Would online poker benefit from 3rd party clients?

[TheCutter]

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TheCutter,

why do you think the bot problem would be worse than it is now?
Is it really best for online poker if the server side is able to decide which software should be allowed to run on the client side?

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Why? Because simply connecting to a server as a plugin to a poker client is MUCH easier than screen-scraping the tables, lobby, etc. Also, the pokersites not being able to detect abusive programs is IMO indeed a great problem, the user would be able to do anything he might want.

[Ludanto]

It would be technically easier to connect a bot to a poker server but it would also be easier to datamine the games. Because of this it is probable that bots would be identified faster.

I think it would be naive for online poker sites to think that they can prevent collusion effectively by not allowing certain software to run on the client machine. Any kind of 'abuse' by 3rd party programs can change its shape very fast thus hiding from the poker site detection.

In general I believe that it is easier to change the path of a continuous force than to neutralize it.

[madmonk]

Yes this would be pretty interesting. But if thinking this from business point of view, what kind of business opportunities this kind of API would offer for e.g. pokerstars?

Branding, own look and feel etc. are very important aspects when people choose where they play. Just providing servers and multiple clients makes things hard for people. Also I would like to see one good client instead of 10 bad ones.

Technically interesting but otherwise I don't see where's the beef is.

[freecard4all]

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it would also be easier to datamine the games.

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yea, and as big databases are crucial for bots (they lack common sense) it would be easier to make a bot.

But anyway the sites watch you for many "bad" habits. e.g. they control if you don't go to certain site, if you don't datamine "too much" (some sites) or if you don't use banned software.
Yes, you can buy a second computer to run that "bad" software there. But the fact you can break into a treasury doens't mean that banks will store their deposits at the deck.




They would lose the possibility to effectively control users.
Plus by using "unified" software for all the sites the sites would lose one of their advantages.





If you want that then make them to join a shared network. We all know why it doesn't work (because the sites focus primarily on high volume players and steal them from other sites).
In both players and rooms interest should be to take in new players.