Techniques to spot when a poker bot is in your game | online poker

You might not have realized you've been in a game with a bot before since they tend to blend in pretty well these days with all the advanced ones out there. 

When the first rudimentary bots appeared, spotting them was very easy since they only followed very basic strategies. Today's top-of-the-line bots can emulate human behavior so convincingly that sometimes even experienced players cannot detect them anymore. 

This doesn't mean, however, that they are entirely undetectable. Even the most sophisticated poker bots exhibit some tendencies or patterns which, although not necessarily suspicious on their own, become telling when put together. Some of these signs can be picked up on fairly easily with a little experience; others call for statistical analysis. (Most poker sites have tools preventing exactly that, but more on that later.) 

Before we take a look at how to detect bots, let's quickly discuss why someone would use one in the first place.

Why Do People Use Bots? - Goals of Bot Operators

You need to understand the motivations behind bot operators' actions because it will help you recognize certain patterns. There is really only one goal bots are used for: 

Maximizing folding.

Bots are programmed to fold EVERY hand that isn't a big pair, top pair, or a draw in the right range. They don't get tilt, don't have egos, and never make silly hero calls. This behavior alone makes them extremely difficult opponents, especially when several of them are seated at your table. 

As a result, the entire action moves to the periphery of the table, making the game safe and lucrative for the bot operator/s. 

Signs of a Potential Bot

Here are some things to watch out for: 

A) Play Patterns

1. Too Many Strait Flushes

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Human beings just statistically cannot hit too many straight flushes, especially if they fold most of their hands. Think about it: To hit a straight flush, you need a high pocket card and a high card on the board hitting it. If a player folds most of his hands, by definition he will rarely have a high pocket card. Also – and this point is often overlooked – to hit a straight flush, you need to go all the way without anyone hitting in between. On an average table, this happens once every two months! 

2. Always Playing "Mini" Abbreviated Hands

Bots usually only play "mini" hands like AC-KC, KD-QS, etc. - that is, hands that can make medium-strength pockets pairs, high cards, and strong draws. Weak pockets pairs below TT and low suited connectors fall beyond the range of a standard play money poker bot. 

3. Not Participating in Many Hands

A good rule of thumb here: Divide the number of hands a player has played by the total number of hands dealt at the table since this player joined. The result should give you a reasonable estimate of how active a player should be. If the number of hands this player has played is significantly lower, you could have a bot on your hands. 

4. Only Limited Rebuccing

Rebuccing is a typical human trait. It is very rare for bots to revenge bucc, whereas humans do it constantly. 

5. No Variance

Professional players go on heater s and lose all of their money all of the time. It's part of the job description. Bots, being programmed with perfect chip management, never go on heaters or runs of bad luck. Their stack size will always be in a narrow bandaround the optimum buy-in for the table. 

6. Never Going All-In

Bots will never go all-in, unless absolutely necessary (e.g., in a tournament). Human beings, on the other hand, like to go all-in, even on a whim. 

7. Strict Bet Sizes

Bots almost never deviate from the standard bet sizes. Humans, in contrast, will throw out random bet sizes all over the place. 

8. Only Ever Fold Before Raising 

While humans love to peek at what's in the middle with a free card (i.e., fold to a raise before seeing a flop), bots are far less prone to doing this.

9. Always Checking or Betting; Never Raising on the River

Unless specifically programmed, bots almost never raise on the river. They may check or bet, but raising on the river is a move rarely found in a standard bot. 

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10. No Pre-Flop Raises

Bots rarely raise pre-flop (except maybe in the small blind and the button). They much rather call and then play knowledgeably from late position.

11. Never Bluffing Off-Stream

Off-stream bluffs are part of human nature. Bots, however, only bluff on occasion when specific conditions have been programmed into them. 

12. Perfect Memory/Absence Thereof

Bots never make reference to previous hands/events unless it serves a purpose in its programming. Humans, in contrast, will throw around references to past hands all day long - even irrelevant ones. 

B) Statistical Anomalies

Once you have identified potential bots using the criteria listed above, you need to run statistics on those players to verify your suspicions. Here are some numbers to keep your eye on: 

1. Folding Early Without Looking at Cards

The bigger the stake, the fewer players at the table should fold without looking at their hole cards. At NL$25/$50, for example, around 25% of all players will fold without looking at their cards. At NL$100/$200, this number drops to below 10%. 

2. Went All-In vs. Showed Down Hand

This number should be very low since bots almost never go all-in unless they have a big pocket pair or a big draw. Any significant number in this category points to a human being. 

3. Pre-Flop All-Ins Ending Up with Nothing

Again, this number should be very low because bots almost never go all-in without a monster. 

4. Called All-In and Showed Down Hand

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This number should also be quite low because called all-ins generally contain monsters themselves. 

5. Calls When No One Has Raised

At NL$25/$50, only 25% of all players fold if no one has raised. This number drops to below 10% at higher stakes. Highly suspicious players with stacks above 20x the BB should show a minimun of 5% raise pre-flop. 

6. Number of Hands Played per Hour

Players with stacks below 10x the BB should play at least 85 hands per hour. Those with stacks between 10x and 50x the BB should play around 120 hands per hour. Players with stacks exceeding 50x the BB should play at least 150 hands per hour. 

