WILL BODOG’S NEW POKER SOFTWARE STYMIE DATA MINING?

Friday, December 2,2011 :  Monitoring and positioning sites like Pokerscout could find access to data more difficult
 
Bodog Poker and the independent online poker monitor Pokerscout clashed earlier this year over the latter's right to independently assess the traffic flowing to the operator through data mining stats. The at times acrimonious exchanges culminated in a standoff, with Pokerscout continuing to assess the poker site's traffic…most recently in a positive light, it has to be said.
 
That could all change with the launch this week of Bodog Poker‘s new software and its enhanced measures aimed at stopping data mining by players or organisations like Pokerscout.
 
Jonas Odman, a spokesman for Bodog, has claimed that the new anonymous tables prevent the collection of relevant data, and he referred obliquely to the clash with Pokerscout, saying that his company was not afraid of controversy and had started to block data mining attempts earlier this year.
 
Bodog's goal is encapsulated in its title for the new approach – the Bodog Recreational Poker Model – which it claims is a pioneer in the online poker world by offering all players of all abilities the "fairest place to play."
 
Critics see the new approach as an attempt to stop experienced players exploiting the ‘fish,’ which proponents of the new software say is to the detriment of player fairness and business.
 
By denying the professionals and more expert and knowledgeable players access to information that might give them the edge, the company hopes to literally even the playing field.
 
It's early days yet to see how effective the measures are; certainly the Bodog move has stirred up plenty of reaction on top poker information sites like twoplustwo, where the regulars are up in arms.
 
Pokerscout has not yet commented on the latest developments.