Help
If you are using our Flash client, you don't have to do anything. If you are using our Windows client then I strongly recommend that you use the following link to upgrade the GIB that resides on your hard disk to the latest version:
Click here for GIB upgrade
If you rent GIB then you must upgrade in order to access the new and improved version. If your only exposure to GIB is through our robot tournaments or through the "Play Bridge for Money!" area of BBO, it is not necessary to upgrade but it is still a good idea - otherwise the explanations of bids you see in these contexts will not always be accurate.
Here is a link to a web page where you can find details of the of what we know about the bidding system that GIB plays. You can expect more details to appear as we learn more and as we work on improving GIB's bidding in more areas:
Click here for GIB system notes
Here are the major areas of improvements in this release:
1) After 1NT openings, 2NT openings, and after 2C-2D-2NT
- No more Jacoby transfers to 4-card suits
- No more Texas transfers to 5-card suits
- No more bidding Stayman on inappropriate hands
- No more bidding Stayman, finding a 4-4 fit, and still opting to play in 3NT
- No more making various other bids with hands that do not match the explanations that GIB provides. In general you should be able to trust GIB to "have its bids" in 1NT and 2NT auctions.
2) GIB now understands all aspects of RKCB (including proper handling of asking for the Queen of trump, showing voids over 4NT, bidding 5NT when all keycards and the Queen of trump are present, and showing specific Kings over 5NT).
GIB does tend to err on the side of caution when it comes to bidding grand slams after RKCB. This was a lot harder to deal with than you might think. Hopefully you will agree with our design decision that it is better to miss the occasional grand slam than to go down more than occasionally in no-play grand slams
3) In general, we have toned down GIB's aggressiveness in the bidding.
4) GIB now uses a more familiar system of hand evaluation in most circumstances. When the explanation of a bid refers to "HCP", this means the traditional 4321 point scale. When the explanation of a bid refers to "total points" this means 4321 points plus 3 for a void, 2 for a singleton, and 1 for a doubleton.
5) You can now count on GIB to make the "normal" opening bid. No more 1NTs with 19 HCP, no more minor suit openings with 4333 15-counts, no more minor suit openings with 3-card minors when holding a 5-card major, etc...
6) There are several other areas in which we have improved GIB's "bridge knowledge" as to what various bids should mean.
Please do not expect GIB to bid perfectly or anything! We think this release is a big step forward, but improving GIB is a long term project and this is really only the beginning.
This project will remain one of the primary development goals of our company for the foreseeable future.
If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to send me e-mail (fred@bridgebase.com). We remain interested in receiving sample hands where GIB makes crazy bids. If you can report such hands by including either screen shots or bridge movies as e-mail attachments, that would be ideal.
We have been working hard on this for a couple of months now. I hope you like the results of our efforts!
Fred Gitelman
Bridge Base Inc.
www.bridgebase.com