JazzyBets

This summer, during July 4-9, 2008, the Co-founder of Stoxpoker, an online poker instruction destination, is set to go head-to-head versus Polaris, a super PokerBot, that comprises of an intricate series of poker-playing computer programs created by the scientific wizards at the University of Alberta. This exciting event will be held at the Rio Hotel in Las Vegas during the Gaming Life expo.

As the number of internet poker players continues to rise, the number of people trying to take advantage of game vulnerabilities using technology, has also risen. External cheating software that advises poker actions is becoming increasingly widespread, with some software able to play without human interaction, often termed as a “PokerBot”. These PokerBots can give a player using the software a potentially unfair advantage towards ordinary players that are not using such tools. Enter the BotGuard, by ICU Intelligence.

“..as the technology of the poker bots develops and becomes more sophisticated, new methods are needed to combat the problem. ICU’s BotGuard is designed specifically to find and detect the player patterns that single out poker bots from the human players.”

Here is a comprehensive and updated list of active Poker Bots, calculators and tools that many online poker rooms permit the use of:

1. Calculatem Pro
2. Coach Rounder
3. Draw Poker Source
4. GameTime+
5. Holdem Genius
6. Holdem Indicator
7. Holdem Manager
8. Holdem Partner
9. Holdem Ranger
10. Omaha Poker Coach
11. Paragon Poker Pal
12. Poker Academy Prospector
13. PokerAce HUD
14. Pokerbility
15. Poker Buddy
16. Poker Butler
17. PokerEval
18. Poker EV
19. Poker Evolver
20. Poker Indicator
21. Poker Juggernaut
22. Poker Office
23. Poker Potjie
24. Poker Pro 2007
25. Poker Sharpener
26. Poker Sidekick
27. Poker Sniffer
28. Poker-Spy
29. PokerStat
30. Poker Stove
31. Poker Tracker
32. Poker Vitals
33. Poker Weapon
34. Poker Wingman
35. PPA Poker Calculator
36. SmartBuddy
37. Star Tracker
38. Stud Inspector v1
39. Stats for Poker
40. Telescope by SpadeIt
41. Texas Calculatem
42. ThePokerDB
43. Tournament Indicator
44. Tournament Shark
45. Table Shark

Here are some prime examples of Poker Bots that are often prohibited in all cases.

1. Advanced Poker Calculator
2. Gambot
3. hhSmithey
4. Holdem Hawk
5. Holdem Pirate
6. Holdem Inspector a.k.a. Online Holdem Inspector
7. iHH Harvester
8. Magic Holdem
9. Mandraker
10. Open Holdem Bot
11. OPI Wizard
12. PokerAnalytics
13. Poker Android
14. Poker Bot+
15. Poker Bloodhound
16. Poker Crusher
17. Poker Edge
18. Poker Inspector a.k.a. Online Poker Inspector
19. Poker Mate
20. Poker Prophecy
21. Poker Sherlock
22. Poker Table Manager
23. Real Poker Rankings
24. SharkScope
25. Sit n’ Go Brain
26. Sixth Sense
27. SmartCollector a.k.a. Mixed Harvesters
28. SpadeEye
29. Stars Hand History (SHH)
30. StarSpy
31. Texas Auto Fold
32. TheCashDB
33. WinHoldem

Poker Bot Developer Tips:

How I Built A Working Poker Bot

How I Built A Working Poker Bot - Part 2

Open Holdem Source Code

Play Online Poker Against a Poker Bot:

BluffBot 2.0

Recently added PokerBots:

Gold Buillion - Artificial Intelligence Pokerbot

PokerRNG - Reverse Random Number Generator (RNG)

In this ongoing series of news coverage at JazzyBets, we’ll explore the Rise of the PokerBots, and their increasing use in online internet poker rooms.

