Datamining - Creating a database of observed poker hands

In poker parlance, 'datamining' has come to mean the collection of hand history data for poker games, stakes and sites of interest. The uses of this data are many and varied. In this article I will concentrate on the ways in which you might go about obtaining this data repository.

When it comes to obtaining hand history data, poker sites can be grouped into three main classes:

• Those that record hand histories in a way that can be incorporated into a database without requiring additional software.
• Those that do not automatically record observed hand history data, but for which this data may be obtained using a separate software program (commonly referred to as a 'handgrabber').
• Those for which observed hand histories cannot at this point in time be obtained (though software to permit this may well in time be developed).

As increasing numbers of poker players become aware of the uses of mined data in preparing for play (e.g. by observing the statistical differences between winning and losing players at the stakes of interest, seeking out players who have a losing record, avoiding winning regulars), in table selection, and in making decisions based on more informed player 'reads' during play, the interest in datamined hands increases.

The power of data mining and the advantage it offers to a skilled player who can make full use of the data is clear. This is reflected in the availability of datamining (hand grabbing) applications, online databases and hand history supply services, such as hand-histories.com. The debate will run on as to whether datamining should be an important part of the online poker world, but as it stands today, most serious online players are acutely aware that information is power, and they continue to take full advantage of this information.

Datamining yourself

One option available to players is to download a datmining application and run it on their own home computer. This allows players to gather reasonable numbers of hands at the tables that they play at. As some poker sites forbid datamining this can sometimes leave the user at risk of having their datamining activities detected. People who wish to datamine themselves should only ever download the datamining application from the official web site. There are many cracked versions available which carry Trojan horses and keyloggers. As poker players often have a large amount of funds in their poker accounts and online purses they are a prime target for hackers. It is not worth risking your whole online bankroll for the sake of saving $50 by not paying for a datamining app.

Buying datamined hands

The second option is to buy datamined hands. This offers the benefit that you no longer have to run a datamining application on your computer, which apart from being time consuming, can leave you open to detection by the poker rooms. You can also instantly get millions of hands for the game that you play at. This would not be possible by datamining yourself without a large array of computers datamining 24/7. The ease of access to hundreds of thousands or millions of poker hands makes this a popular choice.