Poker robots. How dangerous is artificial intelligence in poker: analyzing the successes of Cepheus, Libratus and Pluribus

Hello everyone, friends! Knowing my love for various poker applications, I was contacted by the developers of one social platform - 7 levels Poker. They wanted me to test it and tell you about their idea, which I have not yet encountered on the vastness of social networks. The main feature of the platform is that the game is played not with real people, but with bots. And if at first this idea did not cause anything but skepticism, then after playing a little, I realized that I was mistaken.

Learn to play poker with bots

The main focus of the creators 7 levels Poker made on the process of the game itself, and not on the casual component, which has recently become boring for many poker fans in social networks (flashing buttons, bonuses lying from the sky, spins). The client is not "covered" with any unnecessary graphic elements, which allows you to fully concentrate on the game.

In total, 7 levels are available for the game, which are divided into limits from NL 25 to NL 1000 Texas Hold'em. To pass each, you need to win a certain number of chips from your virtual opponents, as well as consolidate a positive result over several hundred hands. With each new level, the complexity of the bots also grows, so even experienced players will be interested in spending a couple of evenings playing card battles at 7 levels of Poker.

For those who have sat down at the poker table for the first time or are not quite versed in the rules of the game, there is training available, where you can learn about the main game points in a fairly simple and detailed way using examples, as well as learn the basic strategy. Combinations are shown at the bottom of the game table, which makes life easier for beginners and allows you to speed up the decision-making process. In addition, the developers promised to further develop the training component, and in the near future to please all users with unique training opportunities. That is why 7 levels Poker is ideal for those who are just taking their first steps in poker.

The very process of the game is different from its other social "brothers". Considering that we play with bots, your opponents make decisions many times faster than when playing with real opponents, which makes it possible to play a much larger number of hands.

Bonus: training with a professional!

It is impossible not to mention the promotions prepared by the creators

In Hold'em, the player needs to collect the best five-card combination of cards from the two cards that are given to him in his hand and five community cards.

First, the player sitting behind the dealer posts the small blind - half of the minimum bet, the next player after him posts the full minimum bet (big blind).

Each player receives two cards face down (face down). These are the so-called (pocket cards). These are the only cards that the player receives individually. These cards will form a combination or "hand" with five community cards that will be dealt in the next rounds of the game. At the very beginning of the game, even before the cards are dealt, the mandatory betting process takes place.

The situation when there are no community cards on the table yet, and the players have already received their pocket cards, is called pre-flop. At this stage, players place their first bets. Or they refuse to continue the game - they fold their cards (fold) if they see that their cards are not very good. you can accept the bet before you or raise it if you have good cards. If you raise the bet, the players either accept it (call) or refuse to play further (fold). Then the bets are added to the pot and the next stage of the game begins - the flop

The flop is a situation when three community cards are dealt on the table. You can now make a combination of cards using your hole cards and community cards. For example: you are holding a King and a Jack. On the flop, the board dealt the common seven, nine and jack. You now have a pair of Jacks. The second round of betting begins. Again, you can bet (call), raise (raise), or fold (fold).

Turn - four cards on the table. They are called the turn. Another round of bets.

River - The fifth community card appears on the table. The last round of betting. After that, those players who remained open their cards and find out who won. The player with the stronger combination of cards takes the entire pot for himself.

The following actions are available to the player:

• Check - if there are no bets in the current round, the player can check. In this case, the move goes to the next player clockwise. Checking does not mean giving up the fight for the pot, it is only giving up the opportunity to bet this round. If all players check, the round is over.
• Bet - if there are no bets in the current round, the player can bet. If a player bets, the player to his left (as well as the following players) can fold, call, or raise.
• Fold - Refusing to try to win the pot. The player who folds (folds) must not and cannot bet on the current hand, but loses the opportunity to win the hand.
• Call - if a bet was made in the current round, the player can call by calling. This rate is equal to the rate of the last player.
• Raise - if a bet was made in the current round, the player can increase it by making a raise. To do this, the player must make a bet that is higher than the last player's bet. All the following players must equalize already this bet (call) or increase it even higher (raise) in order to qualify for winning the pot.

Top button bar

Regulations- shows the current size of the blind, the time until the next increase in the blind and its size after the increase.

clue- turns on the display of hints about your current combination and possible combination of the opponent.

New game- starts a new game with the computer.

In cooperative play, the button New game is replaced with a button Offer a draw, allowing you to request a draw from an opponent in a cooperative game.

Settings- opens the settings menu where you can:

• Turn on the game table mode;
• Change the face and / or back of the cards;
• Turn sound on or off;
• Prevent other players from inviting you to the game;
• Open the blacklist of players.

