This was fun

[kenberg]

Matchpoints, white against red, you are dealt:

K72
4
AKJ7
K7652

There are those who would open 1D but I am not one of them I started with 1C.

1C  Pass   Pass 1H


So partner does not have much but I do have a stiff heart and support for the other suits, so I double.

1C  Pass   Pass 1H
X   1NT    2D    2S


Partner seems to have five diamonds, so I bid 3D.

1C  Pass   Pass 1H
X   1NT    2D    2S
3D  4S      X     Pass

Oops. Partner seems to think we can beat this. I don't. He could not respond to 1D and there seems to be a lot of shape.  I'm getting out.


1C  Pass   Pass 1H
X   1NT    2D    2S
3D  4S      X     Pass
5D  Pass  Pass  X

That's no surprise, but we are not done.

1C  Pass   Pass 1H
X    1NT    2D    2S
3D   4S      X     Pass
5D   Pass  Pass  X
Pass 5H     X      Pass

This is a lot of bidding! In bridge many rules have exceptions but one that I follow 100% is that once I have warned partner by pulling a penalty double, I leave any later penalty double in.  So of course I pass. It goes on.

1C  Pass   Pass 1H
X    1NT    2D    2S
3D   4S      X     Pass
5D   Pass  Pass  X
Pass 5H     X      Pass
Pass  XX    Pass  5S

Perhaps I should double this but I think we are in fine shape. If 5S makes we do not want it to be 5SX, and if 5S doesn't make we will be beating all the pairs playing 4S whether or not that makes. So I pass. It continues

1C  Pass   Pass 1H
X    1NT    2D    2S
3D   4S      X     Pass
5D   Pass  Pass  X
Pass 5H     X      Pass
Pass  XX    Pass  5S
Pass  6D     X
All Pass.




It turns out that the diamonds are 2-2 and, combined with other features, we can beat 4S a trick although  some made it.  They can make 4H although some went down.  6DX went for 500. This was  not a zero since some EW were in game and making it, but it was not all that good. They were not making 5 of anything. Well, someone made 5H. They shouldn't.


http://www.bridgebase.com/tools/handviewer.html?bbo=y&lin=ZZ%7C%7Cpn%7Ckenberg%2CRobot%2CRobot%2CRobot%7Cst%7C%7Cmd%7C1SK72H4DAKJ7CK7652%2CSAJT6HATD82CQJT98%2CSQ3HJ832DT6543C43%2CS9854HKQ9765DQ9CA%7Csv%7CE%7Cah%7CBoard+3%7Cmb%7C1C%7Can%7CMinor+suit+opening+--+3%2B+%21C%3B+11-21+HCP%3B+12-22+total+points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C1H%7Can%7CBalancing+overcall+--+5%2B+%21H%3B+9%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7CD%7Can%7CTakeout+double+--+4%2B+%21C%3B+3%2B+%21D%3B+2-+%21H%3B+3%2B+%21S%3B+21-+HCP%3B+16-22+total+points%7Cmb%7C1N%7Can%7C2-+%21H%3B+11-13+HCP%7Cmb%7C2D%7Can%7C4%2B+%21D%3B+5-+HCP%3B+4%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7C2S%7Can%7C5%2B+%21H%3B+biddable+%21S%3B+12%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7C3D%7Can%7C4%2B+%21C%3B+4%2B+%21D%3B+2-+%21H%3B+3%2B+%21S%3B+19-20+total+points%7Cmb%7C4S%7Can%7C2-+%21H%3B+4%2B+%21S%3B+11-13+HCP%7Cmb%7CD%7Can%7C4%2B+%21D%3B+5+HCP%3B+6%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C5D%7Can%7C4%2B+%21C%3B+4%2B+%21D%3B+2-+%21H%3B+3%2B+%21S%3B+19-20+total+points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CD%7Can%7C5%2B+%21H%3B+13%2B+HCP%3B+biddable+%21S%3B+14%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C5H%7Can%7CCue+bid+--+2-+%21H%3B+4%2B+%21S%3B+13-+HCP%3B+%21HA%3B+15%2B+total+points%3B+forcing%7Cmb%7CD%7Can%7C4%2B+%21D%3B+5+HCP%3B+6%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CR%7Can%7C2-+%21H%3B+4%2B+%21S%3B+13-+HCP%3B+%21HA%3B+15%2B+total+points%3B+forcing%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C5S%7Can%7C5%2B+%21H%3B+13%2B+HCP%3B+biddable+%21S%3B+14%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7C6D%7Can%7C4%2B+%21D%3B+5+HCP%3B+6%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7CD%7Can%7C5%2B+%21H%3B+13%2B+HCP%3B+biddable+%21S%3B+14%2B+total+points%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cmb%7CP%7Cpc%7CCA%7Cpc%7CC2%7Cpc%7CCQ%7Cpc%7CC3%7Cpc%7CS8%7Cpc%7CS2%7Cpc%7CST%7Cpc%7CSQ%7Cpc%7CD3%7Cpc%7CD9%7Cpc%7CDA%7Cpc%7CD2%7Cpc%7CDK%7Cpc%7CD8%7Cpc%7CD4%7Cpc%7CDQ%7Cpc%7CCK%7Cpc%7CCJ%7Cpc%7CC4%7Cpc%7CH9%7Cpc%7CC5%7Cpc%7CC8%7Cpc%7CD5%7Cpc%7CS4%7Cpc%7CS3%7Cpc%7CS9%7Cpc%7CSK%7Cpc%7CSA%7Cpc%7CC9%7Cpc%7CD6%7Cpc%7CH6%7Cpc%7CC6%7Cpc%7CH2%7Cpc%7CHQ%7Cpc%7CH4%7Cpc%7CHT%7Cpc%7CS5%7Cpc%7CS7%7Cpc%7CSJ%7Cpc%7CDT%7Cpc%7CH3%7Cpc%7CH7%7Cpc%7CD7%7Cpc%7CHA%7Cpc%7CDJ%7Cpc%7CS6%7Cpc%7CH8%7Cpc%7CH5%7Cpc%7CC7%7Cpc%7CCT%7Cpc%7CHJ%7Cpc%7CHK%7C


