Improve Your Play With Robots
BBO StarJDonn's Teaching Session - Summary
On Sunday, March 31, we held a free teaching session on BBO, focused on how to do well when playing with robots (GIB). Teacher extraordinaire was American expert and top robot player BBO Star JDonn (Joshua Donn), who presented a few example hands then answered questions from the audience. In case you missed the lesson, here's a summary.
BBO Star JDonn's tips on how to do well when playing with robots:
  1. Most of the time just try to play normal bridge well. Make good bids, count the hands and don't get weird unless you know why you are doing it.
  2. Always keep in mind that in "best hand" tournaments, where no one can have more HCP than you, you should use this info to count the hands.
    • If you bid 1♠ p 2♠ p p p, and you hold 12 points, you know neither opponent has more than 12 points. So if one opponent has shown up with 11 points and you have a queen left to guess, you know his partner has it for sure!
    • If you have 10 or 11 points, you know no one else has more than you so the points will be evenly split between the two partnerships. For example, if you have 10 then you know everyone has exactly 10. Use this info:
      • if opps end up in 3NT, you can consider doubling them, because you know they most likely overbid
      • if your partner opens, keep the bidding low - there is no need to make a limit raise even if that's what your hand is technically worth.
  3. Always remember to find out the meaning of partner's bids, and of your bids before you make them. You can do that by passing the mouse pointer over the bid.
  4. Generally you can trust GIB's description of the bids, but here is a specific instance where it is untrue and you can take advantage. When you have a slow auction toward game with both sides bidding, and you want to double GIB at the end, sometimes if you mouse over the double it says "takeout". That may talk you out of doubling since you don't want partner to pull it. But if both sides have been bidding and they got to game slowly, your partner will rarely pull it in that particular situation.
  5. Now I will explain my most profitable secret in ACBL and 55% tournaments. This is the one way in which I vary my play greatly from real life. And that is, open 1NT every chance you get.
    • I recommend opening 1NT with 14 points always, even though it's 15-17. There are a number of reasons.
      • One is that the opponents are very bad at bidding over that. For example they often bid 2♠ showing spades and a minor with a 4 card spade suit and 6 or 7 card minor, and play in a dumb fit.
      • Another main reason for opening 1NT every time you have 14 is the opponents will think you have 15. This can often lead them to misdefend.
    • It's also good to open 1NT with a wide variety of shapes.
      • I would do it any time I'm balanced with a 6 card minor.
      • 5 card major, no problem.
      • 2425, sure!
    • Remember, if GIB thinks you can't have a certain shape you will gain from doing this when he misdefends. And usually 3NT is the first contract anyway so you break even at worst.
Click here for the full transcript

