Will computer programs destroy online poker? Probably (update1)

by Andrew Smith
Poker playing computer programs helps human players hone their skills, but now that researchers have made programs they can beat any human player, online poker sites seem doomed.

Why? Because there's no real way to tell a program from a person. Crooks will enter programs -- or poker bots --as people. Human players will consistently lose. Eventually, all but the stupidest humans will just stop playing.

That, according to EE TImes, is the conclusion of Ian Fellows, a researcher at the University of California in San Diego who also makes poker bots.


"It wasn't until mid-2000, [when] an algorithm was developed, that [bots] could even come close to a competent player. But now online computer poker playing may become a thing of the past," said Ian Fellows, a researcher at the University of California at San Diego and author of the open-source poker bot, "Fell Omen."

Personally, I've never understood why so many people are so willing to risk so much money gambling online. What possible assurances are there -- even with big-name companies -- that everything is running as it should?

News Added: 08 August, 2008

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