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New experiment takes luck out of poker

2007-12-18 14:23:07

In an experiment to determine the best poker players, scientists at the University of Alberta have concocted a system whereby luck does not factor into the game, it has been reported.

The test will see top professionals Phil Laak and Ali Eslami face off against Polaris, the world's most sophisticated poker playing machine, with luck being negated by giving each player the opposite cards from one another, according to the Edmonton Journal.

If Eslami gets good cards for example, Laak will get poor ones. By the end of game, the combined chip counts of the players will be added to see if they have beaten the machine.

Jonathan Schaeffer, spokesperson for the researchers, said: "The question is: 'How good are humans in poker in relation to computers?' and we don't have an answer for that because the previous results have been clouded by this luck v skill issue."

World champions have been pitted against computers in games before, most notably when chess champion Gary Kasparov took on IBM Deep Blue.

The game will take place in July.

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