Questions from the audience:
  1. Q: Playing with a human partner, if we have a fit and I want to go to slam, I will cue bid instead of using RKCB when I have a suit with two fast losers. GIB doesn€™t seem to handle these auctions well. Do you just ask for key cards anyway, or is there some other way to handle this?
    A: I recommend two different strategies rather than cuebidding:
    • One is taking a chance on the suit with 2 fast losers and bidding keycard blackwood anyway
    • The other is make a "fake cuebid" in your weak suit and just go to slam anyway. If partner has it controlled then there is no harm, and if he doesn't you may steal a slam!
  2. Q: Have you been successful in handling routine reverse auctions with bots, which seem to hate taking a preference back to a minor? For example, what's your plan in first seat holding x AKxx AKQxxx xx?
    A: Reverse auctions are tricky with humans and with robots. If I hold that hand and the auction starts 1♦ p 1♠ p I will reverse. The main reason is I want to find our heart fit if we have it My third bid will surely be 3♦. That is just normal bridge, nothing special about the robots.
    In general after reversing, just make sure you mouse over partner's and your own bids like I mentioned before so you know if partner is signing off or making a forcing bid.
  3. Q: If you always open 1NT even on 14, and end up in contracts different from others, don't you run a high risk of being different and then a bottom for no reason? Whereas for someone at the expert level, even if you end up in the same contract as you have a reasonable expectation of beating them anyway. (For expert level)?
    A: That's a very fair point. It's true that even though I get a lot of tops by doing this, I also get some bottoms. But I believe so strongly that it's a big winning strategy that I accept that. Another thing to remember is these tournaments are just 12 boards long so you need a big score to win them since they have high variance. If it was 100 boards long or even just 30 I would probably try to play 100% sound bridge and depend on my ability to win. But in 12 boards someone or two will get lucky and have a 65 or 70% or even high game most of the time. If you want to win them you need a big score, so I don't mind a strategy that is focused on tops at the risk of bottoms.
  4. Q: From Leo LaSota (one of our top players): Open NT aggressively (all 14s, some 13s). Do you accept game if partner then invites? (I do as I score up a lot of 14 opposite 8 3NTs).
    A: I usually don't accept the invitation if I have less than even a minimum. If I make 9 tricks with 14 and 8 I will probably score very well anyway. I know Leo is more aggressive about this than I am, he is a great declarer and that works for him, but this is what works for me and what I think would work better for most people.
  5. Q: In your first article about playing with bots, you were negative about opening preempts. Are you still, and what about preemptive overcalls?
    A: I don't remember saying that, but if robot opens 2 or 3 he is much more wide ranging and it's a bit more of a guess but I still recommend being aggressive. He sometimes has a very good hand.
  6. Q: On 55% tourneys, some bidding gets to different leads. Is it better approach to bid a fast or slow game? (Give info to opps or not?)
    A: I just try to play normally, and follow my advice of opening 1NT a lot. I am not someone who particularly minds giving away information if I think it will help me reach my best contract, but if I don't then I won't :)
  7. Q: With 18-19 do you open 2NT? (ie extend the 1NT logic)
    A: I am not as aggressive about opening 2NT as I am 1NT for a few reasons
    • One is that a major gain from opening 1NT so much is that GIB is bad at bidding over it defensively. That is not a factor after 2NT.
    • Also when I'm stronger my side is more likely to have a slam available, so I want to investigate it rather than do something "random". It's a more reasonable strategy in a robot race tournament where time is so important.
  8. Q: When defending NT contracts and Bot is on lead, he inevitably leads from a short suit. By the time I figure out what he has, it's too late. Any hints on how to defend more effectively, besides counting, with the bots?
    A: Opening leads are probably GIB's weakest point. It's true he leads from short suits a lot. All I can tell you is try to count the hand and defend well. Don't rely on signals if you can help it since GIB is bad with signalling.
  9. Q: From Leo LaSota: Do you pickup on any "tells" from the robots by the tempo of bidding or playing a card? (Personally, I frequently know what my partner's second bid will be after 1NT-P-2♣-P-any response by me - P based on delay before they bid again.)
    A: GIB certainly used to have big tells. I think they have gone away and I don't believe they exist any more. I have confirmed that with Fred as well. I think it's the kind of thing where if you think it exists you will be convinced you saw it.
    Rain: What were the tells?
    JDonn: They were tempo issues, GIB used to be very slow with a choice of bids or plays, very fast with a singleton. But that has gone away as far as I'm concerned.
  10. Q: How do you handle transfers when opening 1NT with singleton major?
    A: I just accept the transfer and hope for the best. Certainly I regret when that happens. If I make another bid GIB might think I'm "superaccepting" and that will lead to a disaster. Plus maybe he has 6, or maybe his next bid is 3NT, so it doesn't have to be bad. But I'm more comfortable if I must open 1NT with a singleton having it in a minor rather than a major.
  11. Q: Does GIB always cover honor/split honor? I noticed they used to but no longer seem to. ie, how far can you trust GIB's signaling/play ?
    A: I pretty much ignore GIB's signals. As for covering honors he definitely still does that, and splits. So you can certainly take advantage of GIB's tendencies.
  12. Q: How can this disaster be avoided?



    A: Sometimes GIB doesn't bid enough after a Blackwood answer, stopping in 5 missing one keycard for example. On that hand the best I could recommend is jumping to slam when GIB bids blackwood. It's true you could miss 7♣ that way but there is no good answer. And even if you can make 7♣ your GIB was probably just going to sign off in 6.
  13. Q: Playing robots appear to be a different game than bridge (ie the knowledge about having the best hand). So why would one play them? Is it to practice counting (HCP, distribution)?
    A: Even though there are difference with live bridge it's still a great game that uses most of the same skills. Just like rubber bridge, duplicate bridge, IMPs and matchpoints, all have differences, they are all still bridge, unique in their own ways. I also usually know what to expect from GIB, unlike a human partner. I think it's fun but only do it if it's fun for you.
  14. Q: In an auction where you have found a minor suit fit and want to play game, if you jump from 3 to 5, GIB frequently bids 6 with no reasonable value. How do you get to 5, without taking risk of GIB bidding 6?
    A: Good question, this goes to my point about mousing over the bids. If you see that bidding 5 shows a lot more points than you have, don't do it! You can consider bidding 4 of the minor, or bidding some other suit. Perhaps bidding Blackwood if you think you can stop. But even passing is better than bidding 5 if that will show so many points that partner will bid 6 and go down.
Click here for more useful info and frequently asked GIB questions.

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