Can Someone Explain the Bot Concept

I see by the poll most people think that sites use bots. I am trying to wrap myself around the concept of what a bot is supposed to do to help a site. I understand that more action is a higher rake, but any real money a bot loses the site loses.

I know I should get it but I don't entirely so if someone can explain the theory behind bots it would be appreciated. I apologize if there was a thread on this already, I did not see any fairly recent ones.

Thank you.

Comments

  • The idea behind it is a program that could beat your average or even your expert player online over time. If you could code a program to statistically make the correct call over and over again you'd think over time it will end up ahead. A lot of people believe there already out there, honestly I have no idea.
  • Think bigger than that. The bot run by the site could have access to all the cards delt at the table and know all the cards coming to the board.
  • BBC Z wrote:
    Think bigger than that. The bot run by the site could have access to all the cards delt at the table and know all the cards coming to the board.

    True, I try not to think of that. Sorta like if I close my eyes and I can't see you your not there? Ok, well it worked when I was 4....... :)
  • The first two replies basically capture the two main "bot" ideas that I know of.

    The most dangerous (IMO) case would be that you're playing at a corrupt site which uses the knowledge of the hidden cards (and cards to come) to gain an unfair advantage. I think it's pretty clear that this would be highly unethical. Whether this information is used by human players working on behalf of the site or bots they have created is actually something of a moot point. The big issue is the improper use of information that is supposed to be hidden in a poker game.

    The second main type of bot is simply a computer program which is programmed with some kind of poker playing strategy, and otherwise conforms with the rules and ethics of the game. Anybody from the general public with enough computer programming skill could program and use this type of bot to play online. The general debate in this case is whether a computer program which is not cheating should or should not be allowed to play poker for money against human beings.

    I'd guess that the latter type of bot is probably out there in come form. Broadly speaking, odds calculators (even regular hand-held calculators) and such are forms of bots in the second sense, though possibly not very powerful ones.

    Issues with the former bot type are really all about whether or not the site you're playing at is corrupt (or possibly hackable), and don't really have much to do with whether or not computer programs are playing poker.

    ScottyZ
  • This site is so rigged! ScottyZ is a bot I swear... :)
  • Now even the *forum* itself is rigged?? Aye chihuahua.

    Don't worry. You can easily counteract the forum being rigged by posting only when seated to my immediate right.

    ScottyZ
  • go check out the university of alberta BOT. They made a bot that they claim can beat out anyone HU. Also check RGP, it has good bot info.

    peace
  • I understand the advantages of a corrupt site (with the associated risk). That's not really hard to figure out :)

    However, I am still not sure if a programmed poker player would be a winning one in the end, and really it would have to be to be worth it's associated risk. Are there any articles on that topic specifically that anyone is aware of?
  • Monteroy wrote:
    However, I am still not sure if a programmed poker player would be a winning one in the end, and really it would have to be to be worth it's associated risk. Are there any articles on that topic specifically that anyone is aware of?

    They've got computers that can beat world champion chess players.. Do you really think they'll have a problem beating the drunk hillbillies online?
  • Hi

    If you ever see Neverwin playin 100 200 on poker stars. He claims he has articles on his site that say why it is easy to beat bots. I havnt checked it but the site is neverwinpoker.com

    peace
  • BBC Z wrote:
    They've got computers that can beat world champion chess players.. Do you really think they'll have a problem beating the drunk hillbillies online?

    theres no bluffing in chess

    i think i could get a pretty good read on a bot over time - i would love to play one heads up for a lot of cash
    i have a prorgram on my comp called : texas calculate em - basically you plug in what you have, how many peoiple on the table and what communicty cards are out there and it tells you what to do

    i stopped using it
  • i think it is possible that people have programmed bots that do play in ring games. if they followed a set strategy and played 24/7 at low limit (where there would not be that many great players) I think the bot could come out a winner - over time. I think it would be hard to make a bot that could just win all the time...
    It would not be that easy to make the bot either. The logic would be one thing but seeing how much was in the pot, position, cards out to player/ cards on the board...it is a complex programming problem. It could also be made more intelligent by adding AI into the mix, keeping track of players and what the showed down compared to what was on the board etc....

    just my two cents... :canada:
Sign In or Register to comment.