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Bots on Sky Poker
Hi,
I emailed support about this issue but haven't had a reply and I think this is relevant for other cash game players. Some frequent cash game players (myself included) have strong suspicions that a number of bots exist in these games and have existed for quite a while. I do not wish to mention specific screennames here because it seems unfair to accuse individuals in public given there is a chance my read is wrong and there is only circumstancial evidence (but I have included them in my email).
These potential bots seem to have similar characteristics:
- They literally never use the chat box
- They occasionally bug out - e.g. they will sit me at an empty table, play one hand, leave, then come back and sit out, leave again, come back, etc. This will happen 3 or 4 times in a row.
- They will always sit directly to your left to start a table heads up.
- They always leave after they double up, no matter how good the table.
- They seem to play an indiscriminate minimum defence frequency even against very tight players or with a much weaker range. This leads to some strange call downs against passive players.
- They have absolutely no timing tells - in fact their timing is very consistent. They never make any decision quickly. They always act with between 1/4 and 3/4 of their timebank being expired.
Of course, some (maybe all) of these characteristics could reasonably be from a genuine player but when you put them together and combine the fact there is more than one user with these same characteristics, it seems quite suspicious.
Without any tracking software, no conclusive evidence can be gathered and so Sky is particularly vulnerable to bots on their site. I also think this obliges Sky to ensure that the games they run are fair given players have no way to prove bots exist and no database to spot bots' predictable patterns and exploit them.
I want to ask Sky what they are doing to combat potential bots on their site? This is a problem that is going to get more and more critical in online poker as artificial intelligence in NLHE becomes increasingly sophisticated. I think this is a great site but Sky need to step up their game on tackling potential bots that have effectively cheated the site out of (in my opinion) tens of thousands of pounds.
Comments
-They ALWAYS sit in the same seat heads-up when you start a table (directly to your left).
-When they "bug out" they will sit out for a period, then leave, then rejoin but keep on failing to buy in. In the lobby you can see the table says 2/6 players, but they never successfully buy in again. They keep this up for 20+ minutes at a time. NO HUMAN WOULD DO THIS. They literally join table, select the SAME seat, then fail to buy in. Repeat. For 20 minutes.
-Obviously they NEVER chat, and won't respond to any questions etc.
-There are several accounts, some play £0.25/£0.50, and some play £0.50/£1. They play in exactly the same manner and do the same game joining bug.
-They always perform actions after a set amount of time, but that time seems to have 2 or 3 variations (they are obviously programmed to do one of the options each time they act). I've literally played hundreds of thousands of hands with these guys at the tables and not once have they snap called or snap folded.
I realise many of these points in isolation are not conclusive. But taken together, and with the supporting claims of MANY regulars on the site, surely something has to be up with these accounts?
It's a shame that nothing has been done on the basis of player reports, since now the botters have an opportunity to read this post and adapt their software.
But what else can we do?
I don't think there is bots on Sky.
The only thing slightly odd at 50nl regarding 2 specific players - I always assumed it to be the same person as they play the same style.
They would always join a table play HU, if the table filled they generally left. It was only occasionally they would stay playing at a 6 max game.
Outside of these 2 players, I cant really see anything suspicious about any other players at 50nl
Hi,
If you have reported the aliases, please be assured it will be investigated, & the necessary action taken.
Sky Poker's rules as to Bots are here, under "Bots & Other Automation"
https://support.skypoker.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/136/c/39,148
As with the Gent who wanted to know what Sky Poker were doing to combat this, Sky Poker won't be explaining what those measures are, for obvious reasons.
Please be assured that these matters are taken very seriously. If you have any concerns or suspicions, please send an e-Mail with screen-names to Customer Care, & this information will be considered & investigated promptly.
I did discuss the issue via e-Mail with the Head of Poker last night, & he is fully appraised.
As I said above, and will say again:
These two accounts will join, play a hand of HU, then sit out, then leave, then try to buy in again (which you can see in the lobby). They keep failing to join the game for upward of 20 minutes.
It is possible that this is a seating script and that all other observations are incidental (i.e. timing/bet sizing, etc.), but it is certain that they are using third-party software of some kind since no human would exhibit this behaviour, and hence violating TOS.
The problem is that the behaviour is only really noticable if you start 6max tables regularly during the day when times are slow, and there are only several people that do this (I am one of which, coop is another (at NL50)).
When I said I have played hundreds of thousands of hands or whatever, I just mean that I've played with them at the table (since they are on pretty much every day). Obviously we don't have HH, but after you play HU/shorthanded/6max with the same guy every day for 6 months you get a feeling for how "automated" his actions appear to be.
Edit: BTW AFAIK Hex plays anywhere between NL100 and NL1k so often has 6+ tables np.
FAO OF A SKY TEAM MEMBER:
Are seat scripts allowed on sky?
And if not, measures you take to stop them?