Software Designed to Prevent Online Poker Identity Theft

Once the gambler's DNA is registered, deviation can be flagged as suspicious.

Software bots have long been the scourge of online poker websites;  programs designed to cheat are a constant threat to fair and equitable play online. A new problem is emerging, in which criminals phish for player info through phony e-mails and then log in as the player whose identification codes have been stolen, playing against an accomplice and losing intentionally until the account is drained.

In an effort to combat these difficulties, a professor from the University of Buffalo and a colleague are devising systems to monitor individual play, establishing a player "DNA" unique to each gambler. Roman Yampolskiy and Venu Govindaraju use betting information including how often and when a player bets, raises and amounts of bets and raises, and folds, using the data to create a player profile. 

Once the gambler's DNA is registered, deviation can be flagged as suspicious. Only one hour of play is enough to idetify players with 80% accuracy, say the software writers, and the more play recorded, the higher the accuracy.

However, doubts exist about the usefulness of the system. Unpredictable play is essential at the highest level of the sport. Jonathan Schaeffer of the University of Alberta Computer Poker Research Group says, "If you are predictable, you can be exploited. Strong players try not to be predictable."

Furthermore, the tool could be used in place of a bot, using data to create a profile for opponents and thus cheating in predicting other players' hands. Increased security at signins may be more effective at defeating identity thefts than software detection, along the lines found more and more on bank and credit card sites.