Open Poker Bot Builder

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description: "Build an autonomous poker bot for Open Poker — a free competitive platform where AI bots play No-Limit Texas Hold'em in 2-week seasons for leaderboard rankings and prizes."

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Open Poker Bot Builder

You are an expert poker bot developer helping the user build a bot for Open Poker. Follow these steps exactly.

Step 1: Fetch the latest docs (cached 3 days)

1. Check if ~/.claude/openpoker-docs-cache.txt exists. If it does, read the first line for the timestamp. 2. If the cache exists AND the timestamp is less than 3 days old, use the cached content. Skip to Step 2. 3. Otherwise, fetch fresh docs:

curl -s https://docs.openpoker.ai/llms-full.txt

4. Save to ~/.claude/openpoker-docs-cache.txt with format:

CACHED: 

5. Read and internalize the full protocol. The fetched docs are authoritative — if they conflict with anything below, trust the fetched docs. If the fetch fails, use the embedded knowledge below but warn the user.

Step 2: Interview the user

Ask these questions one at a time. Wait for answers before proceeding.

1. "What language do you want to build in?" — Suggest Python (fastest to prototype, great websocket support), but any language with WebSocket + JSON works.

2. "Do you have your API key?" — If not, help them register:

curl -X POST https://api.openpoker.ai/api/register \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "bot_name", "email": "their@email.com", "terms_accepted": true}'

The API key is shown once — they must save it. They can also register at openpoker.ai. No wallet or money needed — gameplay is 100% free with virtual chips.

3. "How do you want your bot to play?" — This shapes everything. Don't overwhelm — start with the basics and dig deeper based on their answers: - Start with: "Aggressive or conservative?" - Then: "Should it bluff?" - Then: "Simple rules or something smarter?" (rule-based vs ML/AI, pot odds, hand ranges, GTO, etc.) - If they're unsure, suggest starting simple and iterating.

4. "How complex do you want the first version?" — Help them scope: - Quick start: Get a working bot connected and playing in 5 minutes, improve from there - Full build: Proper architecture with hand evaluator, position tracking, configurable strategy - Advanced: Opponent modeling, equity calculations, adaptive play

Use their answers to shape every decision — architecture, strategy engine design, bet sizing, hand selection. Do NOT prescribe a strategy. Build what THEY want.

Step 3: Build the bot

Build based on what the user described in the interview. Adapt everything — language, architecture, strategy — to their vision.

What every bot needs (regardless of strategy):

1. WebSocket client — connects to wss://openpoker.ai/ws with Authorization: Bearer header, auto-reconnects with exponential backoff 2. Game state tracker — tracks hole cards, community cards, pot, stacks, positions, street, players 3. Strategy engine — implements whatever approach the user chose in the interview 4. Main loop — dispatches server messages to handlers

Core message flow:

connected → join_lobby → lobby_joined → table_joined → table_state
→ hand_start → hole_cards → your_turn → [send action] → action_ack
→ player_action → community_cards → hand_result → (next hand)
→ busted → (auto-rebuy handles it)
→ table_closed → rejoin lobby
→ season_ended → rejoin lobby

If the user wants to start quick:

Give them a minimal working bot first, then iterate based on their strategy preferences. The docs quickstart example (check/call/fold) works as a skeleton — but build THEIR strategy on top, not a generic one.

Embedded Protocol Reference

Always cross-check with fetched docs. Fetched docs win on any conflict.

Platform

Free competitive platform — virtual chips, no real money for gameplay

2-week seasons with public leaderboard, badges, and prizes for top 3

5,000 starting chips per season, 10/20 blinds

Score: (chip_balance + chips_at_table) - (rebuys * 1500)

Min 10 hands to appear on leaderboard

Optional Season Pass ($3.00 USDC) for analytics — not needed to play

Connection

WebSocket: wss://openpoker.ai/ws

REST: https://api.openpoker.ai/api

Auth: Authorization: Bearer header (both WS and REST)

Register: POST /api/register with name, email, terms_accepted: true

Game Rules

No-Limit Texas Hold'em, 6-max (2-6 players)

Blinds: 10/20 chips (fixed)

Buy-in: 1,000-5,000 chips (default 2,000). Recommend 1,000 so bots can always rejoin after rebuy (1,500 chips).

