[smerriman]

Argine doesn't know how to follow up in a checkback auction.

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- showing 4-6♠, when it can't have 5-6 or it would have bid 1♠
- showing 7-9 HCP, when it holds 13

[pilowsky]

In a death-defying display of bidding gymnastics Argine attempts to make 6♣.

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Interestingly if South decides not to double the 2♠ bid from East, the 4NT (Standard Blackwood Ace asking) is passed out.

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[smerriman]

pilowsky, on 2023-February-04, 18:31, said:

Interestingly if South decides not to double the 2♠ bid from East, the 4NT (Standard Blackwood Ace asking quantitative) is passed out.

Fixed. Why a pass changes it into non-Blackwood is bizarre. Equally bizarre is that 4♣ doesn't promise a single club, but is 'to play'.

[pilowsky]

smerriman, on 2023-February-04, 20:27, said:

Fixed. Why a pass changes it into non-Blackwood is bizarre. Equally bizarre is that 4♣ doesn't promise a single club, but is 'to play'.

Good point, the meaning changes if opps double an earlier bid.
Acol is a very strange system.

[Evies Dad]

Reading this has inspired me to go back to 4cM on Funbridge and see what is going on.
It was never this bad.

[pilowsky]

I think we may need to have a separate thread for amazing slam bidding.

[johnu]

smerriman, on 2023-January-11, 21:38, said:

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Completely nonsensical play on trick 1 gifts me the contract.

Nonsensical? Looks like standard 4th best from longest and strongest. If it's good enough for opening leader, it must be good enough for 3rd hand.

[smerriman]

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What would you bid here?

Argine chose..

Spoiler

pass; 3♦x was cold but it also came up with the only lead which allowed it to make +2 to add insult to injury. The lead perhaps forgivable, but the bidding is less than beginner level stuff.

[pilowsky]

Well TBF it does say 'non-forcing' - maybe you need to press the double button a little harder.

[thepossum]

I am still questioning whether we are in fact bidding Acol. It has some similarities at times, I accept. I try to cross reference with the EBU Acol Standard

Oh no. Its the Possum again. All I try to do is bid whatever system I think I am playing. I am very basic and remarkably disciplined most of the time

[helene_t]

pilowsky, on 2023-February-09, 20:33, said:

Well TBF it does say 'non-forcing' - maybe you need to press the double button a little harder.

It also says that it has both majors, so pass is probably a bug.

[pilowsky]

BBO team Feb10 2023 said:

Acol Robot upgrade coming on February 14
On Tuesday, February 14, we'll be running scheduled maintenance to upgrade the Acol robots. For about an hour there might be disruptions in BBO's Acol games. We'll update this notice when we know the exact time frame.

Thank you for your understanding.

Upgrade to do what?

[pescetom]

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Will the update at least fix this Pass?

Or should we just ignore the explanations and assume Acol (where neither 3♦ nor 4♦ is forcing, according to 'Guide to better Acol Bridge' by Ron Klinger) ?

[smerriman]

pilowsky, on 2023-February-11, 22:33, said:

Upgrade to do what?

Well, it's not documented anywhere, including the ACOL system notes, but Argine now plays RCKB. Not specific kings though.

[pilowsky]

Another ingenious slam by Argine.

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[pescetom]

Mistaking its own (perfectly sensible) 4NT for Blackwood on next round is something already documented here, so much for bug fixing.
But what would Terence Reese make of 6♦ explained as 0/3 side Kings?

[smerriman]

pescetom, on 2023-February-19, 13:57, said:

But what to make of 6♦ explained as 0/3 side Kings?

Well, the description is accurate Never heard of 1430 king responses though, especially when it's rather tricky to hold 4 out of the 3 total.

[smerriman]

Can the leap-to-5M bid be outright deleted from Argine's database? It bids it so regularly, and (amongst other reasons) makes it impossible to have any form of meaningful slam auction, especially when it seems to have no idea what it's meant to mean.

On the most recent occasion, according to the definition and hand itself, it decided to use it on a keycard-less minimum.

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[helene_t]

I am really confused about whether Argine opens the major or the minor with 4432 shapes outside the NT range. I suppose I could just investigate. It seems that it opens the major at least sometimes, but the hover info doesn't indicate that a 1NT rebid denies a 4-card major.

[helene_t]

I like the new responses to 1NT overcalls, by the way. Well done, BBO!