Tuomas Sandholm

Tuomas Sandholm: Poker and Game Theory | Lex Fridman Podcast #12

Tuomas Sandholm, Lex Fridman

In 2017, the AI system Libratus defeated four world-class human professionals in 120,000 hands of heads-up no-limit Texas Hold'em, marking a historic milestone in imperfect information game solving. Unlike deep learning approaches, Libratus utilized a game-theoretic strategy based on Nash equilibrium and novel abstraction techniques to secure a projected two-million-dollar advantage without relying on opponent-specific data. Led by Tuomas Sandholm, the project's underlying technology has since been applied to critical real-world challenges, including kidney exchange programs, multi-billion dollar supply chain optimization, and military planning.