Thursday, May 10, 2007

And the Free WinHoldem Winscrape Site Is...

*Drum Roll Please*

NOTHING.

Why? I'm not sure.


127 unique visitors came to this site since the time I posted my offer to do a free WinHoldem screen scrape by either direct reference from the WinHoldem forums, or by searching for a phrase containing the term WinHoldem. Not a single person emailed me to suggest a site for scraping.

Is WinHoldem losing ground to the newer, more user friendly poker bot platforms?

Full Tilt Rep Responds to Poker Bot Accusations

Full Tilt Poker representative "FTPSean" responds to the angry mob at Two Plus Two. As you've come to expect from Full Tilt poker, there isn't much substance.

I'll spare you FTPSean's corporate-customer-service-speak and jump right to his bullet points.

  • During the investigation we found the evidence to be inconclusive in supporting either determination (human or bot).
  • After careful consideration, the evidence did not warrant the seizure of funds and permanent account closure.
  • We stand by our decision. Having said that, re-opening an account after an investigation such as this one does not mean we have made an irreversible decision. We will continue to reevaluate this situation.

Not too exciting, but Full Tilt is in damage control mode...I'm surprised they replied at all.

FTPSean's full post can be found at the Two Plus Two Forums .

Full details in my earlier coverage here: Full Tilt Poker Bots


Full Tilt Poker Bots (?) at Two Plus Two Forums


A massive thread at Two Plus Two regarding poker bots at Full Tilt Poker has exploded. You can read the 1,500+ replies, or see my summation below.

An observant human player (SukitTrebek) noticed some statistical similarities in the play of 1forthethumb, full_tilting, mariojr, and 0_Drunkenboxer. When I say similarities, I mean SIMILARITIES. Their stats on all streets are nearly identical over 100k hand samples each. This is a link to SukitTrebek's collected stats...decide for yourself.

SukitTrebek reports his findings to Full Tilt. The suspected bot players disappear, and Trebek assumes they are banned. 1 month later, the entire crew of accounts re-appears at the same time and returns to grinding more hands of $200NL than anyone else for 1.5bb/100.

Suspicious? Oh yes. You really shouldn't continue reading until you take a look at the stats

When the bots return, Trebek breaks his silence and the NL Bots on Full Tilt thread is born. Read Trebek's original post if for no other reason than to know what a player will go through to catch you. Full_tilter and a buddy chime in to profess their innocence, backed by Nation, a Two Plus Two forum moderator that claims to know them in person and "knows" they do not run bots.

What do I think? I can tell you right now that something fishy is going on with their stats. These guys have posted stats over 100k samples that are more similiar than any I've been able to find on ANY of my bots, and I'm admitting they are un-tilting, automatons. I've run bots for 1M hands with untouched logic code without 100k runs this similiar. If these guys are bots (or a sweatshop...there's no difference) then they are following a script, but one that is horribly static and has almost no regard for the texture of the board or styles of the opponents around them.

The only way I can see a bot with such similiar statistics is if they are using only the number of actions in the hand and their hand strength to make decisions. They obviously don't use the bet amount as a decision making tool as hand histories have been posted showing them folding to minimum bets and raises in a way that no sane player would.

In other words, folks, this is a horrible bot/script/sweatshop. There are so many factors of the game that they are obviously ignoring and they are still turning a considerable profit at $200NL, a game and limit that most ignorant human players thought was untouchable by bots. full_tilter and his crew have done it successfully and as you've seen from their stats, they are making some downright horrible plays. They are continuation betting 97% of the time at $200NL for example.

Update: A Full Tilt representative has responded. Read my article Full Tilt Rep Responds to Poker Bot Allegations.





Wednesday, May 9, 2007

Poker Stars Cashout by Check Increased to $10,000

In this post UIGEA world, any news of relaxed banking is good news! According to reports in the Two Plus Two Forums, Poker Stars has doubled their maximum cashout by check.

As quoted on the Two Plus Two forums:

"Hello xxx,

Thank you for emailing us.

The minimum you can request on any one cheque is $25 and the
maximum is $10,000. If you wish to cashout more than this, you will
need to use an alternate cashout method. Please contact
security@pokerstars.com for more information about what options are
available to you for cashouts of larger amounts.

If you have anymore questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to
contact us.


Regards,

Jeffrey
PokerStars Support Team "


Of course be aware that a $10k deposit is likely to require a little more paperwork at the bank. Pay your taxes and you have nothing to worry about. I've been on the bad end of the IRS and it isn't pretty.