Bridge Base Online has entered a new era with the launch of GIBBO, a neural-network-powered AI designed to think—and bid—like a human. Plus, we look at the new BridgeBase Trainer, a tool for sharpening your skills with daily drills, AI challenges, and performance analytics.
by Alex J Coyne © Great Bridge Links
Bridge Base Online is still one of the top platforms for connecting to other bridge players. Whether you’re just arriving at the table or you’ve been playing for decades, BBO guarantees a seamless playing experience … and they’ve got an upgraded version of their classic bridge-bot GIB (now GIBBO) at the tables – plus a BridgeBase Trainer for directly helping players to improve their game.
Here’s what you should know about the upgrades to the popular platform – and why BBO is still one of the best places to play bridge online.
GIB (Ginsbergs Intelligent Bridgeplayer) was first brought to the table as a competitive, intelligent bridge playing computer. For years it’s served the players of BBO, but in December 2025, the system was upgraded to GIBBO.
If you’re wondering: there was nothing wrong with GIB.
GIBBO is considered an upgrade in terms of its logic and playing strategies. Where GIB would sometimes make “unusual” bids a human never would, the ‘smarter’ GIBBO is more likely to make natural, human-like bids.
The distinction between “robots” and “AI” on Bridge Base Online (BBO) has recently become a hot topic because, with the launch of GIBBO in late 2025, the answer is now both.
For decades, BBO used “robots” in the traditional sense. However, the 2026 landscape is more nuanced:
The original GIB (Ginsberg’s Intelligent Bridgeplayer) is primarily a rule-based computer program. It uses an “expert system” of pre-programmed bidding rules and a technique called Double Dummy Analysis. It uses a “Double Dummy Simulation”—it looks at thousands of possible hands that fit the bidding and simulated the best outcome. It doesn’t cheat, and look at your cards for sure, but it crunches the math so fast it can feel like it.
The issue is, because it’s a “bot” following strict logic, it often makes “un-human” bids that technically follow its rules but make no sense to a real player.
The new GIBBO (introduced December 2025) is a true AI upgrade. GIBBO uses a neural network-powered engine to evaluate hands. Unlike the old version, it has been trained on hundreds of millions of human deals to understand “natural” bridge patterns. Instead of just running raw simulations, GIBBO uses AI to provide a “second opinion” on bidding and opening leads. This is why its play feels more “normal” to humans; it’s mimicking how a person thinks rather than just crunching numbers.
One of the biggest changes in GIBBO is how it handles “don’t care” situations. In the old GIB, if Double Dummy analysis showed that two different cards both led to the same result, it might pick one that looked bizarre to a human. GIBBO is programmed to choose the “common-sense” human play (like 2nd-hand-low) in those scenarios.
As well, GIBBO now “remembers” and draws inferences from played cards. For example, if a finesse works, GIBBO adjusts its internal probability to assume that the finesse will likely work again, rather than treating every trick as a vacuum.
YouTube user BradyBot explains more about GIBBO’s neural network technology. According to the below video, GIBBO provides a “noticeably stronger and more natural robot experience.”
Players who have seen GIB do anything unnatural, unusual, or bot-like will understand!
Peter Hollands puts GIBBO to the test for a practice run in this video:
Bridge Base Online has also introduced the BBO Trainer: an app designed to help players improve their bridge skills with daily deals, AI challenges, and more.
Everyone wants to play better bridge … and the BBO Trainer is great for daily bridge drills without having to feel self-conscious surrounded by friends (or enemies) at a table.
From the Description:
o No partner needed, play full bridge deals with consistent AI opponents
o Pause, resume, and play at your own pace
o Perfect for building strong fundamentals or sharpening advanced skills
BridgeBase Online is available anywhere. The BBO Trainer app is no different!
Laptop or Computer: Players can download the app for Macbook (Apple) or Windows (Website).
Apple or Android: Players can also download the app for their Apple device or Android.
If you already have a BBO account, you do not need to create a new username. You can log into the BBO Trainer using your existing Bridge Base Online credentials. This is actually recommended because it allows the Trainer to sync your stats, bidding preferences, and “BXP” (Bridge Experience Points) across both platforms. However, even if you have “BBO Dollars” (BB$) in your main account or a “BBO+” subscription, the Trainer typically requires its own specific subscription for Premium access and an Advanced AI with deep analysis. In short, you get 8 hands a day and ‘basic GIBBO logic’ with your BBO subscription, but will need a Premium Subscription for more, at $9.99usd per month.
The BBO Trainer app is meant to keep players on their feet – well, mentally.
Learning is a constant process, but also has to be fun.
The BBO Trainer offers Daily Challenges, Mini Bridge, Free Deals, and AI Challenges. All of these techniques means that you’re being drilled into playing better bridge – but without it feeling like a full lesson or task to complete.
The app allows you to compare your progress with other players, and playing eight deals per day keeps you on a streak!
Another key offering is the Trainer’s “Instant Feedback.” After each deal, the AI doesn’t just show the result; it provides a breakdown of where the player could have improved, which is a step up from standard BBO play. This has been an oft requested feature on platforms like R/Bridge.
One of the most important things behind learning is the ability to track your progress … after all, how do you know whether your dedication has been paying off?
Bridge Base Trainer gives you:
As a bonus, you can also see your progress by suit contract.
While writing this artice I was curious as to who owns BBO. I know it was originally developed by recent ACBL Hall of Famer, Fred Gitelman and his partner Sheri Winestock. But who owns it now? Here’s a bit of industrial history:
As of 2026, Bridge Base Online (BBO) is owned and operated by 52 Entertainment, a French-based global leader in digital mind sports. Recently the company launched their new website bridge.com
The ownership of BBO has evolved significantly from its grassroots beginnings:
There was a time when I wished someone Good Luck at their upcoming bridge tournament and they turned to me and said, “Luck is applied skill.” So, work on those skills, play more, practice more, and you might well also win more!
