How to Identify and Beat Bots (Online Poker Strategy Against AI)

Who doesn’t love the poker? Popular online, in casinos, and in home games the world over, the game is celebrated in movies, books, and even songs. It’s recognized as both a fun way to the time and a potentially profitable sport for those with the talent and discipline to master the game.

One decidedly unwelcome new element has cropped up in recent years, though: the rise of the machines. That’s right! Bots are a legitimate concern in online poker rooms nowadays.

This means that smart players today have to make beating AI opponents part of their ongoing poker studies.

Want to learn how to spot AI adversaries, and even get the best of them? Read on!

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Recognizing Bots

The first step in the triumph of human over machine is getting a clear sense of whether the opponent is, in fact, human or machine!

Here are some giveaways that you may be up against an algorithm:

* Bots take the same amount of time for every gaming decision *

For mere mortals, poker is a somewhat complex game. Players need to count their outs, keep track of their opponents, and calculate pot odds. People may get distracted from time to time, take a phone call or need to use the restroom. Bottom line: given the same set of circumstances, humans don’t always respond in the same way.

But that’s not how AI works. If your opponent always seems to take .8 seconds to respond, no matter the situation, they may not be human.

* Bots will be active at many tables at once, for long periods of time *

An enterprising online poker player may indeed take seats at two, three, or even four tables at once – especially if her or she has committed to not playing too many hands

What’s more, if a session is going well, the player may be able to continue for long stretches at a time: eight, nine, ten hour sessions are not uncommon, with some going for days at a time when they’re getting the best of it.

But playing at 20 tables at once? For 20 hours at a time? Every single time they sit down to table?

If that sounds humanly impossible, that’s because it is!

* Bots won’t respond in chat *

AI can do a lot of things well, but talking trash isn’t one of them.

* Bots use the exact same bet-sizings over and over *

Bet sizing is a crucial part of sophisticated poker strategy: in layman’s , this means adjusting the size of one’s bets to match the size of the pot. [It’s always good to expand your poker vocabulary!]

Most human players approximate their bet-sizings…

…for example, if the pot has about $40 in it, then about $20 makes for a bet of about half the size of the pot. Seems straightforward enough, right?

That’s because humans naturally approximate. Bots don’t.

A pot of $39.88 won’t see a bet of $20 from an AI opponent. It will see a bet of $19.94.

And not just in some hands. In every hand.

An opponent who sizes their bets in the same way, never approximating, and never varying their strategy to mix things up… is probably a machine.

* Bots travel in packs! *

Like wolves, bots operate best in groups. So if, at a certain table, there are multiple players using the same bet-sizings over and over, while also taking the same amount of time to make every decision, and also not responding in chat…

… you might be at a table with a swarm of robots!

Beating Bots

Once the AI opponent has been identified, the next step is to take advantage of this discovery.

Imagine if you were up against a human opponent who you knew would always respond the same way to the same situation, regardless of what cards you held? How long would it take for you to relieve them of their bankroll?

This is essentially the situation players face when they go against AI.

Programming a good bot takes a long time – think in range of the thousands of hours – so one can expect designers to use some shortcuts where they can.

For example, most bots are programmed to make an opening raise when holding a certain range of hands, but fold to a re-raise. If this is the case, a smart player may begin to re-raise with any two cards. The AI will be programmed to fold more often than not.

This pattern, and others like it, are highly exploitable.

Think clinically. Conducting some poker experiments. Observe how the AI responds.

Then, confident that the AI will respond that way every time, players can adjust their tactics and prepare for a feast.

In this way, savvy players may be able to pad their stacks without any need to rage against the machine!

An Inconvenient Truth

One unfortunate fact should be acknowledged here and now: while many AI programs are weak and relatively easy to spot, there are some strong ones as well.

Programmers create bots for a reason, and many of them are very good at their jobs. Over time, AI opponents are only going to get stronger.

Modern players have to be on guard! While it may be possible to get the best of some AI s, others may create serious problems for them.

This brings us to a final, crucial point:

Bots are highly illegal.

Most sites will bend over backwards to keep bots from spoiling the action on their sites.

This means that players who suspect bot activity have two good options available: take advantage of flaws in the programming if possible, or report the to site . It’s even possible that losses might be recouped in this scenario.