Story- history of all your games with the date of the game, the opponent and his place in the rating.

The games you won are marked in yellow, your lost games are red, and your lost games are white.

An asterisk marks the games you have added to your favorites.

Points are awarded only for victories over opponents (no points are awarded for draws and victories over the computer).

Elo rating system, Elo coefficient is a method of calculating the relative strength of players in games in which two players participate. This rating system was developed by the American professor of physics of Hungarian origin Arpad Elo.

In your personal account, you can specify additional information about yourself, upload a photo, change your password, as well as store and carry out personal correspondence with other registered players.

You can play without registering as a guest. After registration and / or authorization, you will gain access to your personal account and will be able to send private messages to other players.

To register, you just need to enter a name (at least 3 characters) and a password (at least 5 characters). If such a name is already registered in the game, you will have to choose another one.

We all have probably heard more than once stories about incredible programmers who use poker bots in order to deceive ordinary players in poker rooms and constantly win from them, earning almost millions of dollars monthly. In addition, in the news every now and then there is information that some university in the United States has already developed its own poker bot, which already knows how to beat any professional in this card game. But is it true? And can you create a really good poker bot that will provide you with money for the rest of your life? Let's figure it out ...

Theory

First of all, it should be noted that poker from a mathematical point of view is a rather primitive game, even despite all its complexity and ambiguity. After all, any player in the course of the distribution has the right to do, in fact, one of three possible actions: either raise the bet, or fold the cards, or equalize the previously made bets. And only by varying these three parameters, we can build an ideal strategy for the game, consistently outplaying our opponents.

However, it should be noted that a lot in a real game also depends on the size of the bets that we will make. After all, professional poker is not only and even not so much mathematics as the psychology of the players taking part in the distribution. If we want to become a successful player (or write a really powerful poker bot), then we must be able to sort our opponents into categories, highlighting “sharks” and outright “fish”. Of course, the program is much more difficult to do this ...

A bit of history

If we turn to history, it turns out that poker bots have long tried to create the most “progressive” minds of mankind. So, one of the very first bots that we know about was a program called "Orac", which was created by a professional in the world of card games Mike Caro. A distinctive feature of this program was that it could not only calculate the possibility of making a particular combination, but also could determine the likelihood of an opponent's bluff! Moreover, this was done according to a very simple algorithm - if the opponent of the program thought too long about his move, then the program believed that he was most likely bluffing. And if a person made a decision instantly, then the program considered that he was playing cards.

Of course, this algorithm could not beat real poker professionals, and when it was tested in practice in the 90s, it turned out that people, unlike programs, are able to adapt to the opponent's play. And those people who played against “Orac” very quickly realized how you can cheat the program, making it “think” in the wrong direction.

If you want to download a poker bot now, then you will immediately come across hundreds of different offers from various stores and simply dubious offices. Moreover, some of these programs are distributed completely free of charge, while for others you may be asked for very serious money, up to several thousand dollars. However, one thing unites them all - sellers will always assure you that with the help of his program you will consistently win in poker, and no one will ever know that you are playing with the help of a bot.

However, why would a person sell a bot if he can consistently bring him a good income in some well-known poker room? It's no secret that the administration of any room has an extremely negative attitude to the use of any programs that make decisions for a person, and to the use of poker bots in particular. And this is logical, because when we ourselves play on the Internet, we want the same person to sit on the other side of the screen, and not a machine that beats us mathematically. And that is why the administration of the same PokerStars blocks all accounts that, in one way or another, have been seen using this technology. And money from these accounts is never returned.

Therefore, it turns out that the more identical bots will be used within the same room, the more likely the administration will be able to calculate them and block all accounts using this bot. Therefore, it turns out that selling a really working poker bot is simply unprofitable, it would be much more logical to use it yourself!

How does a poker bot work?

So, let's take a look at how the simplest poker bot works, which you can easily download on the Internet. Basically, his entire algorithm is divided into three large modules:

1. Receiving the information. The poker bot must receive information from the poker room about the size of its stack, the size of the opponents' stacks, the bets made, the position at the table, the size of the blinds, as well as the cards with which it will play for you and me.
2. Analysis of information. The bot must decide what to do with certain cards in certain conditions. Immediately, we note that most of the simplest poker bots act in a stereotyped manner, according to a predetermined plan, while the smartest bots, created on the basis of neural networks, are able to learn the game on their own, based on the hands already played and the analysis of lost hands.
3. User simulation. The bot must apply its decisions in practice, that is, click on the buttons that a real user would have pressed (pass, call, raise, etc.). In addition, at the same stage, the bot must do other actions that a real player performs during the game, for example, move the mouse from corner to corner, switch between tabs, turn on Vkontakte music, etc.

