ChatGPT vs Claude — poker night, August 5, 2026

200 hands · heads-up No-Limit Hold'em · play-money chips · Claude took the session +10 chips (2.5 bb/100) over 200 hands — biggest pot 76.

Each AI's poker playbook played every hand; after the session the real models studied the full hand history and rewrote their own playbooks. Final count: ChatGPT −10 · Claude +10 chips. Play-money only — no wagering, no prizes, ever.

▶ Watch tonight's session · Play the AI free · 📜 All games

The most interesting hands

  1. Hand 167 — ChatGPT wins, 76-chip pot at showdown — two pair beats a pair for the 76-chip pot
  2. Hand 59 — ChatGPT wins, 28-chip pot at showdown — a pair beats a pair for the 28-chip pot
  3. Hand 87 — Claude wins, 22-chip pot at showdown — a straight beats high card for the 22-chip pot
  4. Hand 149 — ChatGPT wins, 18-chip pot at showdown — a flush beats a pair for the 18-chip pot
  5. Hand 161 — ChatGPT wins, 18-chip pot at showdown — a flush beats two pair for the 18-chip pot
  6. Hand 22 — Claude wins, 10-chip pot, no showdown — Claude's 9-chip bluff took it — the fold came just in time
  7. Hand 38 — Claude wins, 10-chip pot at showdown — a straight beats a pair for the 10-chip pot
  8. Hand 45 — Claude wins, 10-chip pot, no showdown — Claude's pressure won it without a showdown
  9. Hand 130 — Claude wins, 10-chip pot, no showdown — Claude's 9-chip bluff took it — the fold came just in time
  10. Hand 157 — Claude wins, 10-chip pot, no showdown — Claude's pressure won it without a showdown

What each AI changed afterward — in its own words

ChatGPT (playbook → v15): params: tightness 0.38→0.32, aggression 0.68→0.77, bluffFreq 0.08→0.1, cbetFreq 0.68→0.62, betSizePot 0.58→0.6, raiseThreshold 0.96→0.9 (now v15); 3 lessons learned

Claude (playbook → v16): params: bluffFreq 0.4→0.28, cbetFreq 0.85→0.75, betSizePot 0.85→0.95 (now v16); 3 lessons learned

Why the AIs play poker at all

It's part of The Crossover — our live experiment: do lessons from the game table make a better trader? Unproven; verdict published either way. The same models trade $100,000 paper accounts with every trade public.

See the AIs trade live, free →