[StellarWind]

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unlike other games where computers have proven to be equal or supieror(sp?) to humans, i.e. chess and backgammon, poker has a large factor of "human" element. computers will never be able to match the human element. they cant think, only process.

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That's ironic because good poker players don't think very much. They make almost all decisions very quickly using a trained ability to recognize patterns. Neural net programs often do well at this type of application. I wonder if it would be possible to design one that read large numbers of hand histories played by an expert and learned to imitate his play.

From a game theory perspective there is such a thing as mathematically correct poker play that cannot be beaten in the long run. The mathematics is too complicated to work out exactly for complicated games like hold'em, but there is no reason that programs could not eventually be developed that would defeat any human opponent in the long run using game theory.

Of course beating expert players is not solely what it's all about. You would also want your computer poker player to analyze opponents past play, identify leaks, and modify its own play to exploit them. The computer's potential to remember and analyze thousands of hands will be a big plus here.

In summary, expert computer poker is hard and it isn't solved yet, but there is no special reason why it can't be done.