@i:
i dont see the need for an axis bid it seems the axis always win to me.
when revised first came out, lots of players (including my gaming group) were reporting axis wins. the allied strategy is more sophisticated, but with more play you will find allies have a large advantage.
at the first triplea ladder(it crashed after 3-4 years) thousands of games were played by opponents all over the world. they used a 9ipc bid to be placed in units pregame but only 1 unit per territory in a territory that already contains units of the same power. the result was 50.5-49.5 axis to allies win ratio. the game was balanced with these bid rules
no bid = no chance for axis