Before we delve into the complexities of the Pokerbot, let’s look at one of the most famous studies of the power of PokerBots produced by the Department of Computing Science, University of Alberta. It was called “Approximating Game-Theoretic Optimal Strategies for Full-scale Poker“. Here are some interesting quotes from the study, that should prime your knowledge of poker bot logic.

Their objective was to “to create substantially improved poker-playing programs, able to defeat strong human players and be competitive against world-class opponents“, which is quite the feat.

“More than 100 participants volunteered to play against the pseudo-optimal players including many experienced players, a few masters, and one world-class player.”

Regarding poker bot logic “we call their solutions pseudo-optimal, to emphasize that there is no guarantee that the resulting approximations will be accurate, or even reasonable. Some will be low-risk propositions, while others will require empirical testing to determine if they have merit”

“… A number of interesting observations were made over the course of these games. It was obvious that most people had a lot of difficulty learning and adjusting to the computer’s style of play. In poker, knowing the basic approach of the opponent is essential, since it will dictate how to properly handle many situations that arise. Some players wrongly attributed intelligence where none was present. After losing a 1000-game match, one experienced player commented “the bot has me figured out now”, indicating that its opponent model was accurate, when in fact the pseudo-optimal player is oblivious, and does no modeling at all.”

When testing the pseudo-optimal poker bot against a world-class player, 

Here’s the money quote:  “You have a very strong program. Once you add opponent modeling to it, it will kill everyone.”

According to an independent poker room and a marketing survey firm JupiterResearch, they have discovered that for younger players, poker has become even more popular than ever before

The results were especially true for Germany, Sweden, Poland and Hungary, which all saw the ranks of younger online poker players increase substantially over the past year.

For a second consecutive year, the independent poker room and JupiterResearch collaborated on a survey that identifies the demographic and behavioural characteristics of poker players. This year, 10 new markets were added to the survey, which now covers Europe and Asia for a total of 16 countries (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland). Nearly 3,000 poker players in these 16 countries completed the survey online.

Younger online poker players increase in number across Europe since February 2007 –
One of the most notable changes in this year’s survey was a shift of the age demographic of European online poker players, with the biggest growth seen in the 18-24 yrs category. Germany, for instance, has shown considerable growth of its number of younger players with 41% of respondents aged between 18 and 24 years compared to 17% in 2007. Similarly, in Sweden the younger age group accounts for 25% of online players which was just 18% in 2007. The newly added countries such as Poland and Hungary have the highest percentages in the 18 to 24 year category which account for 58% and 61% of their players. In Spain however, the percentage of players in the 18-24 age group has remained at 28% since 2007 but the country has seen an increase in the number of 25-34 year olds playing poker online (42%).

Female online poker player ranks grow across Europe since 2007 –

The 2008 survey also identified an increase in the number of female online poker players. This is particularly true for countries such as Spain which now has 44% female players compared to 16% in 2007; Italy with 34% of its players being women (compared to 18% in 2007); and, to a lesser extent Germany, where 35% of poker players are female compared to 32% in 2007. In the Nordic countries where online poker is a much more mature market, there is a larger percentage of female players with Norway dominating at 46% female, Finland 38% and Sweden 37%. Conversely, in eastern European countries where poker is still very much an upward trend, the online poker market is dominated by men with only 28% female online players in Hungary and 27% in Poland.

The fun aspect of poker is what attracts European players most –There is no distinct geographical split between countries which play the game for fun and those which play for money, although players who come from countries where poker is more developed tend to want to play more to win money. According to the survey, 68% of all European respondents play for fun and 54% highlight the convenience of online play. This is true for Poland where 88% of respondents play for fun, Sweden (77%) and Austria (72%), and in Germany where online players appreciate being able to play at any time (66%), as well as in Switzerland (66%) and Denmark (63%). According to the survey, over one third of Swedish and German online players also find poker challenging and enjoy improving their skill while playing, as do Austrians and Hungarians, who enjoy playing to improve their technique (44% in Austria, 41% in Hungary).

