Quote:
Originally Posted by Jeff W
I hope this is a wake up call for Stars. They need to implement immediate stop gap measures against the bot networks: Accounts with highly correlated stats or other evidence of automated/collusive play should be banned from sitting at the same tables with each other . They may even need to ban eastern europeans from sitting at the same tables with each other at all(I believe there is precedent for this on Pokerstars' part). At the very least this will slow the rate at which the 6max economy is hemorrhaging.
It goes without saying that they need to improve their algorithms for detecting automated/collusive play such as plays based on knowledge of hidden blockers. Honestly they should also refund the share of the rake earned by these bots since they have failed to protect game integrity and should not be profiting from bot players while their legitimate players foot the bill.
Not all Eastern European are trash bro, there are cheaters and criminals in all parts of the world. Most bots appear to be from Russia and Belarus, not Poland, Romania, Croatia, Serbia, CZ, Slovakia, Bulgaria and others so lets not generalize like that. Also, in a sophisticated criminal operation where there is money to be made and starting capital is not a problem, there can be accounts setup from New Zealand to Brasil. It looks to be concentrated in one area for now, but if there is some kind of geographic profiling by Stars, bot operators will adjust in no time.
Also, someone mentioned small stakes and micros, i am afraid that this is even bigger problem, its likely that tables at those stakes are infested with bots. Terrible for new players to play against bots, they will feel hopeless very soon and just give up.