Artificial intelligence has been beating grandmasters at chess for years, ever since Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in 1997. It’s also mastered other complex games, including Go. However, poker is one game that the futuristic technology hasn’t yet managed to fully conquer.
There have been some poker AIs such as Libratus and Pluribus, and these have enjoyed success with new methods. However, due to the many moving parts at play in the classic card game, there’s a chance that humans could always have the edge over their robotic counterparts.
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AI Programs Are Primed for Games With Perfect Information
The reason why AI has managed to wipe the floor with the best chess and Go players in the business without even breaking a sweat is because these are games based on perfect information. Although they are highly complicated, they follow clear rules and logic, meaning that one move can only exist if another has happened before it.
The best human chess players can think about 15 moves ahead, and that probably doesn’t always account for every single line of possibilities. In contrast, AI has the potential to compute endless possible outcomes, meaning that it will always be able to see things that human players can’t. Poker, on the other hand, is a game of incomplete information, involving random chance to a greater extent. It’s impossible to know which cards will be dealt and what other players are holding, meaning that AI can’t guarantee victory.
Poker AIs Have Had Some Success
Various companies have been working on poker AI machines over the last decade, and they made headlines after they beat some of the best-known professional poker players in heads-up and six-player no-limit Texas Hold’em. One thing that was notable about this was that they used strategies that humans wouldn’t normally consider, with certain bluffs that confused their opponents.
Even though AI has achieved victories against top players, it is not considered better than humans just yet. In fact, instead of making people lose hope, it has filled them with new ideas. Some of the experts that it played have now started to adopt its style of play, as it implemented techniques that wouldn’t normally appeal to the human way of thinking. This could lead to an evolution in poker, where there is a greater focus on the psychological side – which has always been the most unpredictable aspect of the game anyway.
Could This Lead to Another Poker Boom?
The poker boom was one of the greatest success stories of the internet age, and there are now countless places for people to play. Indeed, because there are so many, players use comparison pages that detail the best poker sites based on ratings and promotions. There’s a chance that the industry could blow up even more in the future, especially if it’s one that can’t be conquered by AI.
In the next decade, AI is expected to do more work and create a greater amount of free time for people to enjoy. This could lead to enhanced interest in pastimes like poker, which may yet remain largely the domain of human players.
