q8xx
♥Qxx
♦Jx
♣Kxxx

S (me)

♠9xx
♥AKJ9x
♦Kx
♣QJTx

[manudude03]

The south hand has 14 cards. As for accepting the game try, 2NT shows 3-11 8421 points in spades, and so it probably felt that Qxxx was good enough given you "must" have an honor.

[JLilly]

manudude03, on 2017-March-22, 16:08, said:

The south hand has 14 cards. As for accepting the game try, 2NT shows 3-11 8421 points in spades, and so it probably felt that Qxxx was good enough given you "must" have an honor.

Even if I was a bit too weak to make a game-try bid, the robot doesn't know that.

[JLilly]

Also, I think I included one too many ♣. So

♠9xx
♥AKJ9x
♦Kx
♣QJx, maybe QJ9 or QJ8. Something that seemed sequencey and was thick when matched with robot's clubs.

[smerriman]

As manudude03 implied, GIB defines the game try as having a queen or better. So using it on xxx will never work well.

[lycier]

smerriman, on 2017-March-22, 23:38, said:

GIB defines the game try as having a queen or better. So using it on xxx will never work well.

Yes.

Qxx or better = help suit for game try.
XXX = weak suit
Gib doesn't play weak suit for game try.

[Stefan_O]

8 hcp is better than the minimum, so not unreasonable to accept.
Here, of course, south is too weak to invite.

[JLilly]

Thanks, all. What is the logic behind needing Qxx or better in a help-suit? I guess if you're playing two-way game tries, and your biggest vulnerability is a xxx or xxxx suit, then you care most about partner having shortness in that suit, so you bid 2♠ or 2NT to ask for their shortness.