[2] In explaining his motivation for designing the bot, Sandholm said, "Poker is now a benchmark for artificial intelligence research, just as chess once was.
It's a game of exceeding complexity that requires a machine to make decisions based on incomplete and often misleading information, thanks to bluffing, slow play and other decoys".
The bot faced each of four top human opponents—Dong Kim, Jason Les, Bjorn Li, and Doug Polk—in a series of heads-up matches.
[1][2] For each 750-hand set, the same hands were dealt to one human taking on Claudico on the main casino floor and another battling the computer in an isolation room, with the hole cards reversed.
[2] The match winner was determined by the overall chip count after 80,000 hands; although individual results were kept for the four pros, they were competing as a single team.
If the final chip count had been too close for the difference to be statistically meaningful, the match would be declared a draw.
[3] Highlights from the match will air throughout 2015 on CBS Sports Network's weekly show Poker Night in America.
[2] He acknowledged that computers would likely surpass human play eventually, but said, "I hope we can make them go a few more rounds after this before they do, like Kasparov did".