They are worse than poker sharks. They have taken over all online poker rooms. They’re probably sitting right next to you at this table. They likely have all of your chips. They won’t let emotion get in the way. Fear, greed, exhaustion and fear are not their friends. They have no tells and you can’t put them on the table. They are poker bots and, according to rumor, they will rob you naked.
Poker bots are computer programs that play for and on behalf of a human being. They follow a proven strategy. Online poker players might be concerned about the presence of borderline cheaters at their online poker rooms.
Let’s get started. It’s simple: Yes. You should continue playing poker. These poker bots are not foolproof, and they can be even more difficult to beat. Online poker rooms are making it increasingly difficult for poker bots to get through their virtual doors. (Think: cyber-bouncer).
There are many poker bots. Numerous programmers have attempted and continue to try their hand at pitting technology against humans. There are many types of poker bots, and new ones appear on online poker rooms every day. This leads to one clear conclusion:
They cannot be beat all . This serves two purposes: a warning to not rely on them, and a consolation for those who are afraid of being unwittingly pitted against their.
How about a table that has more than one poker bot occupied? You’re lying if you think this hasn’t happened. Poker bots can lose in such an instance. Only one person can win in every hand.
Each bot is only as good and as talented as its programmers. To be clear, this is programmers with an s: the person or group who created the program, and you, as the user, must decide the parameters (or settings), by which the bot will play. These human variables directly affect the poker bot’s actions. Let’s ask you a question: Why not play the damned game yourself?
It is important to remember that poker is and not suited for mechanical play. It is a human poker game. A poker bot cannot be placed on tilt. However, it can read tells and spot bluffs. A poker bot’s ability to improve one’s game is questionable at the best. It’s probably better to improve your game by practicing, practice, practice.
This threat might not be a problem for very long. It might seem odd that poker rooms should be concerned about this, as poker bots can make as much money online as the real players. Real people are becoming more restless. Online poker rooms are beginning to notice the problem, even though they may be able to retaliate against the poker bots and boycott online poker.
Many online poker rooms have software in place that detects when a player is using too many patterns in their play. This will be a difficult task as distinguishing between human and bot poker play can be tricky and risky. No one wants to make false accusations, or worse, take incorrect action like blocking innocent users’ accounts. They are working on it.
A new type of competition is emerging: Who can build the best bot? Online poker rooms will host more bot-only tournaments. Don’t be surprised, some have. This will hopefully encourage more poker bot enthusiasts to make a niche for their own (surely a lucrative niche for online poker rooms) and allow the rest of us to play against real human beings.