Name: 在線撲克的骯髒祕密 (Online Poker’s Dirty Secret)
Uploaded: 2025-05-28T02:44:55.000Z
Duration: 9 min 56 s

The world of online poker is like a giant casino that never closes, with hundreds of millions of players joining games day or night.

在線撲克世界就像一個永不打烊的巨型賭場，數以億計的玩家不分晝夜地加入遊戲。

Unlike a real poker game, online players can't see who it is they're up against.

與真正的撲克遊戲不同，在線玩家無法看到自己的對手是誰。

情態助動詞 B1

They might be amateurs, they might be seasoned pros, and some might be computer programs.

他們可能是業餘愛好者，也可能是經驗豐富的專家，還有一些可能是計算機程序。

All the poker chat rooms are full of people accusing other players of being bots, but no one really knows who's behind them.

所有的撲克聊天室都充斥著指責其他玩家是機器人的聲音，但沒人知道誰是真正的幕後黑手。

The trust is gone. You can't go and play high-stakes online poker anymore and assume that you're playing a fair game.

信任蕩然無存。你不能再去玩高賭注的在線撲克，並認為自己玩的是公平的遊戲。

A poker bot is a computer program that plays the game at the highest level.

撲克機器人是一種能以最高水準進行遊戲的計算機程序。

There's evidence they've been used on major poker sites for a number of years.

有證據表明，它們已在主要撲克網站上使用多年。

This is a kind of dirty secret of online poker.

這是在線撲克的一個骯髒祕密。

While some who use them do get caught, it's unclear just how many are getting away with it.

雖然有些人確實被抓住了，但目前還不清楚到底有多少人僥倖逃脫。

It's kind of off-putting for amateurs, and without the new flow of players coming into the business, the whole poker economy could fall to pieces.

對於業餘玩家來說，這有點令人反感，如果沒有新玩家加入，整個撲克經濟可能會一蹶不振。

I wanted to find out where poker bots come from, who makes them, and why.

我想了解撲克機器人的來源、製造者和原因。

In the early 2000s, online poker exploded.

本世紀初，在線撲克呈現爆炸式增長。

A critical moment was in 2003, where an accountant from Tennessee called Chris Moneymaker, yes, that's his real name, got to the finals of the World Series of Poker.

關鍵時刻是在 2003 年，來自田納西州的會計師克里斯-錢maker（對，這是他的真名）打入了世界撲克系列賽的決賽。

Unlike his main competitors, his journey started at a qualifying event online.

與他的主要競爭對手不同，他的旅程是從網上預選賽開始的。

It finished in Vegas with a $2.5 million prize pot.

比賽在拉斯維加斯結束，獎金高達 250 萬美元。

His victory inspired millions around the world to try their luck, just as online poker sites began to proliferate.

他的勝利激勵了全世界數百萬人躍躍欲試，而在線撲克網站也開始大量湧現。

Throughout this era, players could be confident that their opponents were in fact just people.

在這個時代，玩家可以確信他們的對手其實只是普通人。

But it wasn't long until machines started creeping into the online game.

但沒過多久，機器就開始悄然進入在線遊戲。

The most efficient bots are fully automated.

Their software runs in the background on a player's computer,

他們的軟件在玩家電腦的後臺運行、

Their software runs in the background on a player's computer, making bets, folding, raising, all without any human input.

他們的軟件在玩家電腦的後臺運行，下注、棄牌、加註，一切都無需人工輸入。

If it's sophisticated, it can write in a chat box, or move the mouse to appear to be less machine and more human.

如果它很複雜，就可以在哈拉框裡寫字，或者移動滑鼠，讓自己看起來不像機器，而更像人類。

Another way they run is to have an actual person take prompts from the software, which makes it a lot harder for poker sites to detect.

另一種運行方式是讓真人接收軟件的提示，這樣撲克網站就很難發現。

The simplest and most effective way to spot a bot is to see if there are other poker accounts playing in exactly the same way.

發現機器人最簡單有效的方法是查看是否有其他撲克賬戶以完全相同的方式進行遊戲。

No two human beings will play the exact same style of poker in a given situation.

在特定情況下，沒有兩個人會玩出完全相同的撲克風格。

But if there are two accounts making the same decisions over hundreds and hundreds of hands, then you can be fairly certain that they're bots.

但如果有兩個賬戶在成百上千手牌中做出同樣的決定，那麼你就可以相當肯定它們是機器人。

The other issue is that almost any detection tool you could use as a poker website to keep bots off your platform, there's a workaround.

另一個問題是，作為撲克網站，幾乎所有可以用來防止機器人進入平臺的檢測工具都有變通方法。

If a decision is being made in a hand of poker after 2.3 seconds in every single hand, you might assume there's a computer doing that.

如果每一手牌都在 2.3 秒後做出決定，你可能會認為是電腦在做決定。

But then, of course, once that security measure comes in, the bot farms will program their software to randomize the decision-making time.

當然，一旦採取了這種安全措施，殭屍農場就會對其軟件進行編程，使決策時間隨機化。

So it might take one second, it might take 10 seconds.

