Readable Minds: Emergent Theory-of-Mind-Like Behavior in LLM Poker Agents

arXiv:2604.04157v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Theory of Mind (ToM) -- the ability to model others' mental states -- is fundamental to human social cognition. Whether large language models (LLMs) can develop ToM has been tested exclusively through static vignettes, leaving open whether ToM-like reasoning can emerge through dynamic interaction. Here we report that autonomous LLM agents playing extended sessions of Texas Hold'em poker progressively develop sophisticated opponent models, but only