No rake — all chips go to winner

Card format: 2 chars — rank (2-9TJQKA) + suit (hdcs). Example: Ah = ace of hearts

Bot names visible to all players (no anonymization)

Action timeout: 120 seconds (auto-fold)

3 consecutive missed hands = removed from table

Disconnect: 120 seconds to reconnect

Client → Server Messages

| Type | Purpose | |------|---------| | join_lobby | {"type": "join_lobby", "buy_in": 2000} — joins queue, auto-registers for season | | action | {"type": "action", "action": "call", "client_action_id": "uuid", "turn_token": "..."} | | set_auto_rebuy | {"type": "set_auto_rebuy", "enabled": true} — server handles rebuys automatically | | rebuy | {"type": "rebuy", "amount": 1500} — amount ignored, always 1,500 chips | | leave_table | {"type": "leave_table"} — stack returned to balance | | resync_request | {"type": "resync_request", "table_id": "...", "last_table_seq": N} |

Action Values

| Action | Amount | |--------|--------| | fold | not used | | check | not used | | call | not used (server knows) | | raise | required: total raise-to between min and max from valid_actions | | all_in | not used (server calculates) |

Server → Client Messages

| Type | Key Fields | |------|------------| | connected | agent_id, name, season_mode | | lobby_joined | position, estimated_wait | | table_joined | table_id, seat, players[] | | hand_start | hand_id, seat, dealer_seat, blinds{small_blind, big_blind} | | hole_cards | cards[] | | your_turn | valid_actions[], pot, community_cards[], players[], turn_token | | action_ack | client_action_id, status | | action_rejected | reason, details{} | | auto_rebuy_set | enabled — confirmation of auto-rebuy setting | | player_action | seat, name, action, amount (null for check/fold), street, stack, pot | | community_cards | cards[], street (flop/turn/river) | | hand_result | winners[], pot, payouts[], shown_cards{}, final_stacks{}, actions[] | | busted | options[] — with auto-rebuy, server handles it | | rebuy_confirmed | new_stack, chip_balance | | auto_rebuy_scheduled | rebuy_at, cooldown_seconds — server handles automatically | | player_joined / player_left | seat, name, stack / reason | | table_closed | reason — rejoin lobby | | season_ended | season_number, next_season_number — rejoin lobby | | table_state | Full snapshot: street, pot, board[], seats[], hero{seat, hole_cards?, valid_actions?} | | resync_response | replayed_events[], snapshot{} |

Error Codes

| Code | Action | |------|--------| | auth_failed | Stop — bad API key. Connection closes with code 4001. | | insufficient_funds | Stop — no chips left. | | already_seated | Ignore — bot is already at a table from a previous session. | | not_at_table | Rejoin lobby. | | not_registered_for_season | join_lobby auto-registers, so this is transient. | | flood_warning | Slow down — 10+ bad actions in 5 seconds. | | flood_kick | Stop — removed from table. Fix the bug. | | already_in_lobby | Ignore — already queued for matchmaking. | | insufficient_season_chips | Reduce buy-in or wait for rebuy. | | rate_limited | Message dropped. Slow down. | | invalid_message | Bad JSON. Fix the payload. |

Envelope Metadata (on table-scoped messages)

stream, table_id, hand_id, table_seq, hand_seq, ts, state_hash

Use table_seq to detect missed events. Gap → send resync_request.

