The PokerAI "oscars" for 2008 are coming.

Open until Christmas 2008 (That is 25-Dec 0:00 German time), when all winners will be announed. We may announce in advance the top 3 nominations, prio to announcing the winners, to keep the drama higher.

Categories, Rules, and Prizes follow.

The Best Poker Paper Award

Awarded to the best poker paper published within the last 2 years (That is: it was published 2007 or 2008).

Nominations: Implicit. Abstract has to be posted on PokerAI papers forum. Paper need to be published in the last 3 years of the award, in order to be eligable for participation.
Rules to determine the winner: The voting in the "best poker paper" thread in Poker Papers forum.
Prize for the winner: To be determined.
Remark: Not sure for this year, but in the long run this will be a monetary award. If someone wants to 'sponsour' it already for this year - of course, you are very welcome && let me know by PM.

The Best Bot-detection Idea Award

With more and more topics getting mature and well studied, there is hardly anything that can surprise us. The anti-detection info we have built up is a factor of x10 of what exists anywhere else on the Net. With our current team, there is hardly any problem which we cannot (and often have not) solved. Which means: We have hardly any motivation to accept new members.

Winning the best bot-detection idea award might come up as your only chance to win your access to this info.

This award is given for the most innovative and brilliant idea on how to detect pokerbots, for the purpose of not allowing them to play for real money.

Nominations: Self nomination. PM your idea to Indiana, Indiana will repost it for private discussion in the Anti-Detection sub-forum.
Rules to determine the winner: Voting by the members of the Anti-Detection forum.
Prize for the winner: Entry in the Anti-Detection forum.

The Best PokerAI Thread/Post Award

The most significant post on PokerAI forums for the year 2008.

Nominations: 3-5 nominies selected by Indiana, until 1st of December.
Rules to determine the winner: Voting by all Level1 members.
Prize for the winner: To be determined.

The Best Bot Award

The most exploitive real money bot (determined by average big blinds won per 100 hands):
- The size of the blind does not matter, as long as it is real money
- At least 100,000 hands has to be played.

This prize will not be awarded for 2008.

Rules to determine the winner: -
Prize for the winner: -

The Most Profitable Bot Award

The most profitable real money bot (determined by average $US won per 100 hands):
- The size of the blind does not matter
- At least 100,000 hands has to be played.

This prize will not be awarded for 2008.

Rules to determine the winner: -
Prize for the winner: -

At this point of time, ideas for other categories are also accepted. Post them.

Can the "bot detection idea" be a "bot prevention idea" instead? If someone comes up with a way to make botting on a site difficult/impossible in the first place, then detecting bots isn't that important.

(Not that I have any ideas like that right now, though).

Hey bubba,

No. If one comes with a briliant idea on how to detect bots => we would come up with brilliant idea to avoid this detection. In fact, we design all that we do in away, that it is 100% undetectable. This is a fundamental principle. Therefore an idea (keep in mind - it is shared only privately with me, and other anti-detection forum members) for detection that is so good - that we missed it - worths more.

Let's put it in different way: We already have many brilliant ideas for how to protect our bots. So we are more looking for flaws of these ideas.

Thanks for your interest and ideas, thou.

re: bot detection

It's not that difficult to come up with a handful to tens of quick ideas for detection (generally followed just as quickly with the obvious solution) ... but it's an altogether different task to come up with a new idea not knowing what the 'old' ideas are. Not that I see a solution to the quandry.

Any assumptions that we should be working with? I still can't believe that the sites haven't required administrative rights (not that that would automatically let them catch anything but it would help).

No special assumptions - pick up one idea for detecting bots, and describe it well (by PM to me).
That's all. In some rare cases we may come back with questions, but in general, you are supposed to be motivated to describe you're idea well - as if it's not, and we don't get it, we'll pick up another one.

why no best bot awards for this year?

Because I don't want already this year to deal with the complexity of how to establish this in a way such that the results are credible. If one tells me he made 5bb/100h, how can he prove it?

I would like to propose the "Safecracker Award". This would be awarded to the botter who you feel (based purely on the content of his/her posts) is best equipped to bypass any anti-bot measure that a poker site could offer. It is a recognition of technical excellence.

Hi casey,

I don't want to explicitely encourage and promote ToS violations (which would happen with having a dedicated "safecracker" award). I, however, haven't yet received PMs on the "best bot-detection idea" award - if this stays - we would most probably simply put for voting (in the Anti-detection forum) several members that had the highest overall contribution w.r.t. bot-detection, and award the prize to the winner of this vote.