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Poker Paradox: Putting the Game in Computers

Computer Scientists have been looking for bridge to develop Artificial Intelligence further: Poker.

Poker is a game of chance and that's something computer scientists aspire to program for many years. To create a simulation of a poker player is essentially the same as creating a near-human computer mind. So, to do this, you have to understand the mathematics of poker. In recent years, scientists have placed the game of poker under computer science labs to see if the dream of creating a simulated computer player is possible. Poking the Computer

It's impressive that computer scientists have one programmed poker player in stock and they have named it Loki - the Norse god of mischief. Loki plays good poker, but is far from capable of winning a world championship. Loki, however, proved to be a solid testing ground to further develop computer poker. It was programmed very unlike scrabble, chess, checkers, or backgammon because here, you deal with incomplete information.

Chess players, for instance, can see what their opponents are doing. They know what the other guy is capable of. In poker, information on who you're dealing against is the last piece of data you get. All you can do is read between the lines and make educated guesses from how your opponents' expressions and movements. It's all probability, statistics, and instincts.

This proves to be a challenge for programmers and for the field of computer science itself. As far as we can tell, computer sciences have only dealt with information that is known, accurate, and complete. Computer programs would still have to be developed on data that are uncertain and possibly erroneous. To put it simply, there hasn't been a computer that can bluff. All the computers we know are strictly robotic. So in order for computers to deceive, we have to make their hands dirty. Loki's imitations

Loki, developed by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, can evaluate the strength of its cards. It can also observe how its opponents move from time to time so it can adjust its strategies accordingly. But the thing is, Loki assesses its opponents as if they don't make mistakes. So the program makes its best possible move. This point to the limitation of what Loki can do. It always bets when it has a strong hand and it never holds back. Opponents can spot this pattern and take advantage of it. Computer scientists are looking at this limitation now and plans to have Loki make relative judgments on how it bets so it can hide its strategies from its opponents.