Do Poker Rooms Allow Bots?
Online poker was once the playground of novice poker player who wanted to hone his card-playing skills. From time to time those novices might get a chance to play against a real professional. Is that era of online poker now over? Have online poker sites allowed poker-bot-building software engineers to take over the online poker world? Do poker rooms actually allow bots?On the surface the answer to this question is no. Online poker site toe the public relations line with a declaration that bots are not allowed, and that anyone caught using a bot will have their account frozen. According to one writer on the subject, (click here full article) Poker Stars is the only site that seems to be serious about keeping bots off of their site. Poker Stars happens to be the far-and-away leader in the online poker industry, and they have a valuable reputation to protect.
The reason that poker sites have policies outlawing the use of bots is simple. Less sophisticated players feel that they are being cheated if they are playing against bots. Professional players and other seasoned veterans of the game can hold their own against bots, and actually take it as a challenge to play against them (Click here for this full article)
There is an effort to promote the out-in-the-open use of poker bots. The website PokerbotBasics is holding a competition in an effort to encourage online poker sites to become more open about allowing poker bots to be used. PokerbotBasics is inviting online poker sites to allow players to register as a poker bot instead of continuing the current cat-and-mouse game between site administrators and those who use bots. Some in the online poker world believe that this is the wave of the future.
Online poker is a huge industry, and many people make a living playing it. Will the online poker world allow bots to devastate it the way illegal downloading has devastated the music industry? Or, will innovative solutions be adopted that will allow poker bots to come out of the shadows, and allow them to legally co-exist with the rest of the online gaming world? Today it is difficult to find any online poker sites that are willing to go along with any form of openly allowing bots a place at the table. This may or may not change in the future. Jaywalk at your own risk!