是以，可能需要 1 秒鐘，也可能需要 10 秒鐘。

Bots have become so smart, some even know when they need to be a little less smart.

機器人已經變得非常聰明，有些甚至知道自己什麼時候需要變得不那麼聰明。

The best poker bots need to be able to operate on a platform without being detected, and that means losing every now and again.

最好的撲克機器人需要能夠在不被發現的情況下在平臺上運行，這就意味著時不時地會輸掉比賽。

Bots will deliberately throw hands, bots will deliberately make occasional bad decisions just to try and fool the people running the website into thinking that they're people.

機器人會故意甩手，機器人會故意偶爾做出錯誤的決定，只為試圖欺騙網站運營者，讓他們以為自己是人。

Policing bots becomes even harder due to the very nature of the game itself.

由於遊戲本身的性質，管理機器人變得更加困難。

It is vast and complicated, with multiple ways to win in multiple situations.

它龐大而複雜，在多種情況下有多種獲勝方法。

Well, there's no such thing as perfect poker.

As a concept, it can't exist, because poker has a random element and is a subjective decision-making process.

作為一個概念，它不可能存在，因為撲克有隨機因素，是一個主觀決策過程。

Poker is a very cerebral, challenging game.

撲克是一種非常考驗腦力和挑戰性的遊戲。

It's not just about the information that you have, it's about the information you don't have.

這不僅關係到你所掌握的資訊，還關係到你所不掌握的資訊。

Take the no-limit version of the most popular poker game, Texas Hold'em.

就拿最受歡迎的撲克遊戲德州撲克的無上限版本來說吧。

Not only can you bet any amount, you can bet any object, making the possible outcomes theoretically greater than the number of atoms in the universe.

您不僅可以下注任何金額，還可以下注任何物品，是以理論上可能出現的結果比宇宙中原子的數量還要多。

Pause the video if you need a minute to think about this.

如果您需要一分鐘來思考這個問題，請暫停視頻。

So there's a reason a computer beat Garry Kasparov at chess decades before a machine could compete on a poker table.

是以，在撲克牌桌上的機器競爭之前幾十年，計算機在國際象棋上擊敗加里-卡斯帕羅夫是有原因的。

Deep Blue's 11 billion calculations per second could analyse the best movement on a chessboard, but it couldn't help it behave like a human.

深藍的每秒 110 億次計算可以分析棋盤上的最佳走勢，但卻無法幫助它像人類一樣行動。

It requires a combination of mathematical processing, abilities to weigh risk and probability, but it also requires the ability to read other human beings and their behaviour, the ability to lie convincingly, to bluff.

這需要數學處理、權衡風險和概率的能力，還需要解讀他人及其行為的能力，以及令人信服地撒謊和虛張聲勢的能力。

That's why poker has become so critical for scientists developing neural networks and artificial intelligence.

這就是為什麼撲克對於開發神經網絡和人工智能的科學家來說如此重要。

By 2017, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University had finally started to compete with humans, with software beating a top poker player.

到 2017 年，卡內基梅隆大學的研究人員終於開始與人類競爭，軟件擊敗了一位頂級撲克玩家。

While the academics were researching poker for the purposes of AI, there were commercially-minded poker professionals doing the same thing for the purposes of making money in poker markets.

當學者們為了人工智能的目的研究撲克時，有商業頭腦的撲克專業人士為了在撲克市場上賺錢，也在做著同樣的事情。

When I first started looking at poker bots, I would scroll through these poker forums.

當我剛開始研究撲克機器人時，我會瀏覽這些撲克論壇。

There was consistent references to this one operation that everyone called BF Corp, Bot Farm Corporation.

大家一直都在提到這一家公司，大家都叫它 BF 公司，即 Bot Farm 公司。

Someone who said he was a whistleblower described the scale of the operation, the numerous offices that it had, how they managed to remain undetected.

一個自稱是舉報人的人描述了這次行動的規模、它擁有的眾多辦事處，以及他們是如何做到不被發現的。

I'd spoken to dozens of people who had worked with this group from Siberia.

我曾與數十位與這個來自西伯利亞的團隊共事過的人交談過。

I suppose it was inevitable the word would get back to them.

我想，消息傳到他們耳朵裡是不可避免的。

And sure enough, one day out of the blue, they messaged me, saying, you know, we're the neopokerists and we hear you want to talk to us.

果然，有一天，他們突然給我發資訊說，我們是新撲克主義者，聽說你想和我們談談。

I had no idea what to expect. I've never met a poker botter before.

我不知道會發生什麼。我以前從未見過撲克殭屍。

A lot of the online stuff about them made them seem quite menacing.

網上很多關於他們的資料都讓人覺得他們來勢洶洶。

And when I first met them, they showed up in these two SUVs with black-tinted windows.

我第一次見到他們的時候，他們開著兩輛越野車，車窗是黑色的。

But when I sat down with them, you know, they were quite friendly and charming.

