The world of chess and poker have seen some crossover in recent years. Poker players have taken up the classic board game, and it’s not shocking to see chess grandmasters like Magnus Carlsen using his chess skills to bluff on the felt.
That fusion has led to chess’s leading online gaming company now targeting would-be poker players.
Chess.com has launched a new platform that offers training tools for poker, as well as other games. The new Gambit site allows players to learn how to play and rate their skills without risking any real money. It incorporates a rating system similar to its chess offering.
“Real money is the problem we built Gambit to get away from. The whole industry makes money when beginners lose,” Chess.com Chief Growth Officer Albert Cheng told The Verge.
“We’d rather build a place where people can actually learn.”
Entering The Poker Training Space
Visually, Gambit is similar to Chess.com. Players can engage in bot matches, games with friends, tournaments, a review mode for studying past games, and a learning mode. Players match their skill level against others in the same range.
The site uses a similar Elo rating system as seen in chess. Players or teams use this method to calculate relative skill levels in zero-sum games. Physics professor and chess master Arpad Elo invented the method in 1960.
In essence, the company drills players on solver spots and gives them a score.
“You’re not gambling your own hard-earned money necessarily, so the stakes are lower from that standpoint. But you need something to counterbalance it that you care about, and that keeps the ecosystem in play, and keeps the poker that’s on Gambit reasonably high-quality,” Cheng said.
Chess.com is looking to compete in the growing poker-training space. While the company offers solver training for free, it also has a pay premium feature.
In poker, play based on a solver uses Game Theory Optimal strategy to create an unexploitable baseline. Exploitative play deviates from that baseline to maximize profits by taking advantage of opponents’ shortcomings or mistakes.
Newer players and also those on a budget may benefit from the free or low-cost solver as they work on their skills. Gambit plans to add other games in the coming months.
Chess grandmaster and poker pro Jennifer Shahade spoke with Card Player’s Poker Stories podcast in 2022. Former chess champion Victoria Livschitz has also taken up high-stakes poker in recent years.
