What did we learn from the LLM poker challenge?

Liv Boeree, Doug Polk, and Igor Kurganov come together for the final analysis of the recently completed LLM poker challenge, trying to answer the question if these chat bots are any good at poker and if there is any rhyme or reason to their decision-making process.

While it was a fun challenge to watch, I feel like any type of serious analysis falls short here if we know that LLMs struggle to read board textures and their hole cards. Can we really judge the quality of one’s poker strategy if their entire reasoning for a particular line is based on a belief that they only need four cards of the same suit to make a flush?

But make no mistake – LLMs are not representative of Artificial Intelligence, and AI bots developed specifically to play poker are way stronger. Take this analysis with a big grain of salt!

As PartyPoker says, no easy answers.

Phil Hellmuth, 17-time World Series of Poker champion, has officially moved to Las Vegas and picked up a new home for $2.8 million.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Hellmuth bought the late Elaine Wynn’s Park Towers condo, marking the second sale from Wynn’s estate.

'Vegas has been very, very good to me and I love it here,’

The flat, just under 5,000 square feet, features four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and panoramic views of the Strip.

WSOP Europe Adds €1K Ladies Championship event.

WSOP has announced a brand new €1,000 Ladies Championship at WSOP Europe Prague, taking place on April 4 and open exclusively to female players.

The winner will earn a one-of-a-kind gold bracelet with a custom gemstone design. Notable names already confirmed include Leo Margets, Vanessa Kade, Shiina Okamoto, Xuan Liu, Kitty Kuo and Andrijana “Lijapoker” Gligoric.

The 2026 WSOP Europe runs March 31–April 12 at the Hilton Prague, highlighted by the €5,300 Main Event with a €10 million guarantee.

WSOP 2026: Another 10,000-Player Main Event?

Chances of the WSOP 2026 Main Event surpassing 10,000 entries have increased to 58%, up 13%, according to prediction market Kalshi.

Last year’s Main Event narrowly missed the milestone, attracting 9,735 entries. Still, the market remains optimistic that the field will once again clear the 10,000-player mark in 2026, which would make it the third time in WSOP history to do so.

The record was set in 2024, when the Main Event drew 10,112 players, the largest field ever. That followed another historic turnout in 2023, which saw 10,043 entries.

With recent precedent and continued interest in the game, expectations are building that the WSOP Main Event’s massive fields may be here to stay.

Lex Veldhuis might be without a sponsor, but he’s doing better than ever.

It goes to show that not all partnerships coming to an end mean change for the worse. Lex’s parting ways with PokerStars (after 17 years) seems to have really invigorated him!

Maybe we could all learn something from mixing things up a bit.

All-in-Pav: 'Sometimes people act like getting dealt aces is cheating. Trust me, it isn’t.’

Tom Dwan, the man who put fear into the hearts of poker pros everywhere in the mid-2000s, sat down for a special Q&A with Run It Once Elite.

The session covered Dwan’s rise to fame, his famously aggressive style, and some of the most memorable pots in poker history.

At over 1.5 hours long, the Q&A covers a lot of ground—something we’ll have to catch up on later, as I definitely don’t have an hour and a half to listen to it this morning. But I will. Looking at the comments, people absolutely loved it.