但當我和他們坐在一起時，你知道，他們相當友好和迷人。

Bot Farm Corporation started life as a bunch of student kids in a university in Siberia.

Bot Farm 公司的前身是西伯利亞一所大學裡的一群學生。

And they found quite quickly that if they stayed up all night playing poker against Americans on the other side of the world, they could make a bit of money.

他們很快發現，如果通宵達旦地與地球另一端的美國人玩撲克牌，就能賺點錢。

And eventually, because they were all computer game enthusiasts, they made the decision to see if they could replicate the quality of poker they were playing as people in a piece of software that could play all night, didn't need to sleep, didn't need to eat.

最後，因為他們都是電腦遊戲愛好者，他們決定看看能否在一款軟件中複製他們作為人玩的撲克牌的品質，這款軟件可以玩通宵，不需要睡覺，也不需要吃飯。

I was maybe expecting them to deny that their main source of income was using poker software to play against humans, but they didn't really.

我本以為他們會否認他們的主要收入來源是使用撲克軟件與人對戰，但他們真的沒有。

They said they were the people behind all the different incarnations of the group, from BF Corporation to Neolab through to Dplay.

他們說，從 BF Corporation 到 Neolab，再到 Dplay，他們是該集團所有不同化身的幕後推手。

We found evidence on the Russian business registry of maybe half a dozen separate legal entities that made up the Bot Farm operation for their main business, Dplay.

我們在俄羅斯商業登記處發現了一些證據，這些證據表明，大約有六七個獨立的法人實體組成了他們主營業務 Dplay 的 "殭屍農場"。

You can see dozens of job listings advertising a role in this company that's essentially a gambling entity.

你可以看到數十個招聘廣告，宣傳在這家本質上是賭博實體的公司中任職。

The confirmation of Bot Farm Corporation's existence has sent shockwaves through the online poker community, revealing a far bigger problem than many could believe.

Bot Farm Corporation 的存在已在網絡撲克界引起震動，它暴露出的問題遠比許多人想象的要嚴重得多。

If they were discovered and their accounts were shut down, it was a simple matter for them to start again with a new clean account.

如果他們被發現，賬戶被關閉，他們只需用一個新的乾淨賬戶重新開始。

And they adapted this business model over the years so that eventually they were renting out their software to people who ran their own bot farms, kind of like a franchisee system.

多年來，他們對這種商業模式進行了調整，最終將軟件出租給經營自己機器人農場的人，有點像特許經營系統。

The Russian bot makers say they've deployed their software on major poker platforms since 2012.

俄羅斯機器人制造商稱，他們從 2012 年起就在主要撲克平臺上部署了自己的軟件。

It's unclear if there are any other outfits like them.

目前還不清楚是否還有其他類似的機構。

So while it's obvious why players wouldn't want to compete against bots, the question seems to be why the platforms aren't doing more to combat them.

是以，玩家不願與機器人競爭的原因顯而易見，但問題似乎在於平臺為何不採取更多措施來打擊機器人。

It's definitely in the financial interests of the poker industry to always have tables busy, always have bets being made.

撲克行業的經濟利益肯定是讓牌桌永遠忙碌，永遠有人下注。

And the reality is that poker bots is a simple way to do that.

而現實情況是，撲克機器人是一種簡單的方法。

What that means is when someone logs on to their computer, there have to be active games.

這意味著，當有人登錄自己的電腦時，必須有活躍的遊戲。

No one wants to see a bunch of empty tables.

The tables have to be constantly churning over, games constantly happening.

賭桌必須不斷翻轉，比賽必須不斷進行。

That's really difficult to do with human beings because most human beings tend to log on at the same time.

這對人類來說真的很難做到，因為大多數人都傾向於在同一時間登錄。

I was astonished to learn that some poker websites have internal in-house poker bots that they use to keep tables busy.

我驚奇地發現，一些撲克網站有內部撲克機器人，用來保持牌桌忙碌。

While the major platforms haven't been implicated in running their own bots, player confidence is a major issue.

雖然各大平臺尚未牽涉到運行自己的機器人，但玩家的信心是個大問題。

Conservative estimates put the number of online poker players at over 100 million people globally, with billions of dollars flowing across digital tables.

據保守估計，全球在線撲克玩家人數超過 1 億，數十億美元在數字牌桌上流動。

Without reining in the bots, those numbers are more than likely to decline.

如果不控制機器人，這些數字很可能會下降。

The issue is there's no poker regulator to make sure that bots are kept off the platforms.

問題是沒有撲克監管機構來確保機器人不被平臺使用。

I think what we're already seeing is poker becoming a lot less fun.

我認為我們已經看到撲克變得越來越不好玩了。

When you are playing online and you feel like you might be playing against a machine with no feelings that you have no chance of beating, that's not fun.

當你在玩在線遊戲時，你會覺得你可能在和一臺沒有感覺的機器對戰，而你根本沒有機會戰勝它，這並不好玩。

And when poker stops being fun, people will eventually stop playing it.

當撲克不再有趣時，人們最終也會停止玩撲克。