Not a good result, but I did enjoy the auction  I think that my friend the bot could have let me choose about the 6D sac.

Added: Looking at the alerts, I see that the bots think my 3D showed 19-20 points. It was not so intended. It seems to me that with enough shape we might well wish to contest the auction. I guess I actually have 17 dummy points with North as declarer, but I think of it more as simply that 3D in a 5-4 fit and a stiff heart in dummy seems reasonable. At any rate I do not think that it is reasonable to take the pass of 5S as a forcing pass. N passed on the first round of bidding and even if we think the 3D showed 19-30 total points it is not forcing after the initial pass by partner. I don't think I can make a non-forcing 3D call and then make a forcing pass of 5S.
But maybe I should have hit 5S to shut pard up.

[kenberg]

I continue to think highly of the bots, bu asabove and another below, lengthy auctions leading to choices at the 5/6/7 level do not seem to go well with them. Here is one from yesterday:

http://tinyurl.com/y784yoed

6 making was worth +6.67 imps, 7 off 1 was -10.76 so that was a sizable swing in an 8 board match.

Of course my 2NT over the 2 opening was a bit odd but Bob Hamman supposedly said something advising that over a preempt we should go with NT if it seems at all plausible. Anyway, once I super accept the transfer to spades I think spades are trump and I have no idea why the bot would think I am holding the ace of hearts.


I find these things interesting from the Artificial Intelligence point of view. It's simply part of bridge that we sometimes have to hope for the best with a bid. My 2NT with a stiff club is an example. But in the later auction,  a human would surely reason, after I bid 56!S over 6 , Ken could have bid 6 over 6 and did not so so, therefore he does not have first round control of hearts. This sort of reasoning, thinking of why partner did not make a call he could have made, is not doubt tough to program into a bot.

If anyone has an idea of what I might do with this hand over the 2 I will be happy to hear. Not enough shape for Leaping Michaels.  I could double with the intention of bidding NT later, but doubling with a stiff club does not strike me as all that much better than NT with a stiff club.  Doubling with the intent of then bidding diamonds overstates the diamonds, or so it seems to me.

I still like the bots. Everyone goes south, every now and then---Billy Joel  --  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdLPI6XhEN8

[OliverC]

I must confess, the idea of bidding 2NT with that South hand would never remotely cross my mind. 3 would be my choice

(2 ) - 3 - 3
            4 - 4NT
            5 - 6

or

(2 ) - 3 - 3
            4 - 4NT
            5 - 6
            All Pass

or

(2 ) - 3 - 3
            4 - 5
            5 - 6
            All Pass

...seem like as good sequences as any others. 2NT shows your range, but misrepresents your shape. Even on the sequence you had with your Bot, 7 is just a complete nonsense bid given your failure to cue-bid 6 . Indeed, North should probably be bidding 6 over 5 rather than 6 , which is clearly a Grand Slam Force (since 6 commits you to 6 anyway and is therefore looking for 7 ).

There are, of course, limits to the AI side of Bridge Bots. "Style" is not something you can really discuss with or teach to a Bot, especially when it comes to areas such as cue-bidding.