Social Poker Players - Bots & Agents Rigging Free-To-Play Poker
I posted about my investigation into “social” or “free-to-play” poker games. Here’s the video evidence people asked for.
This is a follow-up to my last post.
https://www.reddit.com/r/poker/comments/1t0299q/i\_spent\_two\_years\_investigating\_social\_poker/
At least two social poker games, Zynga and Global Poker, use agents and bots at every table. These bots know players’ hole cards and use that information to ensure you lose. Their job is to control the game and ensure you lose.
It is a mistake to think these types of games are simpler, dumber versions of real online poker. They aren’t. They are highly sophisticated systems, designed to optimize addiction and spending, disguised as poker.
They use their categorization of “free-to-play” to avoid scrutiny. Free-to-play is also a misleading term as they sell chip packages running into the thousands of dollars.
I know some of you don't think social poker posts belong here. For me, it's the same about posting about fakes on a fashion forum. While they are not real poker, they are doing real damage and need to be fixed or removed. For hundreds of millions of players around the world, these games are how they experience poker.
The Video
I just uploaded one hour of unedited, continuous gameplay of Global Poker. I played specifically to highlight betting patterns. This is just one of over more than 100 hours of my recordings.
I didn't include videos in my original post because this is not like watching an exciting hand play out. There is no “aha moment”, it is slow and boring. You have to understand what is happening behind the scenes, before you can see it clearly on screen. If I had just included single hands, I would rightly have been accused of cherry-picking. This is evidence, not a smoking gun.
I also wanted to show a video of me winning. I think the fact I know how to beat the system is more compelling than showing it beating me.
I know it’s long, but an hour is really the shortest meaningful length. Ask me any questions and I’ll try to answer you.
And please read the breakdown below before viewing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFpEIIUf0Zc
The Bots
I’m using “bot” as a catch-all term to describe any entity at the table that is controlled by the company. There are both humans following instructions and actual bots.I doubt I played a regular player in two years.
While it looks like they’re sitting at different seats, the bots operate as one. It is you versus the machine.
The Breakdown
Bizarro Poker
You have to understand you’re not playing poker, but bizarro poker. This is what I call their gameplay and it’s the smartest thing these games do. Strong hands are weak, weak hands are strong. It is a masterclass in reverse psychology. When you think you should fold, you would have been better calling. And vice versa. So you end up witnessing all of the hands you should have played from the sidelines, and then regretting playing when you do have strong cards.
To win chips in these games, you have to forget everything you know about poker and act on the opposite of your instincts. This is really hard to do, which is why it is such an effective tactic.
Bizarro poker also skews the in-game statistics, so players appear to have the expected number of wins, while never actually winning them. Because the bots know your cards, they can bluff constantly, knowing that you’ll fold. So the game is rigged, but the data looks fair.
Betting Patterns
There are several giveaways from the way bots bet. The raise amounts are boilerplate and invariably line up with who wins the hand. For instance, bots will never bet heavily or contest a hand that you go on to win. They will normally fold before the flop, when you have a very strong hand, then bet heavily with a weak hand when it ends up being a winner. The rule of thumb is that the bots will only bet above the minimum amount if they know they’ll win the hand.
They will bet heavily in hands you're involved in, but then be very conservative and cautious when you aren’t. Like an on/off switch. If you stop calling their large bets, the whole table will change. Their raises become lower and the table goes into what I call ‘glitch-mode’. Your betting behavior always controls how the rest of the table behaves.
Bluffing
It is impossible to bluff in these games. By that, I mean that your opponents will almost always call your bluffs, even in the strangest circumstances. For example, they win with a high card,
The same bot who will fold when you have good cards, will suddenly find the bravery to call a huge raise on a high-card.
All Ins
When bots go all-in and you have a weak hand (e.g. 5,2), you have a good chance of winning . When they go all-in and you have a strong hand, you will lose.
Once I learned to call these all ins, my weak hand would miraculously win in extraordinary circumstances; a freak four of a kind or a very low straight. Like I said, bizarro poker.
They work as a team
People have suggested to me that it's not the game introducing the bots, just rogue players teaming up, and I thought so too at first. But this falls apart when you realizethe whole thing only works if ALL your opponents know your cards.And again, this is happening at every table.
The game is completely antisocial
For all the emphasis on being social, socializing is impossible. In two years I haven’t had, or seen, one meaningful conversation in the barely usable chat boxes. You literally cannot chat and play at the same time. These games don’t want you to meaningfully interact with other players.
What I’m Looking For
Your help, both in terms of expertise and sharing this story.
If you know anyone who can help, I’d also love to hear from you. Poker players, statisticians, gaming experts, regulators, industry pros, journalists etc.
I will be taking Zynga into arbitration shortly and have reported both companies to the FTC and the NYAG.
(Zynga and VGW, the parent company of Global Poker, say they do not use bots or agents. They say all players are customers and not associated with the companies. However, they have refused to watch my video evidence or provide more detail on this. All my opinions are based solely on my own playing experience and research.)