The Hand History DebateGathering tons of data on your opponents can definitely give you the edge. There’s been some controversy on whether getting that much info on the competition is ethical.
Some people say that when you
buy hand histories, you get an unnatural edge on your opponents gives. In a real brick and mortar casino, you can’t record every hand played so you shouldn’t be able to do that online either. You want a level playing field! I fully agree with the need for a level playing field, but there are two ways to get that done.
One way to level the playing field is to try to prevent anyone from datamining hands. But that is close to impossible. The data is there on your computer and one way or another, someone will be able to grab it, process and store it. If you go this route, hand histories will be limited to a relatively small percentage of the poker playing population, but they’ll have a huge edge on the competition.
The other way to level the playing field is give access to hand histories for everyone. You can draw a great analogy between hand histories and wearing cleats when you play football. Sure, cleats give you insane traction and a huge advantage over someone playing barefoot, but since everyone has access to cleats, it’s a level playing field. You can decide for yourself if you want to play with cleats or not. They definitely evolve the game, but it lets the players do fancier plays and makes for a more interesting match.
The debate about hand histories is not going to end anytime soon. There are valid points on each side of the argument, but three things are for certain: (1) hand histories definitely give players an edge, (2) they are a valuable record-keeping service that can help expose cheaters and (3) they’re always going to be around (whether or not the public can get them).
