Every other seat
Showdown AI fills every other seat at the heads-up and three-player tables, bluffing when the spot calls for it and folding bad hands.
Showdown AI
Poker AI you can play against
Showdown AI is the engine behind every opponent you face in Poker Skill's Practice vs AI, and it's built on the science that beat professional players. Coach Max coaches you in the app and grades your decisions against how the engine would play the same spot.
Runs on Showdown AI v0.1
That's the plate from the app. It names the engine version you're playing. When the number goes up, the game across the table got smarter.
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What Showdown AI does for your game
The AI that plays the hand against you also supplies the numbers behind Coach Max's grades.
A grade on every decision
In each hand, Coach Max grades your decisions against Showdown AI's strategy for the spot, so a call can be right even when you lose the pot.
Coaching in plain English
Coach Max reads Showdown AI's numbers in Poker Skill's Practice vs AI and tells you what mattered: position, stack depth, the board.
Coach Max coaches. Showdown AI plays.
Showdown AI plays the seats across the table, and Coach Max stays in your corner.
When Showdown AI gets stronger, Coach Max's advice gets sharper too.
Built on the science that beat the pros
In 2019, an AI called Pluribus became the first to beat top professionals at six-max no-limit hold'em. Showdown AI is built on that same approach, paired with our own GTO engine, and every opponent in Practice vs AI runs on it.
That history is why Coach Max's grades mean something: the engine behind them can actually play.
It keeps getting better
You've watched AI models leap from version to version. Showdown AI improves the same way, with regular retraining that sharpens how it plays. The Play screen shows the version (Showdown AI v0.1 today), and that is the build you're practicing against.
When the number goes up, the opponents play sharper and the grading gets more precise. Your streaks and XP carry straight through. A new version changes the engine. Your record stays yours.
Named for poker's truth moment
A showdown is when the cards flip and the hand settles. At the end of every hand the AI's cards flip face up, even when it folds, so you always see what you were up against.
What's a showdown in poker? →
Questions about Showdown AI
What is Showdown AI?
Showdown AI is the poker AI inside Poker Skill. It plays the opponents you practice against, and Coach Max's coaching and grades run on its numbers. It comes from the same family of techniques as the AIs that beat professional players.
Does it cost anything to play against Showdown AI?
Poker Skill is free. Forever. Every player gets one Practice vs AI game a day against Showdown AI, and the optional Plus subscription adds unlimited Practice vs AI games.
Why should I trust the grades?
Because the benchmark is Showdown AI's own play, and the engine descends from the research behind Libratus and Pluribus, the AIs that beat top professionals. A lucky or unlucky card that falls after a decision can't change its grade.
Am I playing against Coach Max?
No. Coach Max is your coach and never plays a hand. Every opponent you face in Practice vs AI runs on Showdown AI.
What does "Runs on Showdown AI v0.1" mean in the app?
It's the version of the engine behind every opponent in Practice vs AI, and the number changes when a new version ships.
What happens to my progress when a new version ships?
It stays. Streaks and XP carry over from one Showdown AI version to the next, and a new version swaps the engine and nothing else.
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Take a seat against Showdown AI
Open Poker Skill and play a practice hand. Coach Max grades it and shows you the why.