Do the "Poker bots" really work?

Question

Do the "Poker bots" really work?

Answer 1

I don't see how they could work for you since they pretty much proved that any decent poker player can beat a computer.

Answer 2

There are currently three types of poker bots on the market:

1. Button-clicking software that you program yourself to play good poker. This includes Open holdem and Win Holdem. You need to be a programmer to complete these, so how good your bot is comes down to both how good a poker player and how good a programmer you are. The forums for both programs don't suggest that anyone has yet to create a killer bot on these platforms. You see a lot of problems posted and not a lot of solutions.

2. Third party decision brains (usually odds calculator programs) hooked to button clicking software. This includes the OPI (Online Poker Inspector) Bots such as Poker Android, Pokerbot Plus, and Frogbot. There is an interesting trade in OPI profiles amongst this botting community. Some sites (such as the Ongame Network) are full of these bots at the micro limits, and some people are claiming consistent profits. However they cannot win at levels higher than about .15/.30 because there are not enough variables in OPI to program a good bot - for example it doesn't know how many players are still in the pot, just it's hand and the betting action in front of it.

3 Stand-alone applications. Not many of these have surfaced so far, but the ones that have are getting better. A good example is the Shanky Technologies Holdem Bot, which plays NL as well as Limit and always knows the player count plus takes previous round betting action into consideration before acting. There have been reports of very high tournament finishes for this bot and it seems to be able to win SNG's as well. This category of poker bot is the one that is kind of scary and I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them in the near future.

Answer 3

That depends on what you mean by "work."  Most poker bots are just applications which are programmed by their users to behave in certain ways in certain situations at the poker table.  For example, someone may program a bot to raise 5xBB in hold em whenever their down cards are 98s.  Or they make program the bot to limp with AA preflop and bet half the pot on the flop.

Poker bots "work" in the sense that they are consistent in their play.  The user can program the bot to whatever playing style they want and let it play for them.  The bot doesn't get bored or distracted or have to take bathroom breaks, etc..

But poker bots are vunerable to observant players.  If you know a player is a bot user, you simply pay attention to what his bot is doing in certain situations and exploit it.  If you notice that the bot bets no matter what on the flop and lays down to a raise, you can take a lot pots from it before the user knows whats going on (if they are not watching their bot play.)

Bots work in the short term against unobservant players but can be exploited by solid observant players.