7. How Often Someone Leads Out After the Flop

This number should be quite low because this kind of deliberate deception is hard-wired into very few poker bots (deliberate deception is far more common among human opponents). 

8. The Percentage of Times a Player Buys In for Less Than 10 Big Blinds

This metric is a telltale sign because very few humans play with such severe chip disadvantages.

How Do Poker Sites Prevent Bots?

Bot operators use special software to run dozens, sometimes hundreds of poker bots at a time. Needless to say, none of this would be possible without the use of computer programs. That's why almost all sites have measures in place to prevent you from accessing their software through automated means, i.e., running a script. 

For starters, all sites employ so-called CAPTCHA codes designed to differentiate between human and machine input. Besides being a nuisance, CAPTCHA codes are actually incredibly simple psychological tests developed by Stanford University professor Larry Page (yes, that Larry Page) and his scientist friend. Incidentally, this was before Page founded Google  - a company famous for making billions off of differentiating between human and machine input. 

Another tactic used by poker sites is to monitor the click speed and pattern to determine whether a human being is actually playing or whether it's all being automated. For instance, the site will expect to see the cursor moving across the screen and buttons being clicked in more or less random intervals. 

Many sites also use so-called randomly triggered checks to make sure players are actually human. These are basically undercover security officers posing as regular players. 

Some sites have gone a step further and begun using biometric authentication methods such as voice and facial recognition or fingerprints. 

One final tactic employed by some sites involves random, unscheduled account checks requiring the player to prove they are indeed sitting at the table. 

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Can Bots Be Profitable on Sites That Don’t Prevent Them?

Medium-to-large stakes poker sites have already largely eliminated the risk of finding or facing a bot on their platform. But smaller sites outside of the top 10 do still have some level of bot activity, according to rumors. However, even if you do come across a bot on one of these lesser sites, this does not automatically mean you are guaranteed a profitable session picking on it since beating poker bots is harder than you think. 

Poker bots play near-perfect poker, meaning they are tough opponents for human players. Of course, it depends on the quality of the bot. Most paid third-party tools that can be used to play on multiple tables in tandem are only programmed with basic strategies and therefore make plenty of exploitable mistakes. But the top-of-the-line bots nowadays emulate experienced, solid human players who value GTO (game theory optimal) play above all else. 

What’s more problematic is that poker bots always play perfectly disciplined, solid poker. They never tilt, never get upset and never make stupid hero calls against you. Everything they do is calculated based on the strength of their hand and the information they have gleaned from the board and your behavior. 

In short, they may be able to be exploited over the long term, but it’s not easy. Plus, the pros are already one step ahead: 

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The Pros Find It Harder to Beat Bots than Fish

If you want to pick on a bot to try to earn some quick profits, first try out the low stakes since the swings at high stakes against a bot can be disastrous. Remember, a bot will never call you down with less than the nuts, and it will never bluff you off a hand. This means you either have to outplay the other human beings at the table, hope for a cool runner-runner straight or flush to scoop a big pot, or rely on the human tilt factor. 

However, if you can resist the temptation to tilt yourself and maintain flawless discipline at all times, you may be able to grind out a small profit. 

The pros trying to exploit the perception that bots are easy money have led to some ironic situations. Good, disciplined human players actually have a harder time beating bots than real fish! What’s more, poker bots are completely unaffected by variables like tilt and fatigue. They will put up the same fight at 5 am as they would at noon. Real players, in contrast, will inevitably slip in and out of focus throughout the day. Overall, the better-rested and more focused human player should still beat the bot in the long run. However, it’s a close race, and the bot will make it hard on the player, who will have to bring his A-game every hand of the way. 

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In summary, while it is definitely possible to spot a bot, playing against one is not an automatic ticket to easy profits. Far from it. 

*Any mention of a bonus or discussion of such terms is not in relation to the province of Ontario.

• How do you spot a poker bot?

  1. They never go all-in
  2. They only ever fold to raises before flop
  3. They hardly ever revenge bucc
  4. They don't display variance
  5. They never go all-in (unless necessary)
  6. They only ever bet standard amounts
  7. They only fold, call or raise
  8. They only ever bluff on stream
  9. They never raise on river
  10. They seldom raise pre-flop
  11. They never off-stream bluff
  12. They have a perfect memory (or lack thereof)
  13. Statistics can confirm they are a bot
      1. How often a player folds before flop without looking at hole cards (bigger stacks = higher % should fold)
      2. A player that went all-in but didn't show
      3. Players that called all-ins without showing strong hands
  14. How often players buy-in (stack size / BB)
  15. How often players lead out after flop
  16. How often players are afk and not interacting with table
  17. How many hands are played per hour (based on stack size)

• How do poker sites prevent bots?

  1. Captcha codes
  2. Monitoring click speed & patterns
  3. Unscheduled account checks
  4. Biometric authentication (facial/voice recog./fingerprints)

• Can bots be profitable on non-top10 poker sites?

  1. It's possible but unlikely due to improved anti-bot tech

• Are bots easier or harder to play against than fish?

  1. Aesthetically, easier
  2. Pros consider them harder than weak players