Psychologist Wins Poker World Series
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Psychologist and social worker Jerry Yang won $8.25 million in the annual World Series of Poker. The competition was No-Limit Texas Hold'em and lasted 4 days ending on Wednesday at 4:00 A.M. Yang won his $10,000 seat at the series and went on to beat o...
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Perhaps the most amazing thing about Jon Lester's victory in the World Series-clinching game less than a year after finishing cancer treatment is that his doctors weren't that surprised.
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(InfoWorld) - A poker-playing robot may help find the answers to some of the most intractable challenges in the business world, such as optimizing e-commerce and auction applications. Programmers have historically tried to teach computers to play chess, setting up the iconic 1996 match between IBM's Deep Blue computer and human champion Gary Kasparov. But poker provides a better test of artificial intelligence (AI), says Tuomas Sandholm, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University: While chess players can see all the game pieces, poker players face many hidden details, like what cards the opponent has been dealt. Sandholm specializes in the correlation between strategic behavior and computational complexity, and runs his own company, CombineNet, which develops algorithms to optimize procurement for companies like H.J. Heinz. He put his latest technology to the test in July when he brought his poker-playing robot, called GS2, to compete in a Boston tournament sponsored by the American Association for Artificial Intelligence. What's the greatest strength of GS2's technology? About 26 million possibilities exist for poker hands in the second round of a Texas Hold 'Em game -- too many for a computer to analyze: GS2 uses an algorithm that reduces the number of possibilities, to consider just 2,465 strategically similar hands. GS2 has not beaten a top human player yet, but Sandholm continues to refine. "The research problem is how to come up automatically with better and better strategies," Sandholm says. "The computational and combinatorial complexity of solving the game makes this enormously challenging."ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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NORTON, Massachusetts  - Although the jury is still out on the success of the inaugural FedExCup playoffs, Phil Mickelson's gripping win at the Deutsche Bank Championship provided an ideal script for organizers, sponsors and fans.
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JACKSONVILLE, Florida  - Phil Mickelson fired a  final round three-under 68 to score a comfortable five stroke  victory at the $5.2 million Phoenix Open Sunday, claiming his  first tour title since last year's U.S. Masters.
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A brief tutoring session with Larry Rothschild was all it took to make Jason Marquis feel like a 15-game winner again instead of that guy who got dumped in the postseason.
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Paul Casey routs Shaun Micheel, 10-and-8, to win the World Match Play ChampionshipÃÂ byÃÂ the largest margin in the event's 43-year history.
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Top-seeded Lindsay Davenport won her fourth consecutive championship on Sunday, defeating second-seeded Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-4 in the Western and Southern Women&#39;s Open finals.
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The Flying Dutchman, aka Marcel Luske, was named 'Player of the Year' at the European Poker Awards in Helsinki, Finland last week.
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Bernhard and Stefan Langer started fast and finished faster Sunday to win their second consecutive Del Webb Father/Son Challenge title. In a scene reminiscent of their victory last year, Stefan helped deliver the winning birdie on the final hole as the Langers held off last-ditch rallies, this time by Bob and Kevin Tway and Vijay and Qass Singh.
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The Anaheim Angels won the World Series in 2002 after reaching the postseason via the wild card. Ditto the Florida Marlins last year.
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Casey Stoner wins the world MotoGP title at the Japanese Grand Prix.
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Tiger Woods won the Tour Championship, his seventh victory of the year, which also clinched the first FedEx Cup, the PGA Tourâs first playoff system.
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Phil Mickelson finished a triumphant week in his second home, winning the FBR Open by five strokes for his largest margin of victory in a PGA Tour event.
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COMPUTERS able to bluff at poker have been created.  Past results help them hone their style. One of their South African creators told New Scientist: "They develop their own personalities." (c) 2007 Daily Record; Glasgow (UK). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning.
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Counsell was a member of Arizona&#39;s 2001 World Series championship team as well as the 1997 world champion Florida Marlins. He was the Most Valuable Player of the 2001 National
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Joe Girardi, the former manager of the Florida Marlins, won three titles as a catcher for the Yankees.