Interesting Article about Game Theory's use in Poker

Hello all, having trouble drawing cards tonight, getting a little antsy, so I decided to do some reading while I was playing so I don't start throwing in my chips out of pure boredom ( A problem of mine that I really need to work on ).

I read this article, written by Tim Hartford, from The Financial Times and it is about the use of Game Theory to create a Poker Bot that can beat good poker players. They talk about Chris Ferguson a fair bit as he has a Phd. in Game Theory and obviously uses it to his advantage.

Here is the article:

http://www.timharford.com/favourites/pokermachine.htm

My favorite line in the article is:

"But excellent play cannot always assume an excellent opponent: there is no point in defending against brilliant strategies that your adversary is not smart enough to use."

Which is something that I personally don't consider enough when I am playing poker.

EDIT: Will I get in trouble for including that link? I can't see the harm but I can change it if need be.

yeah, the worse the opponent, the less deception you need to use

That also works the other way round: if you are regarded as a newb at the poker table (like me) then you can assume the "sharks" will play their hands in a more straighforwaded way they would play each other.

Nice thread, Shoey.

Oh, and your link is OK because it`s purely information, not advertising or a commercial site.