They say that when you have a problem, you should nip it in its bud to avoid making it a bigger one. Unfortunately, this concept must have been alien to the major poker sites who, until recently, have not really gotten serious about removing poker bots from their sites. Now that they’ve gotten better, these sites are finally getting scared.
A Scary Problem
For any normal, rule-abiding poker player, the presence of a poker bot is extremely disturbing. It would have been okay months ago when these bots were mere fodder and humans could easily beat them without even batting an eyelash, but technology does have a way of getting better and creeping up on us in a way we least expect. In fact, there are times when we just turn around and suddenly, a new form of technology is there, and the implications are huge and potentially life-changing. This is how it was with poker bots. Recently, these bots have gotten better and better at emulating humans. You wouldn’t even know that you’ve been playing against one until you stick around for a long time, and by then, you might have already lost thousands of dollars.
In fact, these bots can win amounts that can reach up to five figures on the major game sites such as Full Tilt and PokerStars. These sites are already beginning to get serious about eliminating these bots, and they’ve been freezing and banning accounts nonstop. In fact, sources say that more than 400 users have already been banned from Full Tilt alone.
In Plain Sight
However, most disturbing of all is the audacity of these developers. They actually sell their bots online in plain sight. You can even buy them on eBay. Shanky Technologies sells licenses for the popular Holdem Poker Bot online for just $129 a year. Brian Jetter, one of the co-founders of Shanky, has said that they have already sold more than 5,000 copies online. The thing is, these developers say that the reason they developed the bots is because they can become great exercise for poker players. Honest players can use them for practice. But then again, we all know that the driving force beneath this bot movement is money. Imagine having something to play poker for you while you go do something else. These bots are getting better too, so there’s a chance that they could eventually become better at the game than actual players.
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