Rushmore Casino named after the illustrious estate in the south of England, was created to pass on the majestic and prestigious experience of a land based casino. It has long been established as one of online gaming’s shining stars and has the enviable reputation of not only being the casino of choice for some of the world’s biggest high rollers, but also for providing a smooth and hassle-free entry to players new to online gaming.

Rushmore Casino features over 80 games, stunning graphics and superb music, provided by Real Time Gaming, that all contribute to an immersive and exciting gaming experience. As you enter the site, the exclusivity and sophistication of Rushmore’s playground for the rich and famous is immediately obvious.

The casino features a number of progressive jackpots, an incredible welcome bonus of $888. Wagering at the casino is also rewarded through a points system and once accumulated; these points can be exchanged for bonus chips or special gifts.

Rushmore Casino offers 24 hours 7 day a week support via email, fax and toll-free phone; depositing and withdrawing money is also made quick and easy with a large selection of payment options available.

Rushmore Casino is known for being very committed to respecting and protecting player privacy. They use the most sophisticated methods available to ensure that players’ information remains safe. All information is transferred using encryption technologies and once stored on the Casino’s servers, it is maintained safely using the latest Firewall technologies.

Hollywood Poker Presents…

Big names, big money, big events – it’s all part of the Hollywood Poker experience. Since its triumphant launch in November 2004, Hollywood Poker has fast gained a reputation for dealing its female players with a winning spread of star-appeal, spectacular events, fabulous promotions and a friendly and supportive community.

Features

Celebrity Events

Hollywood Poker is best known for these highly popular weekly Celebrity tournaments:

• Michael Woods Celebrity Invitational

• Hollywood Poker Celebrity Classic

• Canadian Poker Night

These star-studded tourney’s give girl players the chance to collect Celebrity Bounties for up to $2,000 while they pit their skills against Hollywood Poker’s host of Celebrity Players, like James Woods, Vince Van Patten, Mimi Rogers, Donnie Wahlberg, Mena Suvari and Jason Alexander.

Featured Tournaments

We also host an amazing spread of regular featured events, like the ever-popular Easy Money, **Bonner Avenue Sit ‘n’ Go and Grand Prix tournaments. Our events range from low to mid to high stakes, so there’s bound to be a perfect fit for every type of girl player.

Promotions

Our VIP Program, clubHOLLYWOODpoker, rewards all styles and stakes of  players by dealing out $6K in monthly freerolls. For new users, becoming a member is as easy as real money activating your account, hitting the tables and racking up Poker Points. Your monthly Poker Point accumulation determines whether you are a Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum or Titanium Club Member. The value of the freeroll you qualify for corresponds to your clubHOLLYWOODpoker status and they’re all guaranteed to give you a shot at some easy money

Invite-A-Friend

Hollywood Poker extends the star-treatment by offering players access to exclusive promotions, like the lucrative Invite-A-Friend program. When players successfully tell their pals about the site using this feature, they’ll split a nice slice of cold hard cash with their friends. The more people you invite, the more you win – it’s that simple.

Bonuses

A spread of exclusive deposit bonuses up to $1,500 makes sure that playing with the big names doesn’t have to cost you big bucks. It doesn’t matter what level or style of girl player you are: Hollywood Poker’s got a bonus to suit any player. Our bonuses are headlined by a choice of THREE Celebrity Tournament Packages, which deal out incentives like free Celebrity Tournament tickets.

Customer Service

The tournaments, promotions and bonuses are only a few of the many features that have made Hollywood Poker A-list among online poker sites. Hollywood Poker also offers unparalleled customer support, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Hollywood Poker Community

Support doesn’t only come from the Hollywood Poker staff. The vibrant and friendly online community is a constant source of support and encouragement. Whether it’s cheering fellow players on at the tables, exchanging advice  and ideas in the forums or chatting in the lobby, Hollywood poker players embody the fun, flare and fabulous experience every one will experience at Hollywood Poker.