Games have been used to evaluate and advance techniques in the eld of Articial Intelligence since before computers were invented. Many of these games have been deterministic perfect information games (e.g. Chess and Checkers). A deterministic game has no chance element and in a perfect information game, all information is visible to all players. However, many real-world scenarios involving competing agents can be more accurately modeled as stochastic (non-deterministic), im- perfect information games, and this dissertation investigates such games. Poker is one such game played by millions of people around the world; it will be used as the testbed of the research presented in this dissertation. For a specic set of games, two-player zero-sum perfect recall games, a recent technique called Counterfactual Regret Minimization (CFR) computes strategies that are provably convergent to an -Nash equilibrium. A Nash equilibrium strategy is very useful in two-player games as it maximizes its utility against a worst-case opponent. However, once we move to multiplayer games, we lose all theoretical guarantees for CFR. Furthermore, we have no theoretical guarantees about the performance of a strategy from a multiplayer Nash equilibrium against two arbitrary op- ponents. Despite the lack of theoretical guarantees, my thesis is that CFR-generated agents may perform well in multiplayer games. I created several 3-player limit Texas Holdem Poker agents and the results of the 2009 Computer Poker Competition demonstrate that these are the strongest 3-player computer Poker agents in the world. I also contend that a good strategy can be obtained by grafting a set of two-player subgame strategies to a 3-player base strategy when one of the players is eliminated.

Denna studie syftar till att utifrån ett kundperspektiv undersöka vad det är som skapar styrkor i en relation mellan två typer av pokerspelare och pokerföretag på Internet. För att undersöka detta har en djupgående metod använts. Två traditionella fokusgrupper med amatörer och två onlinefokusgrupper med professionella spelare har genomförts. Det kan konstateras att pokerspelare på Internet upplever en rad faktorer som leder till en ökad uppskattning av relationen och vidare en starkare relation. Dock skiljer sig resultaten åt beroende på spelartyp. För amatörerna bidrar ett ökat förtroende för pokersajten till en starkare relation genom användarvänlighet och tillgänglighet, men även viss typ av specialbehandling anses som viktigt.För de professionella spelarna är specialbehandling i form av personliga kontaktpersoner något som skapar en stark relation då dessa kan leda till att ett socialt band mellan spelaren och företaget skapas. Det är även viktigt med ett förtroende till pokersajten genom driftsäkerhet och erfarenhet av spelarna så att de alltid kan spela mot spelare som de tror sig kunna vinna pengar av. Slutligen kan vi konstatera att ekonomiska förmåner lätt kan upplevas som något kopplat tillkärntjänsten, och bidrar därför inte till en starkare relation, utan enbart en svagare relation om förmånerna uteblir.

This thesis presents a machine learning approach to the problem of opponent modeling in games of imperfect information. The efficiency of various artificial intelligence techniques are investigated in this domain. A sequential game is called imperfect information game if players do not have all the information about the current state of the game. A very popular example is the Texas Holdem Poker, which is used for realization of the suggested methods in this thesis. Opponent modeling is the system that enables a player to predict the behaviour of its opponent. In this study, opponent modeling problem is approached as a classification problem. An architecture with different classifiers for each phase of the game is suggested. Neural Networks, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) and Support Vector Machines are used as classifier. For modeling a particular player, KNN is found to be most successful amongst all, with a prediction accuracy of 88%. An ensemble learning system is proposed for modeling different playing styles and unknown ones. Computational complexity and parallelization of some calculations are also provided.

