The term "mental poker" refers to a class of cryptographic issues involving playing a fair game across a distance without the aid of a reliable third party. The phrase is also used to describe theories that surround these issues and potential fixes.
In poker, this could translate to: Can two players who are dishonest with each other play fair poker without using cards, but, for example, over the phone?
If the players were seated face to face and watching each other during a physical card game, this would be pretty easy, at least if the chance of conventional cheating were eliminated.
Nevertheless, this suddenly becomes quite challenging if the players are not seated at the same spot but rather are at widely apart locations and are trying to pass the full deck between them (using the mail, for example). This is not conceivable unless the technique prevents any party from cheating by manipulating or improperly monitoring the electronic "deck" in electronic card games like online poker, where the game rules are concealed from the user.
An online poker game created by PokerDAO that is entirely decentralised and can change how hands are shuffled and address cheating issues. The cards are provably fair to ensure system reliability and prevent cheating schemes, and the website is secured by adhering to the blockchain. This prohibits third parties from meddling with the system so that the shuffling process may take so long – and that's another challenge they promise to win.
With the advent of blockchain and technology, do you think the mental poker problem will become irrelevant?
Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/NFTGames/comments/1182tk7/what_is_mental_poker/
