As the surge of online poker continues unabated, the lesser-known part of the technology is the increase in poker bots - literally PC's that act like poker players - something chess players have been up against for years.

However, unlike chess, poker bots are often seen as the scourge of the online poker world - but the creators of these critters are unrepentent and next month, in Vegas, will see the world's first real money tournament for robots - with $100,000 up for grabs - interestingly sponsored by GoldenPalace.com - the publicity-hungry online casino who's own room bans poker bots.

But some poker players and online poker rooms aren't liking what they're seeing

Though not yet good enough to beat skilled humans consistently, these programs are seen as a threat by online casinos --- all based outside the U.S. and out of the reach of American laws --- and the gamblers who spend billions of dollars chasing big pots.

"There are already lots of robots playing online, and that's definitely unethical. They should identify themselves," said Paul Magriel, a veteran professional poker player.

However, the one thing thats makes poker bot engineering most fascinating, is that, unlike chess or Backgammon, poker play is not always just based on the cards. Of course, card probability is one key factor - but so is psychology. One player's play maybe incorrect in retrospect, but during play could be the winning hand.

For now, only the poker players with the poorest skills..have much to fear

The way it works is simple. Basically, a user launches the pokerbot when the game starts and it calculates the odds on the table. However, the developers are discovering quickly that not only are the odds required, but the bot needs to react to other player's play - whether they call, raise or fold

Computer gaming experts said the robots have some major hurdles to overcome before they have a chance against the world's top human beings --- especially in multi-player games with no betting limit, where the psychology is most important and the number of possible bets is much larger.

Bluffing can be programmed: For every 100 basically worthless hands, for instance, a machine might be instructed to bet heavily five times.

A far bigger issue is the need for abstract pattern recognition. Computers are much worse than humans at anything vague...
At such tasks, "computers are basically idiots," Magriel said. "A computer has an enormous problem recognizing a face. A baby is better."

The need to recognize patterns comes when anyone new sits down at the table. Good poker players learn from the behavior of their foes and adapt on the fly. Computers can store and process millions of past hands, but they have too little data on each new competitor.

Online poker companies are already employing people to look out and stop these robots. PartyPoker.com, the world's largest online room and about to float for $1 billion, actively search out bots, player collusion and other scams

Gaming companies won't disclose all their secrets for sniffing out bots, but some of the techniques are simple. Any person playing three tables simultaneously for 48 hours without a bathroom break, for example, or invariably taking exactly one second to bet, is not a person.

Ultimately, the poker bot development will continue in time with the online poker revolution. But a good poker player probably won't care.

Read Article at the LA Times here: POKER-FACED