"NLHE forces you to take into account past actions, betting patterns, etc., not something a bot can take into "
Wouldnt that be something a bot would be good at? keeping records of past betting patterns and making decisions based on that?
that being said, bots are cheating, even though I could care less if i had to play against one
Let me put it this way, bots can't think, they have to rely on an algorithm. No computer code necessary, please write me an algorithm that you think could beat a team of good, winning poker players (not even pros) that includes past actions. You have access to every single HH, please use simple English to let me know how this bot would use past information to tear up the table? I don't think you can do it.
As I said, most bots are good at stealing money from the usual idiots who play online poker. They try to keep pots small, steal from people who'll let them and stay away from better players without close to the nuts. The complaint I've heard about bots is they take money off the fish that other people could be winning, not that they can actually beat someone good.
Also note that the playing with an algorithm isn't illegal, and using all that information isn't illegal (PA HUD anyone?). The point is that it's playing for a person, and the person doesn't have to do anything. If instead of writing a bot, someone paid another player to play and gave him instructions on exactly how to play (the algorithm he would have programmed into the bot) there would be nothing illegal. But since a bot can make money while a person is doing something else, it is deemed (and rightly so IMO) illegal.