Poker Bot Becoming Unbeatable

Poker Bot Becoming Unbeatable
The New York Times have released a story discussing a poker robot that will be nearly unbeatable and could be used for research and maybe even gambling. Poker-playing robots these days are able to learn from their mistakes and make the appropriate move the time. The latest research involves Norwegian scientist Fredrik Dahl. "The job involved using neural networks," the New York Times reports. "Functioning much like an extremely focused, one-dimensional version of the human brain, these complex computer algorithms develop strategies that emerge through so many repetitive mathematical calculations that few humans could reproduce, much less endure them. Dahl's work on two-sided, zero-sum games, where there is no mutual interest, proved to be useful in developing strategies to win not only wars but also poker games." The poker bots participate in billions of staged poker hands with the use of neural networks which creates an unpredictable player. "The theory behind it is almost paranoid," Dahl explains told the Times. "It's estimated that only 100 players around the world even have a chance of taking the game down." Gamblers might win a given hand out of sheer luck, but over an extended period, as the impact of luck evens out, they must overcome carefully trained neural nets that self-learned to play aggressively and unpredictably with the expertise of a skilled professional. The bot can read its opponent as well as the cards. "This machine does that, responding to opponents' moves and pursuing optimal strategies. But to compete at the highest levels and beat the best human players, the approach must be impeccable." During the testing phase, Dahl believed he has uncovered a flaw. During passive play, he played until a hand's very last card was dealt then proceeded to bet, the program chose to fold instead of matching his bet and potentially losing more money. “I called in all my employees and told them that there's a problem,” he says. “The software seemed to play in an easily exploitable pattern. Then I played 200 more hands, and [the robot] never did anything like that again. That was the point when we nicknamed him Little Bastard.”
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