Bot Ring Discovered On Poker Stars

[Pepsi]

After being tipped off by this thread on 2+2, PTR has uncovered overwhelming evidence that 10 accounts on PokerStars are being run by computer programs (and not humans). Collectively, they have played at least 8,320,121 hands at the $.25/$.50, $.5/$1 and $1/$2 NL levels, generated $186,572 in rake, and made $57,839 in profit (not including VIP benefits). These accounts are still active and have been observed playing on PokerStars today.

We urge PokerStars to freeze their accounts immediately.

The following 10 accounts stand accused:
7emenov bakabar craizer
mvra nakseon kozzin
demidou koldan Daergy
feidmanis
Background

In the initial 2+2 thread, Malloc took screenshots from PTR and noted the shocking statistical similarities and consistency in the way 3 accounts moved up and down in stakes. PokerTableRatings has decided to help the effort by analyzing our data. We have found 10 separate accounts that showed remarkable similarities based upon three major factors.

• Extremely similar stats across the board.
• A changing of stakes played on exactly the same day or within a few days of each other.
• A unique and easily identifiable betting pattern from the big blind in unraised pots.
The Evidence
Statistical Similarities

Each of these accounts has essentially the same stats across the board. These stats are much too similar to be explained by mere chance. Here is a table showing the remarkably similar stats for each account. This data can be seen by anyone using PTR Premium.


Unique Betting Pattern

Another damning piece of evidence is that each of these accounts exhibits a very unique and easily verifiable betting pattern. When they’re in the big blind in an un-raised pot (limpers only) and it’s checked to them on the flop, they will either shove all-in or bluff by making a non all-in bet. If the bot’s bet is called or raised, the bot will always fold to any further aggression.

This betting pattern is quite useful in identifying these bots because it means that the bots “fold to flop raise” statistic will always be 100%. If the bot has a good hand, it will always shove. If it decides to bluff, it will take the “bet and shut down” line. We looked at how the 10 accounts in question acted in this situation and in the 1898 times they were raised after betting in the big blind, they folded 1890 times (99.6%). Seven of the Eight outliers occurred in 2008-2009 and may be due to testing their algorithms / manual play.

Stake Changes

Each of these accounts exhibited a remarkably similar pattern in moving down in stakes. As you can see from this chart, they all moved down at nearly the exact same time. This is strong evidence that these accounts were being coordinated by single person / group of people.

[comisarul00]

cum sa nu vrei asa boti la masa?

[alik]

robots taking control.

[drunkkiller]

Astia sunt niste boti primitivi .Cu siguranta exista unii care joaca mai "uman" si nu pot fi descoperiti dupa betting pattern .

[Ronnie47]

Si dupaia "humans" se duc la WSOP ME sa cheltuiasca ce-a facut robotu...

[alex85]

no money in boting everybody is automatic ..

[Pepsi]

PokerStars would like to update you on the status of this case, and correct several misconceptions that have been perpetuated throughout this thread.

First, as of the afternoon of July 17, we have indeed removed ten players from the site for violations of our terms of service. We cannot give additional details about which accounts, or the specific reasons for their removal.

Second, we would like to clarify something that the OP has left out of this entire discussion, which is that there were two separate investigations here. PokerStars absolutely did *not* exonerate these players from being bots at any time. We conducted a review of the three users listed in the OP for collusion, and it was negative, and this was reported to the OP, who posted an incorrect “PokerStars said ‘All Clear’” here. A review of the players for being bots was concurrently being conducted, and was in progress until today, July 17th. The OP was notified of this concurrent bot review being in progress, and did not inform this thread of that fact.

We would like to address the fact that the play continued throughout the night of July 16th, after a third party source posted an independent review identified 7 additional players. PokerStars had also identified 7 additional players very early in our investigation -- prior to the third party site's identification of them. We were conducting a very in depth search to locate other potential accounts, to ensure we had located all of the accounts prior to closing them down concurrently. Shutting down only part of a ring in mid-investigation can spook additional, undiscovered accounts into cashing out prior to locating them. As of this afternoon, July 17, that review concluded that the ten accounts were the complete extent of the matter.

