Poker's 'Deep Blue'

In a previous news article we reported on experiments being carried out in artificial intelligence (AI) to emulate the IBM chess playing computer Deep Blue and produce a computer programme that can take on and beat professional poker champions.

When Big Blue beat Garry Kasparov the world chess champion, it shook the world of chess. Despite claims by Kasparov that the team behind Deep Blue had cheated, this was never proven. Suddenly there was a machine that could take on the best of the best at chess and destroy him. The world of chess trembled in the aftershock.

Can this happen in poker? Unlike chess, an entirely logical game, poker involves bluffing and that is where ordinary poker computer programmes fail. Naturally ordinary tells and body language reading does not happen in the online game, however strong online players learn to read other players playing habits such as spotting tight and loose play and noting how players change style depending on circumstances. An online champion is a champion of psychology, mathematics, money management and gut feeling.

The first machine to attempt this challenge was called Sparbot and the game was two player limit Texas Hold'em and it used a previously generated lookup table to make its decisions. This went live on the internet and people were invited to play it. 15,000 accepted this challenge and overall the Sparbot came out ahead. This was attributed that its play, unlike that of it's opponent, was not affected by emotion. However it was beaten by an online champion, though he did have to modify his play to beat it.

The next attempt was Adaptibot. Unlike Sparbot, Adaptibot can analyse the way an opponent plays, and modify it's own style accordingly. It is a poor player initially, but improves as the game progresses.

The third attempt was a marriage between Sparbot and Adaptibot and that is just coming to fruition. So far we understand that this combination is making excellent progress and playing well against top online players. Ruther developments are needed, but this could well turn out to be Poker's Deep Blue.

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