PokerStars Moves To Restrict Third-party Software

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Thursday, July 9th, 2015 | Written by Shane Larson

A few months ago the poker community was unnerved by a new piece of third-party software which heads-up players had been using to gain a huge advantage over their unfortunate opponents. Developed by online player “skier_5″, the controversial piece of software seems to combine the permissible technology of a Heads-Up Display programs (HUDs) with that of an illegal poker bot to create an AI type strategy aid utilizing a human assistant to simply act upon the comprehensive information provided. Its results have been spectacular, too, with “Skier_5” and his associates moving quickly up the heads-up Sit & Go stakes, whilst generating impressive profits far above their usual levels.

Incredibly, the world biggest online poker room, PokerStars, seemed content to overlook the damage such an advanced program could wreak on an industry which relies heavily upon recreational players and the psychological mystique associated with the game, but now the site has indicated a reversal of its earlier decision and will soon restrict the third-party software, which provides player assistance beyond an acceptable level.

Gradual Changes Over Time

The initial decision of PokerStars to permit such a bot naturally caused disbelief amongst online players, but the site’s stance was likely due to its inability to limit the technology’s use in the first place, which it probably saw as unenforceable. In other words, not only would it prove difficult tracking down ghost-users who use separate computers to run the program, but such an undertaking would ultimately require huge efforts whilst running up huge expenses for the company. Despite the practicalities, however, PokerStars now seems to realize that an effort still has to be made in order to safeguard the integrity of online poker, and commenting on its future objectives, a PokerStars spokesman explained:

“Our intention is to implement change gradually over time, ensuring that our internal detection and enforcement capabilities are able to keep up with the rules and that the community has adequate time to adjust.”

Changes To Third-party Software

As to the actual changes themselves, the PokerStars spokesman has already confirmed a number of alterations to the site’s third-party software policy, deeming the level of assistance currently being provided by programs as “beyond” that deemed healthy for the industry. Consequently, PokerStars will prohibit the following software from running during game play:

“Any tool or reference material that offers commentary or advice that goes beyond a basic level, such as stack-size-based starting hand tables, decision trees or heads-up displays that dynamically change based on player action or card values.”

As a result, use of the AI bot developed by “skier_5″ has already been banned from the site, whilst poker assistance software developers have also been informed as to PokerStars’ new rules in order to make the necessary adjustments. This includes such companies as OddsOracle, PokerStove and NoteCaddy.

Further Restrictions On Their Way

PokerStars has further indicated that the latest changes to its third-party software policy represents just the start of a concerted effort to reign in the use of software which unfairly disadvantages players whilst making the online poker world a less attractive environment for recreational and amateur players.

“There is a meaningful probability that within the next year or two our policies will be significantly more restrictive than this” explained the spokesman.

Although PokerStars has failed to elaborate on what such changes may entail, the site has assured players that it will continue to seek their feedback before imposing further changes, and that all developments will made public.

HUDs Bad For Poker

The warning of more software policy changes on their way has got some players wondering if the banning of HUDs may be the next major development to hit the industry. These days, the use of such software is so prolific that any serious player would never dream of playing online without one, and such third party tools now represent an integral part of any player’s arsenal. Nevertheless, their use has undoubtedly been responsible for making the game a lot less fun than it once was, for both the people using them as well as their opponents, and as a result poker sites like Bodog have long since banned their use. Amongst the negative effects HUDs are believed have on game play are the following damming observations:

1: Less action
2: Lower variance
3: Poor players more consistent losers
4: More multi-tabling
5: Winners win less
6: Pots are smaller