Here is what happened - Bobob put in a bid of up to $10.00 on 12/29 at 11:55 - making him high bidder at that time - although his max was $10.00, he may have been sitting as high bidder at $7.50 - which was what was necessary to be ahead of jezza.
Then, he decided to revise his maximum bid at 23: 04, but his bid of +-$7.00 didn't change a that time, because it wasn't necessary. His maximum bid may be $12.00, or it may be $20.00 - eBay will keep jumping him ahead of you, up to his maximum, whatever amount is required to stay ahead.
You then bid $10.00 - however this then kicked in his 2nd revised auto-bid to immeadiately outbid you.
The way to beat it is simple - figure your real maximum, and bid it - eBay will do the rest - say $25.00.
If $11.00 is all you need, that's what it'll bid for you - it won't bid the full $25.00 - only enough to keep you on top . If you need $20.00, it'll bid that too - it all depends on what Bobob's preset max is - in other words - does he want it more than you, and did he set a max bid of say $30.00 at 23:04?
Important strategy trick - wait until seconds before auction closing so he is not aware its coming...if his auto bid beats yours - don't worry about it - he wanted it more than you were really willing to pay!
Good luck,
