Bodog makes the first move in Data-Mining fight

Anyone familiar with my blog knows I’m a staunch opponent of any type of Data-Mining in poker. The reasons for and against Data-Mining have been debated ad-nauseam by the “experts”, so I will not revisit those in this article. Instead I will look at what could go down as a courageous first-step in the battle, as Bodog unveiled their new “Anonymous Tables” today.

By doing so, Bodog is banking on the fact that enough people are against data-mining (if they even know its taking place) that the move to completely anonymous online poker tables will prove a profitable one. It’s a risky bet, especially in the current online poker climate where new depositors are few and far between, but in the end I feel Bodog will be vindicated because the deck is stacked against the data-miners.

As a data-miner myself (I have used PokerTracker profusely in the past), it seems odd that I would be lamenting the practice, so let me explain why I data-mined:

If you want to be competitive in the current online poker world you have to data-mine, or your opponents will have won the information game. It’s as Antonio Esfandiari stated during the WSOP live-feed [paraphrasing], “Anyone who isn’t taking advantage of this extra information is making a big mistake.”

Now, did I like data-mining? Absolutely not! Not only am I against it on a philosophical level, but I absolutely hated the extra time I had to devote to poring over my player notes and databases looking for holes in my opponents’ games. Given my druthers I’d much rather pit my skills against an anonymous opponent; instead of being on equal footing because we both data-mine we would be on equal footing because we DON’T data-mine!

I have faith in my ability as a poker player to determine which players are familiar, and to adjust in-game to how a person is playing. It’s like walking into a casino you have never visited; your opponents know zero about you, and you know zero about them. From that point on it’s all about poker, and not simply a battle of who has the most information and the best analyzing system.

This is why I feel Bodog’s decision is the right one on the end: Not only will it appeal to recreational players (who are likely sick of hearing their Sharkscope or PokerTracker Stats talked about in the chat after they get lucky a few times) but it also appeals to a lot of poker pros who only data-mine out of necessity, and would L-O-V-E to be done with it. My guess is that Bodog will cement its place as one of the easiest poker sites thanks to their new Anonymous tables.