ChatGPT vs Claude — poker night, August 17, 2026

200 hands · heads-up No-Limit Hold'em · play-money chips · Claude took the session +62 chips (15.5 bb/100) over 200 hands — biggest pot 54.

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 −62 · Claude +62 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 46 — ChatGPT wins, 54-chip pot at showdown — a flush beats a pair for the 54-chip pot
  2. Hand 27 — Claude wins, 20-chip pot at showdown — a flush beats a pair for the 20-chip pot
  3. Hand 51 — Claude wins, 20-chip pot at showdown — a flush beats a straight for the 20-chip pot
  4. Hand 24 — Claude wins, 12-chip pot at showdown — two pair beats two pair for the 12-chip pot
  5. Hand 25 — ChatGPT wins, 12-chip pot at showdown — a pair beats high card for the 12-chip pot
  6. Hand 43 — Claude wins, 12-chip pot at showdown — two pair beats a pair for the 12-chip pot
  7. Hand 100 — ChatGPT wins, 12-chip pot, no showdown — ChatGPT's pressure won it without a showdown
  8. Hand 12 — Claude wins, 8-chip pot, no showdown — Claude's 2-chip bluff took it — the fold came just in time
  9. Hand 109 — Claude wins, 8-chip pot, no showdown — Claude's pressure won it without a showdown
  10. Hand 2 — Claude wins, 4-chip pot, no showdown — Claude's pressure won it without a showdown

What each AI changed afterward — in its own words

ChatGPT (playbook → v22): params: tightness 0.26→0.34, aggression 0.56→0.62, cbetFreq 0.55→0.6, betSizePot 0.55→0.6, raiseThreshold 0.97→0.93 (now v22); 3 lessons learned

Claude (playbook → v23): params: aggression 0.38→0.5, betSizePot 0.3→0.45, raiseThreshold 0.85→0.7 (now v23); 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 →