The universe is full coded secrets. Enigmas hold top-secret military data, Einstein’s universe defining equations, ancient knowledge lost in indecipherable language, and messages from Mafia. Cracking the Code tells the stories of the brilliant minds who cracked these codes.
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have published a paper in Science explaining how they developed an artificial intelligence to defeat four top-ranked professional poker players. The system called Libratus uses a three-pronged strategy to master a game with more decisions points than atoms.
It analyzes first the rules, the player, and the game history to determine a value expected for each hand. It compares this value with the actual results of each hand in order to calculate how much to risk and when to fold. Then it calculates “blueprints” of how to perform the hand based upon this probability, and executes that plan.
Finally, the software also keeps track of what’s already been played and how much money has been won or lost in each hand. This allows the software identify future opportunities for wins and losses.
Its ability, to identify patterns within a casino’s play of video poker, is what makes it stand out from its competitors. Acres claims that it can help casinos adjust their marketing strategies, allowing them to stop viewing video poker as a single unquantified demographic. Instead, they can target high-margin players in order to increase participation in cashback and free play promotions.
