Re: Determining Cards Programmatically
 

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"Image recognition" would be such a ridiculously hokey way of accomplishing it.


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A simple pixel color signature would be quite simple to accomplish. A day's work.

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I was under the impression that hand history files aren't written until after the hand is over.


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Your impression is wrong, surprisingly.

eastbay

Re: Determining Cards Programmatically
 

That's why it was an impression, not a statement of fact. Frankly, I think a system wide filehook that determines when the images were accessed would even be more accurate in the long run, and even that's a bad idea.

Re: Determining Cards Programmatically
 

I think they do it antigrammatically.

Re: Determining Cards Programmatically
 

hand histories are written in real time, they are appended line by line and can be accessed as they are written.

In other words, I can read the hand history that is currently being written, as it is written, line by line, without having to wait for the file to be completed.

All that is there though is the hand history the same as you would see in poker tracker etc... nothing more

One Street at a Time
wdbaker Denver, Co

Re: Determining Cards Programmatically
 

That's should be all you would need. I'll take a look at the exact structure of the files as they are created.

I still can't believe any self-respecting programmer would use pixels to determine the cards. That's like someone using GoTo or SendKeys.

Re: Determining Cards Programmatically
 

Hand histories are written for Party Poker and its skins, but what about other sites? I think the Pacific Poker hand history grabber intercepts the data. If the data was encrypted and no hand history files are written then I think reading them off the screen would be the only way. Whether it's worth it when Party makes it so easy, I don't know.

Re: Determining Cards Programmatically
 

be nice, I use autohotkey and use script like your referring to, although I haven't called myself a programmer yet so I guess i'm safe from your scathing [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

One Street at a Time
wdbaker Denver, Co

Screen Scraping Is The Only Way To Go
 

The premise that you could hack...
The data stream to the Poker Client...
Assumes that the guys who designed it are idiots.

There are many little tricks to make Screen Scraping...
Via simple API calls to get each pixel color...
Very robust.

So example the "busted" graphics you mentioned...
Min/Max window and it's perfect again.

If you have every pixel...
You can absorb 100% of the information a human can...
In absolute real time.

And you can make any response or analysis...
More reliable than a human.

An experienced, careful human...
Will make a significant error every 200-300 actions.
A well designed automated system can do at least as well.

You make a statement like...
And I'm paraphrasing...
"One occasional error and your profit margin is gone".

Nonsense.

My guess would be...
That an error has something like the following breakdown:

(1) in your favor -> 10%
(2) innocuous -> 80%
(3) costly -> 10%

Pixel color pattern matching...
Is the only professional way to go.

Once you've built a pixel by pixel pattern matching engine...
And can simulate human like mouse movement...
Via a custom mouse driver or API or whatever...
You have total control...
(Over any application).

Also, there is no reason...
For Party to give you a real time text hand history.
Most sites do not.

I would expect Party to eliminate it...
And no one will even notice.

Oh yeah...
And it's also a good idea to isolate the Poker Client...
In a "virtual computer" like VMWare (which works great).

All the Spyware can see...
Is a virgin Windows installation running the Poker Client.
(It can't even see the VMWare...
Unless it does complex low level reads of your disk drive).

rm+

[img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Re: Screen Scraping Is The Only Way To Go
 

I didn't intend to imply that it would necessarily be catastrophic.

I haven't analyzed the Party window with Spy++...has anyone else? I'm curious if you can read the button text directly through the Windows API in order to determine the amount of a raise, etc...assuming you were taking on the ridiculous NL bot task.

Perhaps I'm too much of a purist. To imply that a piece of software reading all of the pixels has the same information a human being has, is obviously correct...but to assume that a computer has the same interpretation in all circumstances, is not. Human beings have the ability to decipher things that are familiar, in completely different formats. A simple example being, if the buttons were moved to the top, they're still there...but software is looking for them in a different place. If the cards were displayed completely reversed, humans would still instantly recognize the card...not so for software.

All I'm saying is that, from a commercial software programmer's point of view, I certainly wouldn't feel comfortable leaving my house while a bot that's based on pixel mapping is playing hands on my bankroll.

Re: Determining Cards Programmatically
 

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That's should be all you would need. I'll take a look at the exact structure of the files as they are created.

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And this is all strictly academic curiosity, of course, that you would retain this much interest over several days and "take a look at the files for their structure."

Uh huh.

eastbay