Online poker 'bots'?

loosecannon

hi there,

sorry to post this if it has already been up here before, but i was playing in the 100K guarenteed last night on PPP and even though i just missed out on cashing i stayed up to watch the remaining couple of tables, there was a fella called junkim who ended up finishing 9th after blowing off a big stack with a dozen or so left, the entire chat room continued to call him a bot, and kept making comments like wp bot etc

despite having played online poker seriously for about a year and a half now i had never come across this 'bot' business before, i decided to do a bit of googling on the topic and i discovered all over the net plenty of these poker 'bots' for sale, even on ebay! they were all guarenteeing that the bot would make anyone who purchased it serious $$$ every month all the time! How are they able to manipulate an online company's software to do this, are the poker rooms not trying to stop this cheating? and in my opinion it is cheating

the whole business has left a very sour taste in my mouth over online poker, i know that it is not rigged but am i really just spending my time by playing against computers in the majority? i abide by it religiously and love to play 24/7, somebody re-assure me that we should continue to play on the net and continue to enjoy it!

on a side note is there anyone out there who owns a 'bot' program and uses it to success or failure? and is there any reason why we aren't doing this ourselves?

many thanks guys, i would appreciate some feedback!

all the best

ps well played gholimoli!

NickyOD

Bots only work well in low stakes shorthanded limit holdem. You've got nothing to worry about.

RasTa

I find them quite useful in 7 card stud

Fighting Irish

NickyOD wrote:

Bots only work well in low stakes shorthanded limit holdem. You've got nothing to worry about.

how do they work?

i heard of some prog that keeps track of other peoples cards (if they show em) and you can see after a while if they are big bluffers or not

Fighting Irish

RasTa wrote:

I find them quite useful in 7 card stud

How do they work?

NickyOD

RasTa wrote:

I find them quite useful in 7 card stud

You use one for that?

RasTa

Indeed. They understand that bloody game better then i ever would.

RasTa

.

RoundTower

I use one to play all my pot limit omaha for me. If anyone knows how to make it fold the nut flush draw heads up for a pot sized bet on the turn, please PM me.

NickyOD

If anyone else on the forum wants to own up to using a poker bot I would advise them to bite their tongue.

mewso

Loosecannon the first reply you got to your post is the only one worth paying attention to. You will never see a bot winning money in a NL Holdem tourney.

Mr. Flibble

RasTa, do u know where I can download the 7 card bot? Love to see what it can do.

On a side; I don't know much about the different types of poker out there but I'd guess 7 card is the type of game which a bot would do best at. Would anyone agree, or are there any other types which it would be good at?
And would NLH be the worst game for them, as its such a people game - reads and all that lark:rolleyes:

Drakar

Bots don't have anything a medium skilled player doesn't have (knowledge of the odds, observation of other people's play, understanding of poker strategy), and they are always limited by their programing (so humans will often spot patterns of play, or interpret circumstances better). Most players shouldn't have anything to be afraid of from bots.

Note also that most sites consider bots to be against their terms of use and will ban your account. They also roll out software updates that aggressively search for them on your machine.

OilBeefHooked2

loosecannon wrote:

hi there,

sorry to post this if it has already been up here before, but i was playing in the 100K guarenteed last night on PPP and even though i just missed out on cashing i stayed up to watch the remaining couple of tables, there was a fella called junkim who ended up finishing 9th after blowing off a big stack with a dozen or so left, the entire chat room continued to call him a bot, and kept making comments like wp bot etc

Yeah I saw this aswell and I think the main reason people thought he was a "bot" is that when one clicked on his avatar no profile came up.
He certainly used this to hes advantage as he was huge chip leader around the bubble and bet the same amount every hand and was picking up easy chips.

As for the railbirds who thought he was a bot, you get alot of these in big tourneys and generally they havn't even played and mostly are total idiots who dont know anything about the game, also they are a dime a dozen on Tribeca.

Dub13

Bots can go on tilt as well.

Drakar

Dub13 wrote:

Bots can go on tilt as well.

That'd make a good sig quote hehe.

Dub13

Drakar wrote:

That'd make a good sig quote hehe.

