[Sniper]

[ QUOTE ]
I have a hard time believing it's "not that difficult".

[/ QUOTE ]

A good programmer can get a computer to "think" quite a bit... and ABC poker isn't difficult.

There is no reason why (with the right programming skill) you couldn't program a bot to play almost the same as you would, were you sitting at the table!

Being the Stock Market forum, its worth noting that trading, like poker, is a game of incomplete information... and computer programs are responsible for the vast majority of trading volume every day!

[ QUOTE ]
Have you (or anyone) made one of these bots? I'll play it heads up if you want to test it. I know there was some software available that had various bots. I used it for a bit and the bots definitely weren't great. There was one that was supposed to be nearly unbeatable heads up, which is I guess how bots do best.

[/ QUOTE ]

If you want to test the capability of bots, pick up a copy of PAP2, and play around with the bot settings! They specifically are working on creating a bot that will play HU "optimally". It's worth noting that to make a profit at low limits (up to 5/10 Full), it's not necessary to play optimally!

A successful bot, would have 3 main components: Automation, Decision/Analysis, Opponent modeling. The first two components are readily available, and significant information is available on design work that has gone on with regard to opponent modeling.

Its worth noting that the poker rooms have a problem when a bot is automated, but some have gone so far as to say that Decision/Analysis programs are "approved". So if you wanted, you could download one of them and play around with the decision matrix and test for yourself!

I also agree with everything Cat said!