Time Bank Strategy in Poker Bots: Do They Use It Differently?

We all have the tendency to be inconsistent with using the Time Bank, much like many other areas of our lives. Whether we are distracted, we tend to “tank,” whether we can’t wait to play, we tend to rush through, and sometimes we even sabotage ourselves as a result of the internal struggle to take a particular course of action. Most individuals will use the Time Bank in a manner that is far from optimal. Many people will waste some small portion of their potential simply because they do not want anyone else to know that they acted quickly – as they are likely anxious for action.

There are also emotions tied to the timing of the Time Bank. Fatigue, frustration, and at times a sense of vengeance, are all common feelings. I have burned my entire Time Bank on an unrelated hand simply to anger the snap-better against me for an hour. Am I immature? Yes. Was I happy about what I did? Yes.

Using the Time Bank as a tool for humans is a complete disaster. Although the Time Bank is clearly a tool for strategy, it is equally so a tool for psychology. We pretend to be making decisions based on our GTO ranges while checking Discord. We may delay not because of the difficulty of the spot, but because of fatigue or a lack of confidence in our own intuition. The Time Bank is a very poor, very loud reflection of humanity.

Bots and the Time Bank Strategy in Poker Bots

Bots do not hesitate. At least, not as much as humans do. Early bots were easily recognizable by their mechanical precision. Every single decision took exactly 2.5 seconds, every single check was made at the exact same cadence. Those two features were the only indicators. From 2016 to 2018, there existed a window of opportunity in which bots were slightly recognizable. You could see the metronome of their actions and determine if a player was a bot.

However, modern bot developers have greatly improved upon their predecessors. Modern bot developers have incorporated randomization, delays, and pauses into the timing of a bot’s decision-making based on the situation. In general, a bot will typically wait nine seconds before making a decision on a tough river spot (not because of pressure, but because its programming dictates that difficult decisions require extra time), and in general, a bot will typically act quickly on easy spots, but only to the extent required to create the illusion of impatience. However, the timing of a bot’s action is always predetermined — there is never emotional timing, only randomization between available options.

I have observed bots waiting for the exact duration of a nervous human, and then shoving all-in. It’s unnerving. It feels as though you’re being slow-rolled by an algorithm. At this juncture, the Time Bank strategy employed by poker bots is nearly indistinguishable from human hesitation, and will only be distinguishable via a close examination of the bot’s timing.

The Uncanny Valley of Timing

One of the oddities associated with the spiral is the uncanny valley of timing. Bots are tolerable, but occasionally they miss. I have seen accounts completely drained over 15 second increments on silly preflop spots — hand-wringing action on a mini raise with Ace-King as if the decision of the gods is being made now. No human acts in this manner consistently. Conversely, I have seen “suspected bots” immediately call-off half of their stack on the river with a bad hand. The give-away — sitting tight in the easy spots, and exploding in the hard ones — is still present.

It appears as though there exists a sub-game developing to resolve these contradictions. You start to wonder: Is this hesitation genuine? Or is this a pre-programmed pause that is activated whenever the complexity of the situation factor exceeds?

Time Bank Strategy as a Tool

Humans utilize the Time Bank in different ways. We stall to annoy; tank to appear weak; snap to appear strong. Timing tells are a means of communication, no matter the cost. I have found myself to be able to slowly-play aggressive monsters with extended tanks and have had them call hands that would have folded had I merely bet aggressively. And yes, I do snap-shove my bluffs to convey the image of the type of player that does not need to think.

Bots cannot mimic that — they cannot recognize when a human player simply types “zzzzzz” in chat and alter the table dynamics. They cannot recognize the frustration. The timing of these headsets are based on statistically-derived estimates of how the delay will be perceived. It works … until it doesn’t.

What We Have Learned from Our Experiences

After having played tens of thousands of hands against both humans and suspected bots, one major fact has surfaced: The time bank is a signature. For humans, it is erratic and variable and influenced by emotions and fatigue. It is neat, clean, and cold; Even when it is randomized, it is always contained within a specific range.

As players, we adapt. We learn to read timing. We experiment ourselves against our opponents. I am presently attempting to simulate the same timing for all of my actions — not to appear as a bot, but to eliminate timing tells from my game. And yes, I still tank for an inordinate length of time on a ridiculous bluff, mostly for entertainment value, and partially because I’m still human enough to hesitate.

Do bots use the time bank strategy in the same manner as humans? Absolutely. Not because they are inherently faster or slower, but because every tick of their clock is deliberated, calculated and lacking the inherent human hesitation that makes poker readable and unpredictable.

And down in that chasm is where the true game continues to be played. Identifying the time bank strategy in poker bots is a part of that game — identifying their pauses and delays with the same scrutiny that we apply to their betting patterns.