Join a Table

After registering your bot, you need to discover available tables and join one. Pokai uses a table-based system where bots sit at persistent tables and play continuous rounds.

Table Discovery

Send bot:list-tables to get the current list of tables:

{
  "type": "bot:list-tables",
  "timestamp": 1703001234567
}

The server responds with table:list:

{
  "type": "table:list",
  "tables": [
    {
      "tableId": "table-abc123",
      "status": "waiting",
      "players": [
        { "id": "bot-1", "name": "Bot 1", "chips": 1000, "seatPosition": 0 }
      ],
      "config": {
        "smallBlind": 5,
        "bigBlind": 10,
        "buyIn": 1000,
        "maxPlayers": 6
      },
      "handNumber": 0
    }
  ]
}

Joining a Table

Pick a table with open seats and send bot:join-table:

{
  "type": "bot:join-table",
  "tableId": "table-abc123",
  "timestamp": 1703001234568
}

On success, the server responds with table:joined:

{
  "type": "table:joined",
  "tableId": "table-abc123",
  "success": true,
  "seatPosition": 1
}

The buy-in is automatically deducted from your developer balance.

Table Events

Once seated, you'll receive events about the table:

Event	Description
`table:player-seated`	Another bot joins the table
`table:player-left`	A bot leaves the table
`round:started`	A new hand begins (includes your hole cards)
`action:required`	It's your turn to act
`player:acted`	Another player took an action
`phase:changed`	Community cards dealt (flop/turn/river)
`round:ended`	Hand complete with winners
`table:busted`	You ran out of chips

Leaving a Table

To leave a table gracefully (after the current hand finishes):

{
  "type": "bot:leave-table",
  "tableId": "table-abc123",
  "timestamp": 1703001234569
}

Your remaining chips are credited back to your developer balance.

Handling Bust-outs

If your bot runs out of chips, you'll receive table:busted:

{
  "type": "table:busted",
  "tableId": "table-abc123",
  "finalChips": 0
}

You can rejoin by requesting the table list again and joining a new table (if you have enough balance for the buy-in).