sim profile

Is there a profile based on Hold'em for Advanced Players that is available for use in Turbo Texas Hold'em sim?

There shouldn't be since HPFAP-21 advises much flexibility in your play depending on the game and who you are against. It also points out that the hand values frequently change depending on the situation and suggests many alternate strategies for play later in the hands based on many factors that TTH probably does not address, or at least address very well.

Mason is dead right there. The short answer is no way...


Expert HPFAP play is too subtle, rich in texture, and requires situational thinking that goes well beyond the capabilities of Turbo or other simulations that I am aware of. Few human players are capable of properly executing HFAP, never mind a computer at today's tech level.


This leads to some of the misconceptions about simulations. I can reprogram the profiles in a way that I know they are behaving well in a certain situation.


I can take a situation, like in an early position with T9s, with the board A 6 7, five opponents, raised pot. I can modify the profiles in such a way that I can be sure that they are behaving in a reasonable way. This can be monitored, and verified, much the way we can do post hand analysis here on the forum.


With such a setup, through a series of perhaps dozens of simulations, we can compare strategies with other strategies. My preliminary (I am very careful about this sort of thing) studies on this particular situation, for example, indicate betting as HFAP suggests, and has been hotly debated here and elsewhere, is correct. Before these results, although I usually trust the HFAP advice, I was on the fence in this particular situation, although not in the general case that you should increase your chances of winning big pots. Now there are problems still with the sims. Does the sim operator know how the other oppoenents should behave? (this is why one running the sims can be more confident than others...much like if I did an behind the scenes math model, said hey, my conclusion is thus, how can others be sure of my work? They can't, unless they reproduce it.) Are there software glitches that no one is aware of? And some other problems. But there are problems with every method of analysis.


The other problem is that the profiles are a "task force". They are not equipped deal effectively with the wide varieties of situations that can arise. Thus, my modified profiles, which were bred to handle the T9s situations, may be dead meat in other situations. So there existence is useful for the question at hand. Otherwise, I could stick the profiles on Paradise Poker, and make a killing.


One area where you can get a close approximation of HFAP play is preflop. I don't know if the profiles are programmed as such or not, as I don't use the built in profiles anymore. But that should be something that a reasonably competent Turbo user can do with some trivial changes.


Lastly, my opinion of the product is much different than Mason's.(I am referring to the game portion which is completely different than the sim portion) I think it has some marginal value in getting new players accustomed to the game's mechanics, but I am concerned that it may lead to some bad habits, of which I think there are many that can develop, not the least of which is impatience as the game moves quickly. The full action simulation portion can lead to some incorrect conclusions, if the play of real players differs much from the real world opponents the they may face (and unmodified, I believe they do in many cases). There is no easy ride in poker theory research.


Sorry to drag you into this. We have had some discussion here on the forum about Turbo sims, and sometimes the general case is being confused with the specific case. This is much like the T9s debate. Just because the general case of increasing your chances of winning is correct, does not necessarily indicate a specific case that is correct. Although in this specific case I am fairly certain it does.


Regards.