The Russian Bot Army That Conquered Online Poker | How a card-playing Siberian AI outsmarted the world’s brightest researchers and raked in millions

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2024-poker-bots-artificial-intelligence-russia/

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  1. Tldr: A group of Russian math college students developed a poker AI that dominated online games for years. It’s called Bot Farm Corporation. Their AI used neural networks and game theory to calculate optimal moves, even mimicking human behaviors to avoid detection. They eventually pivoted to selling their tech to poker sites and clubs… to provide “liquidity”

    The AI can process millions of scenarios instantly and exploit player tendencies. It’s gotten to the point where it’s nearly impossible to tell if you’re playing a human or a bot online.

    It wasn’t just a simple game-playing algorithm, it was a self-improving system that mastered the nuances of human psychology and game theory in some aspects at a superhuman level.

    The Russians claim they want to use their tech to “save” online poker by making it fairer for casual players. But they’re still profiting massively from their bots and selling the tech widely.