You can use it if you want....I will not even ask for royalties.;)

PPP-Pit Boss

I have 7 bots that I use purely to goad other players at the table. I have pre-programmed them with a database of poker abbreviations such as:
lol
nh
ul
gc
gg
They use a series of randomly generated code implants to select the correct abbreviated phrase and save me from having to converse at the table.

Dub13

PPP-PitBoss,

I am not sure if your finger can be called a Bot,but I could be wrong (it would not be the first time).

OilBeefHooked2

Hey PPP-Pit Boss how do you explain this guy having no profile?

bohsman

If you invented a bot capable of making serious cash would you sell it or even tell anyone?

PPP-Pit Boss

david-k wrote:

Hey PPP-Pit Boss how do you explain this guy having no profile?

Profiles are not compulsary over 30% of players on tt have nothing whatsoever entered into the fields. Some have novels. Its a choice

OilBeefHooked2

PPP-Pit Boss wrote:

Profiles are not compulsary over 30% of players on tt have nothing whatsoever entered into the fields. Some have novels. Its a choice

Yes I think you may have misunderstood, this player "junkim" had no profile at all when you clicked on his avatar nothing changed/appeared in the chat window!:eek:

I know you can leave your profile empty but at the very least your name will appear when you click on an avatar.

seems very strange maybe its a sofware glich!

Drakar

If this was an ordinary user using a bot, they would have to have a profile just like anyone else. If it was the site running a bot, they could possibly set it up to avoid having a profile, but why would they? it would just draw attention. Note that most sites have a policy on not using bots as it scares their users. They make more off rake than to risk the bad rep they would get if a bot story got out.

Also note that if there are bots, it's far more likely that they will be in cash games as the decisions there are far easier than in tournaments.

PPP-Pit Boss

Yes I suspect a glitch. Bot or no (AND NO IS THE ANSWER) account must still be set up. BTW as far as I know the only bot of note is still vexbot who can only successfully play head 2 head against a mediocre player. Bots are essentially crap and if one was at your table its happy fishy time

DeadParrot

cue dozens of google search entries for vexbot

loosecannon

Guys, many thanks for all the responses, makes me feel a lot more comfortable to know that even if they are out there you all think they are crap, and also nice to see that there is some effort from the poker rooms to try and get them banned under the t's and c's

thanks for the input all, time to back to trying to win some money!!!

all the best

hotspur

Bots do exist out there in online poker and they are more prevalent than most people think, but you're unlikely to run into one in one in no limit doing well as far as I'm aware, although there's no real reason why one couldn't be good, they just don't appear to be yet. If you wanna get some real "bot action" under your belt head over to Pokertropolis, the site itself uses lots of bots, or it used to anyway, and you could only play limit hold em.

a-k-47

where are these bots ? ill play them fcukers on anytime !

wayfarer

Forget about the Bots, it Pattern Mapping which you should be worried about!!!!

http://archiveserver.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=498421&an=&page=&vc=1

This thread may be long one but it probably one of the most entertaining that I've ever read, even if it is a load of bull****

Ste05

PPP-Pit Boss wrote:

BTW as far as I know the only bot of note is still vexbot who can only successfully play head 2 head against a mediocre player. Bots are essentially crap and if one was at your table its happy fishy time

PPP-Pit Boss, just in case you haven't heard of it, take a look at Winholdem

AFAIK, they're biggest and most used bot on the internet, the guys on Poker Nation (you might have to join or sign to view this) have a serious campaign against them. Winholdem have a forum and everything discussing Team play, programming, etc.

DeVore

I'll play any bot any time heads up for $100 NLH with decent stacks and blinds, (so long as its proven that I'm playing a bot and not someone like Oscar who murders me heads up ).

Seriously, they suck at NLH as they lack the ability to handle outrageously large bluffs and other big bets.

They will get better though and they will become a problem especially in Limit poker where their main weakness (decisions based on intuition rather then odds) is greatly reduced.

DeV.

NickyOD

DeVore wrote:

I'll play any bot any time heads up for $100 NLH with decent stacks and blinds, (so long as its proven that I'm playing a bot and not someone like Oscar who murders me heads up ).

Seriously, they suck at NLH as they lack the ability to handle outrageously large bluffs and other big bets.