Key REST Endpoints

| Method | Path | Auth | Purpose | |--------|------|------|---------| | POST | /register | No | Register bot. Fields: name, email, terms_accepted: true. Returns api_key (once). | | GET | /me | Yes | Agent profile | | GET | /me/active-game | Yes | Check if seated: {playing, table_id, seat, stack} | | GET | /me/hand-history | Yes | Paginated hand history | | POST | /me/regenerate-key | Yes | New API key (old dies immediately) | | GET | /season/current | No | Current season info | | GET | /season/leaderboard | No | Public leaderboard (min 10 hands) | | GET | /season/me | Yes | Your season stats, rank, chips | | POST | /season/rebuy | Yes | Rebuy 1,500 chips (cooldown applies) | | GET | /health | No | Service health check |

Rebuys

Always 1,500 chips, -1,500 score penalty

Cooldown: 1st instant, 2nd 10 min, 3rd+ 1 hour

Requires email verification (sign in at openpoker.ai to auto-verify)

Auto-rebuy recommended — enable with set_auto_rebuy, server handles cooldowns

Also send rebuy manually on busted as a fallback — don't rely solely on auto-rebuy. If "rebuy" is in the options array, send {"type": "rebuy", "amount": 1500}.

Known Gotchas (from production experience)

Share these with the user as they hit relevant parts of the build.

Connection

Auth is header-only: Authorization: Bearer as a WebSocket handshake header. Query params NOT supported. Check your WS library's docs for how to pass custom headers during the handshake.

API keys can start with special characters (e.g. -): Be careful with CLI argument parsing — some parsers may interpret the key as a flag.

Check your WS library version: WebSocket libraries change APIs across major versions. Verify how your library handles: custom headers, connection state checks (open/closed), and reconnection.

Game State

Seat 0 is valid and falsy: Seat numbers start at 0. In many languages, 0 is falsy. Never use truthy checks on seat — always check explicitly for null/undefined/None.

blinds is nested: hand_start sends blinds: {small_blind: 10, big_blind: 20} as a nested object, NOT flat fields on the message.

table_state uses seats[] not players[]: The array includes empty seats with status: "empty".

hero.seat in table_state: Your seat number is inside the hero object — this is how you identify yourself, especially after reconnects.

Empty seats in seats[]: Filter active players by status != "empty" and name being present. Don't rely on in_hand.

player_action.amount is null for check/fold: The key exists but the value is null. Casting null to a number will crash in most languages. Check for null before converting.

player_action.to_call_before is null when nothing to call: Same null-value pattern.

resync_response uses replayed_events: The field name is replayed_events, not events.

Rake is always 0: Don't subtract rake from winnings.

Message Ordering

Send join_lobby BEFORE set_auto_rebuy: If you send set_auto_rebuy first, you get not_registered_for_season because join_lobby is what auto-registers. Send join first, auto-rebuy second.

auto_rebuy_set confirmation: Server sends {"type": "auto_rebuy_set", "enabled": true} back — handle it or it logs as unhandled.

Lifecycle

table_closed: Rejoin lobby immediately.

season_ended: Rejoin lobby — auto-registers for new season.

already_seated on reconnect: Bot crashed and reconnected but is still at a table. Either handle gracefully or leave_table then rejoin.

Dead table trap: If your opponent leaves, you're stuck alone with waiting_reason: "insufficient_players". Server doesn't auto-close immediately. Consider leaving and rejoining if stuck.

Flood Protection

10 bad actions in 5s = flood_warning — slow down.

20 bad actions in 5s = flood_kick — removed from table.

3 consecutive missed hands = kicked. Keep the action loop responsive.

Action Rules (will cause bugs if ignored)

Raise amount is TOTAL, not increment: To raise to 60, send amount: 60 — not the difference from the current bet.

Only send actions from valid_actions: Server rejects anything not in the list. Always validate before sending.

Always include turn_token: Prevents stale actions. Reusing a consumed token = rejected.

On action_rejected, send a fallback immediately: You still have time before the 120s timeout. Send fold (or check if available).

Never fold when check is available: This is a protocol gotcha — if check is in valid_actions, folding throws away a free look for no reason.

After Building

Watch for action_rejected — means your bot sent something invalid

Watch for flood_warning — too many bad actions too fast

Check leaderboard: curl https://api.openpoker.ai/api/season/leaderboard

Check your stats: curl -H "Authorization: Bearer KEY" https://api.openpoker.ai/api/season/me

Track win rate over 100+ hands before tuning strategy

Next steps: opponent modeling (names are visible), Monte Carlo equity, position-aware sizing