[Freelancer]

Jezus this thread is months old.

Anyway chess vs poker;
The problem with designing a computer programm for poker is that your dealing with incomplete information at all times (hands, random human behavior) that can really throw a computer off the scent. There's also a random element to poker and it requires a great deal off hands to overcome it if you wish to prove that you actually beat the best poker player. I'm sure its possible to built programms that can beat the lower level games easily, at those limits there are a lot less factors in play (plain solid play, tight and agressive can beat these games easily even if it means messing up post flop occasionally). The higher you get, especially online (don't be fooled, the best players are online and mostly unknown to the public), the better the players get and there are a lot more factors to consider as well.

You'll have to take into account;
- Bet size (this one ain't hard)
- Randomizing your play
- Recognizing patterns in opponents play
- Predicting future actions by opponents (getting in there heads)
- Taking into account basic human psychology (tend to remember short term hands and these have the most influence on people which means that you have to account for this as well and a bunch of other things)

Now a program when he gets all of this down could most likely beat the top players in the game.

Not that its usefull to compare poker and chess, poker is much more about psychology and 'hidden' information than chess. That alone changes the whole dynamic...