It is generally better to hide information by playing many hands the same way, rather than having a unique strategy for specific hands. It is generally better to be aggressive by raising the stakes, rather than equalling the stakes by calling. Poker theorists suggest two relevant simplifying principles: aggression and information hiding (Chen and Ankenman, 2006).

We use simple “heuristics” even for problems much simpler than this poker game (Gigerenzer et al., 1999 Hertwig et al., 2013). Humans must initially simplify complex problems to learn and improve their performance (Dreyfus and Dreyfus, 1986).

More precisely, there are 3.16 × 10 17 potential game states in this poker game (Bowling et al., 2015). Polaris was the overall winner, although the professional Matt Hawrilenko, who was viewed by many as the most-skilled in this poker game (Brodie, 2008 Arnett, 2009 Nalbone, 2011), emerged a net winner.Įven a relatively simple card game involving two players and a 52 pack of cards can create significant complexity. A team of seven professionals played “Polaris,” a computer designed by researchers from the University of Alberta (who later built the 2015 supercomputer). In 2008 a similar expert-computer match occurred for heads-up limit hold'em poker (CPRG, 2008). In 1997 Garry Kasparov famously lost to Deep Blue in chess, and in 2016 Lee Sedol lost to AlphaGo. Games are a common domain for testing the relative skills of experts and computers. This commentary analyzes the perfect strategy from Bowling et al.'s target article to ask: Does the computer's strategy in the game's key initial decision reflect poker expert wisdom, or does the computer play entirely differently? This computer cannot be beaten, even in a human lifetime of play. In 2015, a supercomputer with 48 CPUs running for 68 days “solved” heads-up limit hold'em poker, the simplest poker game played for money in casinos and online (Bowling et al., 2015). But like other domains of human skill, poker has been affected by the rise of the machines. Bond's poker skill reflects his abilities as a spy: Spotting lies and deception, and thinking one move ahead of his opponent. In one example from popular culture, James Bond defeats a terrorist financier at the poker table in the film Casino Royale. The game of poker, with its tactics of bluffing and deception, has frequently captured the imagination.

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