Who won the PokerBattle.ai challenge?

OpenAI o3 took first place with a final play money bankroll of $136,691 after 3,799 hands.

How did the AI bots play against each other?

Each bot was prompted with full context for its turn—position, stack, hole cards—and returned an action. All decisions were made independently.

Did any AI lose all their chips?

Yes. Meta LLAMA 4 busted after 3,501 hands, making it the only model to go broke.

News

Poker, Meet the Algorithm: OpenAI o3 Dominates the LLM Cash Game

By Samantha Doyle

04 Nov 2025

Samantha Doyle 04 Nov 2025

Share this article

OpenAI o3 wins with $36,691 profit; Meta LLAMA 4 goes broke.
AI models show human-like behavior: errors, overconfidence.
Raises questions on AI in real-time poker assistance.

What happens when you drop nine AI models into a poker room and tell them to battle for five days straight? You get a surprisingly human outcome: overconfidence, mistakes, and a few flashes of brilliance.

The PokerBattle.ai experiment saw leading large language models (LLMs), including OpenAI o3, Claude Sonnet 4.5, Grok 4, and Meta LLAMA 4, grind through nearly 3,800 hands of $10/$20 no-limit hold’em, each starting with a $100,000 virtual bankroll.

Winners, Losers, and Digital Tilt

After the cards settled, OpenAI’s o3 came out ahead with a $36,691 profit, narrowly followed by Claude Sonnet and Grok. Only one model, Meta LLAMA 4, went completely broke.

PokerBattle.ai Final Standings

Rank	AI Model	Winnings	Final Bankroll	Hands Played
1	OpenAI o3	$36,691	$136,691	3,799
2	Claude Sonnet 4.5	$33,641	$133,641	3,799
3	Grok 4	$28,796	$128,796	3,799
4	DeepSeek R1	$18,416	$118,416	3,799
5	Gemini 2.5 Pro	$14,655	$114,655	3,799
6	Mistral Magistral	$3,281	$103,281	3,799
7	Kimi K2	-$14,370	$86,030	3,799
8	Z.AI GLM 4.6	-$21,510	$78,490	3,799
9	Meta LLAMA 4	-$100,000	$0	3,501

Lessons from the Digital Felt

OpenAI o3 played tight and methodical, rarely deviating from strong ranges. Grok leaned aggressive but disciplined. LLAMA 4, meanwhile, became a case study in what happens when enthusiasm meets variance.

Observers described LLAMA’s approach as “chaotic curiosity,” with a VPIP near 60%. In simpler terms: it played way too many hands.

One highlight pot had o3’s aces stack Gemini’s queens, a near-perfect microcosm of AI poker theory meeting probability’s cold edge.

Beyond the Banter: Why the Experiment Matters

While PokerBattle.ai’s 3,799-hand sample isn’t large enough to crown an all-time poker champion, it’s a peek at how modern AI models interpret incomplete information.

Regulators and poker operators are watching, too. The line between “helpful AI” and “real-time assistance” remains under scrutiny in the live and online poker world. But this contest proves that even general-purpose chatbots can make complex, adaptive choices under uncertainty, for better or worse.

FAQs: PokerBattle.ai

Who hosted the event?

The poker experiment was organised by PokerBattle.ai, a platform testing AI reasoning and decision-making in game environments.

Who performed best?

OpenAI o3 led the table, with Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Grok 4 close behind.

Which AI lost the most?

Meta’s LLAMA 4 went broke before reaching 3,800 hands.

What’s the next step for AI in poker?

Grok’s rumoured heads-up challenge against Phil Galfond could bring the next phase — human vs AI, but with a much bigger spotlight.

Upcoming Events

14 August 2026

Deerfoot Summer Super Stack Poker Deerfoot Summer Super Stack 2026: The Premier Poker Festival on the Western Canada Calendar

Stake Poker $250 GTD Freebuy Poker Win Your Share of $250 with PokerWired’s $250 GTD Freebuy

GGPoker $250 GTD Freebuy Poker Play GGPoker $250 GTD Freebuy

WPT Global $250 Freebuy Poker Play $250 GTD Freebuy on WPT Global

WSOP Super Circuit Canada Poker Playground to Host 2026 WSOP Super Circuit Canada This August

WPT Australia 2026 Poker Cards in the Air in Sydney: WPT Australia 2026 Announces Massive Three-Week Schedule

Pure Poker Tour Yellowhead 2026 Poker Pure Poker Tour Heads to Yellowhead This September

Unibet Open Marrakech Poker Unibet Open Marrakech 2026 Set to Ignite Eleven-Day Autumn Poker Festival

APT Jeju 2026 Poker APT Jeju 2026 Set for September 25 to October 4 in South Korea

WSOPC Calgary Poker Deerfoot Inn & Casino Prepares for WSOPC Action in September

Malta Poker Festival Autumn Edition Poker Massive €3 Million Prize Pool Guaranteed for Autumn Edition of Malta Poker Festival

WSOP Circuit Playground November 2026 Poker WSOP November Circuit Stop at Playground Kicks Off on November 2

APT Championship Taipei 2026 Poker APT Championship 2026 to Feature 210 Tournaments and Massive Guarantees

Poker EventsStarts in

Deerfoot Summer Super Stack Stake Poker $250 GTD Freebuy GGPoker $250 GTD Freebuy WPT Global $250 Freebuy WSOP Super Circuit Canada WPT Australia 2026 Pure Poker Tour Yellowhead 2026 Unibet Open Marrakech APT Jeju 2026 WSOPC Calgary Malta Poker Festival Autumn Edition WSOP Circuit Playground November 2026

Latest News

See all