Have just had a quick chat with someone who took part in this and who thinks the bot is 'pretty terrible'. Hoping to speak to him about it again soon more in-depth.
One strange aspect which I hadn't realised from the paper which was released was that after every hand the stack sizes were reset, so normal heads-up stack strategies which the pros might have employed were out of the window.
From the cover letter sent to prospective players in the trial:
'To be eligible to participate in this study you must be:
– of the age of majority in your country of residence,
– a professional poker player,
– willing to be identified in an associated research article, and
– able to understand written English, including this information letter.'
OK, 'professional poker player' covers a multitude of sins
but I know at least that the player I spoke with is a good pro with plenty of online heads-up experience.
For the record, there were 3 prizes on offer 1. $5000, 2. $2500, 3. $1250 for the best performers (excluding the bot!)
So, now all I have to do is decipher the initial win-rate/loss-rate charts :/ Still making no sense, and for anyone who has looked at the maths in the study paper...good luck with that! :O