New Controversy Over Use of Automated Software at the Tables
8 years ago
21 May
HUDs, Table Ninjas, seating scripts - all these are just a small fragment of the full repertoire of software used online poker players. The debate about its use is almost as old as the software itself. While many believe that any kind of software facilitating the play should not be allowed, others maintain that online poker is a very different animal in comparison to live play and it should be treated differently.
Not so long ago, we wrote about the seating scripts and how many players believe these could represent a doom for the poker economy. A couple of days ago, new controversy threw the community into a heated debate, as PokerStars allowed the use of currently unbranded software that helps the (hyper turbo) heads up players with decision making processes, especially in the preflop situations.
The software was created by the player going under the alias 'skier_5' and according to the rumors, it spread quite quickly as quite a few players took a liking to it and it helped them move through the ranks faster. When these patterns were first noticed, PokerStars security was notified and, as is usually the case with serious allegations, they conducted the investigation.
However, after all the evidence was gathered, PokerStars concluded that players using this particular software were not breaking any rules and thus they've indirectly condoned its use at the tables.
Community disgruntled
A thread that erupted on 2+2 following the original article is full of comments by disgruntled players who cannot understand how can a software that helps player with their decision making be allowed. However, the truth is that most players didn't really know how the software works, as it is not available for a download. Those who do have it remained silent.
Few posters pointed out that if all it does is helping with preflop decisions it is basically a starting hands chart on steroids. Starting hands charts have been around since forever and nobody has real issues with them. If all the software does is figuring out ranges in a vacuum and only makes it easier / simpler to come to a decision than if you were using a good old chart, then the case against is pretty weak.
Some people have pointed out that, even if this is all it does, it still makes it way easier for those who have the software, as the chance to make a mistake or deviate from the optimal strategy is way smaller. To play the devil's advocate here, this is a discussion that could be dragged ad infinitum as you could argue much the same about people using any kind of software when playing against those who don't.
Skier_5 chimes in
'skier_5', the person behind the controversial software, joined the discussion in the afore mentioned thread, and his post highlighted several bullet points. He reminded everyone that PokerStars allowed the use of software, meaning that it wasn't sinister in any way. 'skier_5' also denied that the product was "automated decision software".
Poker is a competitive game so Iām sure all of you understand my unwillingness to go into further details or address specific points of the accusations.
Not surprisingly, he was reluctant to share the more detailed information about the software. From the accounts given, it does seem to be working rather well, so he would kind of doing himself a disservice revealing more information than he absolutely has to.
PokerStars Take
As the thread clearly piqued a huge interest, the number of posts kept growing, warranting a post from a PokerStars representative "PokerStars Baard".
Just wanted to let you know that we are aware of this thread and that we are reading it. It is also true that we did a review of the tools in question and that they were not deemed to violate our rules as they currently stand.We are currently having an internal discussion on whether or not our rules need to be updated.
Not long after the statement, "PokerStars Steve" joined the 2+2 Podcast and explained more details about the cryptic software. From what was said, it seems that the program takes in the voice commands to recognize the whole cards and then returns the advice on the best action to take, making it nearly impossible to detect.
Following the interview, 'skier_5' posted one more time to clear the air on the issue that everyone was very interested in.
Just to make things absolutely clear, there is absolutely no in hand postflop advice or charts or automatic decision making of any kind. skier_5;As for the preflop decisions, the software seems to look for the best decision in a given situation, frequency at which this decision should be applied (for example 65% raise, 35% fold) and then an RNG (random number generator) runs a sequence to determine which of these decisions will be applied.
End of Hypers?
To be quite frank, my head hurts a little after going through all the pages of the thread and trying to figure out what is what. One thing that seems fairly obvious is that PokerStars will not ban the use of this software because even if they wanted it is impossible to enforce since it does not take its data directly from the PokerStars client.
Perhaps an argument that this is lesser of two evils stands? If PokerStars decided to ban it still, it would mean that those who simply don't care would continue to use it and PokerStars security couldn't do much about it, while those who do care and want to play by the book would not be using it and would thus be put at a disadvantage.
This way at least everyone will be able to get their hands on a similar piece of software. I am quite confident that works are already under way and that this super secret weapon will become available to the masses in some its variety soon.
What will this mean for Hypers? Well, it doesn't spell a bright future, that's for sure, as their existence has already been shaken up somewhat. Perhaps the format will eventually become extinct, but when you consider how many poker minds applied themselves fully to solving these games, I guess it was only a matter of time before something like this became available.
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