The debate about bots in online poker has kicked off once again, thanks to the victorious Polaris Poker Bot, which beat several professional poker players over a four-round competition.
Some people have expressed concern that bots could take over online poker play, and that that their programming will consistently beat the average human player.
Ian Fellows, a researcher at the University of California in San Diego, said “It wasn't until mid-2000 when an algorithm was developed, that could even come close to a competent player. But now online computer poker playing may become a thing of the past.”
Others feel that the rise of the bots is a long way off, Dr. Billings, of the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group stressed that the bots usually only play specific poker variants, and that they are not strong at No-Limit or Multi-player poker games, which are more common in online play.
Most online poker sites are quick to ban those who are found using bots, and experienced players can usually spot behavioural patterns in the bots, making it easy to find and exploit weaknesses.
It seems that for a few more years, at least, humans will still trump bots in online play – and by then, perhaps live video play will be more commonplace, which may discourage the collaborative bots.
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