Next, please note that third party sites did not locate this ring unassisted. They had a baseline of three identical player profiles from which to start, which is a far more trivial task than saying "here's a collection of 4 million players... now, find me 3 who are identical.... without a baseline from which to search." One is a linear search (searching for a particular pattern) and the other is exponentially more difficult based upon the number of players. PokerStars located the rest of the ring faster than did the third party site.

Finally, to address why these players played for a relatively extended period without detection, we can say that upon conclusion of this review that the bots were fairly sophisticated in certain aspects, including their human behavior modeling and their stealth capabilities. Our tools for bot detection are sophisticated, but they are not perfect. No site can guarantee you that they are completely free of bots. What PokerStars can and does pledge is that we use our extensive tools behind the scenes to detect bots as best we can... and they are very effective. We detect and remove most bots well before they even leave the development stage, and well before they could play long enough to come to the attention of players or third party databases the way these players did.

PokerStars takes its commitment to bot detection and removal extremely seriously, and will continue to do so, both behind the scenes with our tools (which are under constant review and improvement), and in response to player-generated suspicions. Most player reports of bot suspicions are false alarms, but we still investigate each one thoroughly, and when they actually do locate a previously undetected bot, appropriate action will always be taken.

Best Regards,

Jeff
PokerStars Game Security

:P

[VexVictor]

Din cate stiam site-urile astea mari ca stars si ftp au protectie f buna impotriva botilor dar sunt unele retele unde poti sa rulezi botii risk free ca sa zic asa. Am avut acum cateva luni un client care era interesat sa ii fac un poker bot din asta si imi daduse toate specificatiile, lista cu site-urile unde au protectii slabe vs boti chiar si un site cu exemple de boti din astia de vanzare dar nu m-am bagat sa incerc sa il fac pt ca mi s-a parut mult prea complicat si nu cred ca un sg om ar putea face un bot performant.
Oricum daca ati fi vazut ce specificatii avea botu ala .. nici dracu sistemelor de protectie nu cred ca avea cum sa il detecteze.. vroia sa fie adaptabil, adica fiecare utilizator sa isi poata introduce singur setul de reguli dupa care sa joace botul, trebuia sa poti sa ii introduci range-uri de carti in functie de care sa joace, trebuia sa activeze singur timebank cand era un pot mai mare, tot felu de chestii.. botii inca sunt la inceputurile lor dar cred ca o sa evolueze mult in viitorul apropiat .. sa vedem cum o sa reactioneze site-urile de poker si ce masuri vor mai lua impotriva lor

[GKane]

In I rand orice utilizator de poker bot ar trebui bagat la puscarie.

[comisarul00]

banuiesc ca se aplica jurisdictia din ciudateniile alea de tari unde au sediile siturile de poker, deci cred ca e cvasi-imposibil sa se intample asta imo. iti imaginezi politia/procuratura din insulele cacamaca sa sune la politia/procuratura din us si sa zica "suiti-l pe cetateanu american bill de urgenta in avion si trimiteti-l in cacamaca sa-l bagam la parnaie ca a incalcat t&c (nici macar nu cred ca e frauda bottingu) de la un site cu headquartersu la noi in cacamaca?" eu nu prea cred ca o sa se intample asta ever.

[alex85]

si refund nu se face ?

[Pepsi]

Q. How much money did these bots win and how much did you confiscate?

A. All 12 bots cashed out a combined $223,150. Of this, $74,439 was profit from ring game play, $6,305 was from VIP Freeroll tournament winnings, and $142,406 was from various bonuses such VIP Stellar Rewards Milestones and VIP Store purchased bonuses. We confiscated $2084 in cash and $4446 in unspent FPP value from the group.

Holly crap au confiscat $2084 si omu a cashout $223,150. Undeva e un programator destul de multumit imo :P Asta doar de pe stars ca evident ca mai are robotzei si pe alte siteuri.
So undeva e un geek sau un grup de geeks cu piscina si pixde, si sampanie GG imo!

[mYgu]

$142,406 was from various bonuses such VIP Stellar Rewards Milestones and VIP Store purchased bonuses

Now thats what i am calling a rb pro.

[Molly]

IMO.

[Pepsi]