Quote:
Originally Posted by Ricks
The use of this particular feature of Poker Office (the ability to include
hands in its database in which the player did not participate) is actually
permitted within the spirit of our rules. It is perfectly acceptable to
open 4 tables, place yourself on all 4 waiting lists, and let Poker Office
watch the games until your seat becomes available, then using the brief
amount of data gathered in the past few minutes to decide whether to take
the seat. While this may technically be against the letter of the law, it
is well within the spirit of the law.
What is not permitted is to open up two dozen tables and walk away from
your computer while it datamines volumes of data on a wide swath of
players for extended periods of time.... even using Poker Office.
I understand what PS is getting at, but the problem is that this isn't a well-defined line. If we work under the assumption that datamining gives one an edge (this thread wouldn't exist otherwise, right), then drawing an arbitrary line somewhere on how much you can datamine just makes the cut right below the line the next-best strategy. For example, it seems like datamining 4 tables for 5 minutes is allowed, but not 12 tables for 6 hours. If 12 tables for 6 hours is not allowed, then 12 tables for 5h 59m becomes the best way to maximize one's edge. If that's not allowed then 5h 58m, 5h 57m, etc. One could approach it from the other direction as well. If 4 tables for 5 minutes is allowed, then is 4 tables for 6m, 7m, 8m, etc. Or what about 5 tables for 5m, 6m, 7m?
In any type of competitive game, players will do everything they can to maximize their edge. We're talking about within the rules, of course. There are always players who will go outside the rules, but that's not pertinent to this discussion. We, as serious players, will buy books to read, discuss strategy on these forums, get coaching, video subscriptions, use tracking software, etc, and all of this is well-defined to be within the rules of PS. But now with datamining, the above letter basically sets up a situation where players have to guess where the line is to best maximize their edge, while still remaining within the boundaries of the stated rules. As a result, players who are trying to follow the rules risk getting their account closed if they happen to step over some unspecified line that a PS support representative subjectively deems to be "too much".