Ex-PokerStars and Full Tilt execs to launch NFT-based poker platform
John Caldwell and Bob Williams team up to tackle real-time assistance problem with AI-powered NFT product
Former PokerStars director John Caldwell and ex-Full Tilt Poker head Bob Williams have joined forces to launch a new NFT poker platform.
PokerAces is set to target the casual poker market with a promise to tackle issues of players using real-time assistance to suggest optimal play and automated bot software.
In May, 888 revealed it had seized almost $300,000 from bot accounts in the previous year – the highest amount ever in a 12-month period for the operator.
The PokerAces platform will see players take on NFT-based, AI-powered bots to compete for prizes. These AI bots will have unique play styles and PokerDNA, coded into the NFT.
The bots will battle out against each other, with the players themselves stepping in for the final stages of a tournament.
The poker bot NFTs will go on sale in the coming months, with the PokerAces platform set to go live in Q3.
Caldwell, who spent more than four years as director of pro and celebrity marketing for PokerStars, linked up with Williams and Parlay Games chair Scott White to launch the software company i3Soft.
This company is behind the new poker venture the pair are working on, with Caldwell confirming that a team of almost 40 are building the PokerAces platform.
Caldwell said: “Eight months ago, Bob Williams, former head of product at Full Tilt Poker, and I went into the lab to combat real-time assistance and other software tools that, in our opinion, are killing online poker. This led to us forming our software company, i3Soft, with Scott White.
“Not only did we set out to build a game that we as passionate poker players wanted to play, but we also wanted to create something that respected the time and money of recreational players.
“Fast-forward, and our team of almost 40 are hard at work building an NFT software platform, with our first game being an AI Hold’em game, which will be operated by PokerAces.
“We believe this game will put the fun back into online poker and make poker more accessible for a broader audience,” he added.