Indiana Poker Programming Contest Computers Playing Poker

Introduction

What is the Indiana Poker Programming Contest?

This is a programming contest in which participants write their own Texas Hold'em poker AI. The AIs, or poker bots, then compete with each other in a computerized poker tournament.

Who is running this?

We are a group of Indiana University students sponsored by Indiana University's School of Informatics and Computing.

Who is eligible?

All full-time high-school and undergraduate students studying in the state of Indiana are eligible to participate. You do not have to be a computer science major to participate. Graduate students and students studying in places other than Indiana are not eligible, sorry. (Student status is determined based on your Fall 2010 status.)

What is the time frame?

The pilot 2010 contest is scheduled to start on May 22, 2010. The deadline for submissions will be August 14, 2010. Rules, documentation, etc. will be released on May 22.

Will there be prizes?

Of course. Besides honor and glory, the first place winner in the tournament will win $200 and second place will win $100.

How does this tournament work, anyways?

The programming language for this contest is Java. We'll give you the API and rules to work with, and you have all summer to write a poker bot. You will submit your source code by the deadline, after which we will compile all of the bots and run the tournament on our own server. The results will then be posted and the winners contacted.

How do I sign up?

There is no formal sign-up required, but do subscribe for email updates so that you get the announcements as they come out. Simply submit by the contest deadline to be eligible.

Is it hard?

Fundamentally, the poker bot needs to make very simple decisions. In the limits hold'em variant we're using for this tournament, the poker bot only needs to decide between three moves—call, fold, and raise—so programming a working bot is very, very easy. You can make the AI as advanced or as simple as you want.

Are teams allowed?

Sure. Teams can only have eligible members (eligibility defined in the official rules), and they should, when submitting, list all of their members.

Are multiple submissions allowed?

No. Each person or team can only submit one poker bot, so pick your best one. We will, however, allow resubmissions up to the deadline, in case you find bugs in your code.