8 replies to this topic

[Koroshiya]

At first, I was ready to believe the poker sites juiced the rake by dealing hands that promote more wagering, and ready to believe they might have some "bots" playing as prop players. If they used bots, it would be a small leap to assume they could also deal the bots slightly better hands over time, thereby making more profits than just the rake. The prospect of getting caught using bots would be the best argument against using them. Many sites do actually pay prop players an hourly rate to fill out games. If they could use bots, why pay anyone? The argument that best supports their being straight-up is this: if word ever got out that they were not legit, their cash flow would suffer and possibly die all together. Their life blood is the player's belief that the games are fair. It is a 2 billion dollar a year business and if they risked one disgruntled employee or programmer going public with the fact that they cheat, even a little, they would kill the golden goose.I have had numerous odd situations on-line that call the fairness of the game into question, but the more I play live games, the more I see that all those circumstances that seem suspicious when run by a machine also occur in live games. Richard Sparks interviews several key people from on-line sites regarding this issue in his book "Diary of a Mad Poker Player". He concludes they are on the level. I too will assume they are legit till someone proves otherwise.This is an article on bots, but it is concerned with players using bots. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6002298I doubt members of a site could ever use bots because you don't get enough data at your system. I have not found any good analysis of the prospects of the sites themselves using bots. That is the only real threat.Koroshiya

[allinbluff35]

buy a patternmapper at www.butitwassooted.com and then pick up a tinfoil hat at www.chromeonmydome.com

[Koroshiya]

allinbluff35 said:

buy a patternmapper at www.butitwassooted.com and then pick up a tinfoil hat at www.chromeonmydome.com

Obviously, you have some reading comprehension issues. Good luck with that.Koroshiya

[allinbluff35]

Koroshiya said:

allinbluff35 said:

buy a patternmapper at www.butitwassooted.com and then pick up a tinfoil hat at www.chromeonmydome.com

Obviously, you have some reading comprehension issues. Good luck with that.Koroshiya

actually I don't, I just really don't care about reading someones take on whether or not online card rooms use bots or not. Obviously you have some sarcasm detecting issues. Good luck with that

[eric star]

reading about them it looks like it would be easy to get one. im sure there is a lot of people out there that are doing it, i think its a bunch of crap and the sights need to punish those people who do it. it should be illegal. but im not sure if its actually out lawed, anyone know?

[Governator]

Wouldn't they just be big fish anyay with a big target on them? If anything they'd play just the top hands and very sloppy at that... I don't think anyone would want to risk real money and rely on a bot to generate any sort of profit for them in the long run.

[Koroshiya]

allinbluff35 said:

actually I don't, I just really don't care about reading someones take on whether or not online card rooms use bots or not. ..

You don't like reading about it, but you go to the trouble to click on the link, read about it and then post comments. Brilliant.Koroshiya

[Koroshiya]

eric star said:

reading about them it looks like it would be easy to get one. im sure there is  a lot of people out there that are doing it, i think its a bunch of crap and the sights need to punish those people who do it. it should be illegal. but im not sure if its actually out lawed, anyone know?

It is hard to make anything illegal in an offshore, unregulated business. These guys can do pretty much anything they want which they feel is in their self-interest. One has to hope they find it in their best interest to keep the game honest because the price they would pay for getting caught would be a loss of customers and revenue.Unlike a real card room, the on-line site has access to the deck so they can deal any cards in any order they choose. They could also seat a player at a table, real or a bot, who could know what the pocket cards are. If you were in that position and could double or triple your income with just a small tweak in the game, wouldn't you be tempted?Koroshiya

[Producer_2]

Quote

The argument that best supports their being straight-up is this: if word ever got out that they were not legit, their cash flow would suffer and possibly die all together. Their life blood is the player's belief that the games are fair. It is a 2 billion dollar a year business and if they risked one disgruntled employee or programmer going public with the fact that they cheat, even a little, they would kill the golden goose.

I may be amazingly naive, but everytime I think something odd might be going on I tell myself this very thing. The simple fact is there's too much money coming in the RIGHT way for them to risk it for more the WRONG way. I mean, think about the ridiculous amounts of money these sites pull in in their rake alone. Think about the rake being pulled at the table you're playing... and then realize that there are upwards of 1,000 tables going on at the same time pulling essentially that same rake, even higher (obviously) at the higher limits.Again, maybe I'm an ignorant fool, but I know I wouldn't risk blowing the hundreds of thousands of dollars I'd be pulling in legitimately by illegally tilting the action.p2