Do Computers Do Better Than People at Poker?

Computers Do Better Than People at Poker

In any given poker hand, luck may benefit a player, and they receive a big win. Chances of luck, however, are minimal because strategy is an integral part of poker. Some players have harnessed their skills and included proper analysis to predict opponent behavior and winning patterns. Human beings are developing new technologies, and artificial intelligence is changing the gambling sector. So far, computers have proved to outperform human beings in games of skill.

Artificial intelligence versus human beings

Developers have created an AI-powered program that can be used in real money online gambling. The program was named Pluribus and was trained to use data to predict which card a dealer or player holds in his hand. When brought into a real poker game, the program beat six top poker professionals. They were engaged in a 6-player, no-limit Texas Hold’em poker. The game requires participants to wager on the best hand in an attempt to win a pot of cash. The scientists published the report and termed the AI poker win as a great milestone in AI technology development. 

AI is advancing in modern times

In the past, human beings have worked harder to develop machines that solve their complex problems. The development of AI has brought an excellent breakthrough in the era of machines, especially computers. It is useful in developing reliable online casinos with enhanced security and improved games. Through AI, computers are destined to beat human beings when playing zero-sum two-player games such as chess, two-player no-limit poker, GO, and checkers. 

Tests have proved promising

For instance, in 10,000 hands of poker, the AI-powered Pluribus successfully played 5 copies of itself against one reputable professional player. It was then engaged in a game involving five professional players against one version of itself. In the end, researchers established that the program performed many times better than all the six poker professionals. In the past, researchers only tested the performance of computers against human beings with two-player poker. 

The recent research involving six players was a huge breakthrough because it had not been done before. Dr. Tuomas Sandholm, Professor of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University, said the technology could be used to create the smartest computers that improve human life in various fields such as health, investment banking, biological adaptation, and improving political campaigns. AI-based technology also will be useful in several areas, such as improving security, optimization of world stability, and electronic warfare.