diff --git a/crates/gateway/src/v1/openrouter.rs b/crates/gateway/src/v1/openrouter.rs
index bebe575..50ea3c9 100644
--- a/crates/gateway/src/v1/openrouter.rs
+++ b/crates/gateway/src/v1/openrouter.rs
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ pub async fn chat(
     // form so OpenRouter sees the raw model id (e.g. "openai/gpt-oss-120b:free").
     let model = req.model.strip_prefix("openrouter/").unwrap_or(&req.model).to_string();
 
-    let body = ORChatBody {
+    let mut body = ORChatBody {
         model: model.clone(),
         // Pass content through verbatim — preserves OpenAI's multimodal
         // content-parts shape (`[{type:"text",text:"..."}, ...]`) so the
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ pub async fn chat(
             role: m.role.clone(),
             content: m.content.clone(),
         }).collect(),
-        max_tokens: req.max_tokens.unwrap_or(800),
+        max_tokens: Some(req.max_tokens.unwrap_or(800)),
         temperature: req.temperature.unwrap_or(0.3),
         stream: false,
     };
@@ -77,18 +77,61 @@ pub async fn chat(
         .map_err(|e| format!("build client: {e}"))?;
 
     let t0 = std::time::Instant::now();
-    let resp = client
-        .post(format!("{}/chat/completions", OR_BASE_URL))
-        .bearer_auth(key)
-        // OpenRouter recommends Referer + Title for attribution; absent
-        // headers do not fail the call but help us see our traffic in
-        // their dashboard.
-        .header("HTTP-Referer", "https://vcp.devop.live")
-        .header("X-Title", "Lakehouse Scrum")
-        .json(&body)
-        .send()
-        .await
-        .map_err(|e| format!("openrouter.ai unreachable: {e}"))?;
+    let send = |client: reqwest::Client, key: String, body_json: serde_json::Value| async move {
+        client
+            .post(format!("{}/chat/completions", OR_BASE_URL))
+            .bearer_auth(key)
+            // OpenRouter recommends Referer + Title for attribution; absent
+            // headers do not fail the call but help us see our traffic in
+            // their dashboard.
+            .header("HTTP-Referer", "https://vcp.devop.live")
+            .header("X-Title", "Lakehouse Scrum")
+            .json(&body_json)
+            .send()
+            .await
+            .map_err(|e| format!("openrouter.ai unreachable: {e}"))
+    };
+    let mut resp = send(
+        client.clone(),
+        key.to_string(),
+        serde_json::to_value(&body).map_err(|e| format!("serialize body: {e}"))?,
+    )
+    .await?;
+
+    // OpenRouter's affordability precheck reserves max_tokens × price against
+    // the account balance. Measured 2026-08-28: stripping the cap makes it
+    // WORSE (the precheck then prices the model's own maximum, e.g. 65536) —
+    // so a low-balance 402 surfaces verbatim and the fix is funding the
+    // account the key belongs to, not request-shape games. One clamp retry:
+    // when the error names an affordable budget ≥256 tokens, retry once at
+    // that budget so small answers still get through on a thin balance.
+    if resp.status() == reqwest::StatusCode::PAYMENT_REQUIRED && body.max_tokens.is_some() {
+        let err_body = resp.text().await.unwrap_or_else(|_| "?".into());
+        let afford = err_body
+            .split("can only afford ")
+            .nth(1)
+            .and_then(|s| s.split(|c: char| !c.is_ascii_digit()).next())
+            .and_then(|n| n.parse::<u32>().ok());
+        match afford {
+            Some(n) if n >= 256 => {
+                tracing::warn!(
+                    target: "v1.chat",
+                    provider = "openrouter",
+                    model = %model,
+                    afford = n,
+                    "402 affordability precheck — clamping max_tokens to the stated budget",
+                );
+                body.max_tokens = Some(n);
+                resp = send(
+                    client.clone(),
+                    key.to_string(),
+                    serde_json::to_value(&body).map_err(|e| format!("serialize body: {e}"))?,
+                )
+                .await?;
+            }
+            _ => return Err(format!("openrouter.ai 402 Payment Required: {}", err_body)),
+        }
+    }
 
     let status = resp.status();
     if !status.is_success() {
@@ -160,7 +203,8 @@ pub async fn chat(
 struct ORChatBody {
     model: String,
     messages: Vec<ORMessage>,
-    max_tokens: u32,
+    #[serde(skip_serializing_if = "Option::is_none")]
+    max_tokens: Option<u32>,
     temperature: f64,
     stream: bool,
 }
@@ -232,7 +276,7 @@ mod tests {
             messages: vec![
                 ORMessage { role: "user".into(), content: "review this".into() },
             ],
-            max_tokens: 800,
+            max_tokens: Some(800),
             temperature: 0.3,
             stream: false,
         };