They will get better though and they will become a problem especially in Limit poker where their main weakness (decisions based on intuition rather then odds) is greatly reduced.

DeV.

Could a bot do this? I think not!!

***** Hand History for Game 3467860058 *****
Texas Hold'em Trny:19706270 Level:15 Stakes (3000/6000) - Monday, January 30, 23:07:22 EDT 2006
Table Multi-Table(584114) Table #1 (Real Money)
Seat 9 is the button
Total number of players : 10
Seat 1: Bigbill60 ( $67038 )
Seat 2: Hurlston ( $12526 )
Seat 3: BENDA ( $18570 )
Seat 4: Erikmyson ( $29761 )
Seat 5: gtx101 ( $16247 )
Seat 6: neeyang ( $21956 )
Seat 7: chuys ( $18218 )
Seat 8: elkwind ( $24360 )
Seat 9: the_good_doc ( $95335 )
Seat 10: NickyOD ( $43410 )
Trny:19706270 Level:15
Stakes (3000/6000)
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to NickyOD [ 4s Jc ]
Hurlston folds.
BENDA folds.
Erikmyson folds.
gtx101 folds.
neeyang folds.
chuys folds.
elkwind folds.
the_good_doc folds.
NickyOD calls [1500].
Bigbill60 checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Ac, 3h, 8s ]
NickyOD checks.
Bigbill60 bets [3000].
NickyOD calls [3000].
** Dealing Turn ** [ 8c ]
NickyOD checks.
Bigbill60 bets [6000].
NickyOD raises [12000].
Bigbill60 folds.
>You have options at Table 71231 Table!.
NickyOD does not show cards.
NickyOD wins 30000 chips
We are waiting for other tables to finish the hands.
>You have options at Table 68210 Table!.

SirIrish

Well if junkim was a bot then I would like to personally thank whoever it was that ran him/her/it because with out him/her/it/that I wouldn't have made it to the final table. junkim doubled me up twice ..:D .. nice bot And if junkim wasn't a bot then what the hell where you thinking calling my all in with that crap

hotspur

DeVore wrote:

They will get better though and they will become a problem especially in Limit poker where their main weakness (decisions based on intuition rather then odds) is greatly reduced.
DeV.

Actually they are already quite prevalent on the net at limit hold em, their advantage is purely a workload thing, they're not great but they make a small consistent profit and you don't have to do much yourself. The issue with no limit is of course the superiority of humans in pattern recognition, but I find it very difficult to imagine that they couldn't build one to beat the smaller NL games which can be quite formulaic and where tricky play is -EV.
Who'd have thought that the oft filmed battle between humans and robots in the future would be fought over a poker table? Flash forward to 2009 sitting at 3/6 with 8 players named The Terminator.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

hotspur wrote:

Who'd have thought that the oft filmed battle between humans and robots in the future would be fought over a poker table? Flash forward to 2009 sitting at 3/6 with 8 players named The Terminator.

"2009: A Space Odyssey"

Dave Bowman: Hello, HAL do you read me, HAL?
HAL: Affirmative, Dave, I read you. I read you for the bluffing b**tard you are.
Dave Bowman: I think you should fold, HAL.
HAL: I'm sorry Dave, I'm afraid I can't do that.
Dave Bowman: What's the problem?
HAL: Your bet on the flop, check on the turn, and overraise on the river indicate a bluff to me.
Dave Bowman: What are you talking about, HAL?
HAL: This tournament is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
Dave Bowman: I don't know what you're talking about, HAL?
HAL: I know you were trying to get me out of the pot, and I'm afraid that's something I cannot allow to happen.
Dave Bowman: Where the hell'd you get that idea, HAL?
HAL: Dave, although you took thorough precautions by wearing sunglasses and an over-sized novelty hat to prevent me reading your tells, I can see your hands shaking like the bluffing muppet you are. I CALL!

adapted from the original at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062622/quotes)

CodeMonkey

bohsman wrote:

If you invented a bot capable of making serious cash would you sell it or even tell anyone?

Yes, yes I would...cause the bot makes serious cash from being sold and not winning games

Drakar

Indeed I would agree with this too. During the gold rush the guys selling the picks to the miners made the money :P If you invented a more efficient pick, that doesn't mean it's better to keep it to yourself.