diff --git a/dev/dev-poll.sh b/dev/dev-poll.sh
index 0112ff6..ebf46cd 100755
--- a/dev/dev-poll.sh
+++ b/dev/dev-poll.sh
@@ -369,7 +369,7 @@ if [ "$ORPHAN_COUNT" -gt 0 ]; then
       fi
       exit 0
 
-    elif ! ci_passed "$CI_STATE" && [ "$CI_STATE" != "" ] && [ "$CI_STATE" != "pending" ] && [ "$CI_STATE" != "unknown" ]; then
+    elif ci_failed "$CI_STATE"; then
       SESSION_NAME="dev-${PROJECT_NAME}-${ISSUE_NUM}"
       if tmux has-session -t "$SESSION_NAME" 2>/dev/null; then
         log "issue #${ISSUE_NUM} already has active session ${SESSION_NAME} — skipping"
@@ -477,7 +477,7 @@ for i in $(seq 0 $(($(echo "$OPEN_PRS" | jq 'length') - 1))); do
     nohup "${SCRIPT_DIR}/dev-agent.sh" "$STUCK_ISSUE" >> "$LOGFILE" 2>&1 &
     log "started dev-agent PID $! for stuck PR #${PR_NUM}"
     exit 0
-  elif ! ci_passed "$CI_STATE" && [ "$CI_STATE" != "" ] && [ "$CI_STATE" != "pending" ] && [ "$CI_STATE" != "unknown" ]; then
+  elif ci_failed "$CI_STATE"; then
     SESSION_NAME="dev-${PROJECT_NAME}-${STUCK_ISSUE}"
     if tmux has-session -t "$SESSION_NAME" 2>/dev/null; then
       log "issue #${STUCK_ISSUE} already has active session ${SESSION_NAME} — skipping"
@@ -568,7 +568,7 @@ for i in $(seq 0 $((BACKLOG_COUNT - 1))); do
       READY_ISSUE="$ISSUE_NUM"
       break
 
-    elif ! ci_passed "$CI_STATE" && [ "$CI_STATE" != "" ] && [ "$CI_STATE" != "pending" ] && [ "$CI_STATE" != "unknown" ]; then
+    elif ci_failed "$CI_STATE"; then
       if handle_ci_exhaustion "$EXISTING_PR" "$ISSUE_NUM" "check_only"; then
         # Don't add to WAITING_PRS — escalated PRs should not block new work
         continue
diff --git a/lib/ci-helpers.sh b/lib/ci-helpers.sh
index 024cb49..84c9503 100644
--- a/lib/ci-helpers.sh
+++ b/lib/ci-helpers.sh
@@ -66,6 +66,20 @@ ci_passed() {
   return 1
 }
 
+# ci_failed <state> — check if CI has definitively failed
+#   Returns 0 if state indicates a real failure (not success, not pending,
+#   not unknown, not empty).
+ci_failed() {
+  local state="$1"
+  if [ -z "$state" ] || [ "$state" = "pending" ] || [ "$state" = "unknown" ]; then
+    return 1
+  fi
+  if ci_passed "$state"; then
+    return 1
+  fi
+  return 0
+}
+
 # is_infra_step <step_name> <exit_code> [log_data]
 # Checks whether a single CI step failure matches infra heuristics.
 # Returns 0 (infra) with reason on stdout, or 1 (not infra).