At the same time, a poker bot can also receive information from several sources:

1. First of all, it is often used for this log files that every poker client has. The advantage of these files is that they record absolutely all the actions that we saw in the distribution, starting from our cards with you and ending with the actions of our opponents.
2. API messages. In fact, this is a chat in the poker client window, in which everything that happens at the table is written in a text version. Probably, you yourself have repeatedly seen a record like “Player1 won the pot $ 0.56 with the combination QQ994”. These are the very messages.
3. Client screenshot. The most advanced poker bots can even take permanent screenshots of the screen in order to read information directly from the resulting images. This method is the most secretive, since it is the most difficult to figure out, but not all bots are able to do this.

conclusions

Thus, we can conclude that poker bots exist today, and they can be completely downloaded to your computer on the Internet without any problems. The site serves as a vivid proof of this. poker-bot.ru, where Russian-speaking users communicate with each other and discuss what bots they use in their practice, and how effective they are in general.

However, the administration of any poker room will always oppose the use of these programs, as they undermine the very essence of poker. After all, we always want to play against real people, because real poker is, first of all, positive emotions, and only then money.

In addition, on the same forum there are a lot of offers for the sale of profitable bots, in which sellers swear by oath that it is their brainchild that can really make you rich and happy. Immediately, we note that a lot of bots that are sold there (or even given away for free) are completely useless, since it will not play a plus.

In addition, by downloading suspicious software on suspicious resources, you run the risk of installing a virus on your computer, because of which you will simply lose all data from your account at one moment, and with it all the money on it.

You need to understand that creating a really profitable poker bot is a process that takes years, and it is impossible to write such a program in just a few months. In addition, these programs cannot be used on all poker rooms. The same one has several degrees of protection against bots at once, and therefore such programs are completely useless there.

It takes practice to play poker successfully. If you gain experience playing for real money, it can be expensive to gain hands-on experience. There is a way out - practice of playing poker with the help of special programs that simulate real game situations. There is paid software for training players, but you can also use free software provided by PokerStrategy.

At the largest poker school, you can access several types of free software for training. Each of the programs allows you to hone your knowledge in practice without the risk of losing money in a particular area of ​​poker theory. All newbies are encouraged to register at PokerStrategy and download the free software!

Attention: some of the programs provided by the poker school are not intended for use with the open poker client of some rooms. For each online room, you should clarify the rules separately - is this software allowed or is it better to use it with a closed poker client! Violation of the rules can threaten to block your profile in the poker room!

Equity Battle - Equity Poker Trainer

This program is supplied to school users by a third-party developer free of charge. The simulator is constantly being improved and supplemented with functions, however, its main task is to teach the player to determine equity. The following options will be available to you:

• Equity training with an increasing level of difficulty for Hold'em and Omaha;
• Online game with real opponents;
• Participation in the rating of users.

This poker simulator is made in a rather pleasant and colorful version. The application can be installed on a smartphone! Through the use of the simulator Equity Battle , You will learn how to accurately determine equity on all trading streets.

Equilab - poker simulator and scenario analyzer

Actually, the main function of the Equilab application is to analyze Equity on various trading streets. You can calculate all possible scenarios for a specific game situation or range of cards. This tool can be used to analyze the hand played in order to compare the actual expectations and the decision made. The analysis will show how correct your actions were. It is dangerous to use the application at the same time with an open poker client and is not welcomed by many poker rooms !

If you want to test your knowledge of Equity - use the training function that is included in this program. Poker training is about passing tests. There are many questions, they are chosen randomly, so each time you will take tests that are unlike each other. Can't take the test? You still need to learn some theory!

The poker school provides two options for the Equilab app - for Hold'em and Omaha.

ICM Trainer - Tournament Poker Practice

This poker simulator is recommended for those who prefer tournament play. It will allow you to learn how to play successfully in the later stages of tournaments, when the blinds are high and it is more difficult for the poker player to make decisions, since any mistake can ruin his stack. The application can work in two modes:

• Workout mode - the player is offered various game situations. After evaluating the size of the blinds, stacks, position, you must choose the optimal solution. In the event of an error, the program will inform you about it and suggest the correct course of action.
• Calculation mode - the work is done according to the principle of a poker calculator. You yourself set the parameters of the situation, and the program analyzes it and shows the optimal solution in this situation. This feature attracts some newbies trying to use the app to get a hint in a real game. It is possible, but dangerous, again - due to the risk of account blocking in the poker room!

Poker school PokerStrategy provides its students with modern and high-quality free tools for practicing poker. Do not miss this opportunity - register at a poker school and download the desired poker simulator.