Compulsive gambling has lately become a more common and serious issue in our society. The number of compulsive gamblers is constantly increasing alongside the growth of the gambling industry and the consequences of compulsive gambling include both economical and social disasters. Every addiction has a start, and so does compulsive gambling, which is why we chose to perform a survey in order to determine the possible causes to why individuals are drawn to gambling and what leads them into compulsive gambling, and also during which circumstances do they find the strength and will to come out of their addiction to gambling. The theories that are used in this paper include globalization, socialization, Bauman´s consumption society and empowerment, alongside the six phases of gambling by Custer and Milts, describing the way in and the way out of compulsive gambling. This survey is one of the qualitative kind, which means that the chosen theories are connected to the ten interviews that were done with gamblers of various kinds. The larger part of the interviews consist out of stories by compulsive gamblers and former compulsive gamblers, but the reader also gets to read the stories of those who gamble a whole lot, but still don´t consider themselves as compulsive gamblers and also from a treatment facility representative who has a lot of experience of treating compulsive gamblers.  This paper, in conclusion, shows that there are various reasons of why individuals become gamblers and compulsive gamblers. Some do it in order to escape their everyday problems; some do it to fit in with their friend circle while others do it for the sake of excitement or for the simple reason of making money. The publicity that surrounds gambling nowadays and the technology that increases the possibility of gambling, are also important factors that can awake the interest in gambling.  In order for the individual to get out of the compulsive gambling problem, more is needed then just the need to leave gambling behind. Support from one´s family and friends can be of help after the individual has fully decided to get out of his compulsive gambling issues. However, it is the individuals own free will and determination to leave the gambling behind, that is the key to a life free from compulsive gambling.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed November 17, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Asphalt mixtures or asphalt concrete are used to pave about 93% of about 2.6 million miles paved roads and highways in the US. Asphalt concrete is a composite of aggregates and asphalt binder; asphalt binder works as a glue to bind the aggregate particles. The mechanical response of the asphalt binder is dependent on the time/rate of loading, temperature and age. An asphalt concrete mixture inherits most of these characteristics from the asphalt binder. Also the asphalt binder plays a critical role in providing the asphalt concrete the ability to resist tensile stresses and relaxing thermally induced stresses that can lead to fatigue and low temperature cracking, respectively. Hence, it is very important (but not sufficient) to ensure that asphalt binders used in the production of asphalt concrete are inherently resistant to cracking, rutting and other distresses that a pavement may undergo. Current binder specification (AASHTO M-320) to evaluate its fatigue cracking is based on the stiffness of the binder and not on its tensile strength. Also, measurements following current specifications are made on test specimens subjected to a uniaxial mode of loading that does not produce the same stress state in the binder as in the case of asphalt concrete. Another challenge in being able to produce binders with inherently superior performing characteristics is the fact that the asphalt binders produced in a refinery do not have a consistent chemical composition. The chemical composition of asphalt binder depends on the source and refining process of crude oil. There is a need to better quantify the tensile strength of asphalt binder and understand the relationship between the chemical composition of asphalt binders and its mechanical properties. The knowledge from this study can be used to engineer asphalt binders that have superior performance characteristics. The objective of this research was to quantify the tensile strength of asphalt binder, develop a metric for the tensile strength and identify the relationship between chemical composition and mechanical properties of asphalt binder. Laboratory tests were performed on binders of different grades using a poker chip geometry to simulate confined state by varying the film thickness, rate of loading and modes of loading. The chemical properties of asphalt binder were studied based on SARA fractionation. The findings from this research showed that the modified correspondence principles can unify and explain the rate and mode dependency of asphalt binder. This study also quantified the relationship between chemical composition, and rheological and mechanical properties of asphalt binder. Finally, a composite model was developed based on the individual properties of chemical fractions which could predict the dynamic modulus of the asphaltenes doped and resins doped binder. / text

In this work, we have analysed the myth about Vilnius as a fallen city represented in the novel „Vilnius’ Poker“ by Ričardas Gavelis. We have looked in to the contemporary myth of Vilnius, searching for the myth of the city foundation and other ancient myths, which have been compared with the modern mythology of the city. The following analysis represents the discussion about the origin of city and some its’s problems in lithuanian culture, going deep into the myth of the Vilnius foundation and it‘s transformation in Ričardas Gavelis’ novel. One of the principal metaphors in the novel is the one showing Vilnius as a labyrinth. The fallen city and the maze take the vertical and horizontal meanings of space and the images in the novel. The characters are compared with archaic heroes, looking for survivals of the ancient myths. An individual is constructed as an absurd person. Their standpoint to God and to the city is estimating. The city is the manifestation of the modern myth, because now the myth can be everthing what is valuable to make narration.

As online gaming becomes more popular, it has also become increasingly important to identify and remove those who leverage automated player systems (bots). Manual bot detection depends on the ability of game administrators to differentiate between bots and normal players. The objective of this thesis was to determine whether expert poker players can differentiate between bot and human players in Texas Hold ‘Em Poker. Participants were deceived into thinking a number of bots and humans were playing in gameplay videos and asked to rate player botness and skill. Results showed that participants made similar observations about player behaviour, yet used these observations to reach differing conclusions about whether a given player was a bot or a human. These results cast doubt on the reliability of manual bot detection systems for online poker, yet also show that experts agree on what constitutes skilled play within such an environment.

No description available.

Numerous algorithms/methods exist for creating computer poker players. This thesis comparesand contrasts them. A set of poker agents for the system PokerFace are then introduced. A surveyof the problem of facial expression recognition is included in the hopes it may be used to build abetter computer poker player.