Practical Poker Math

Virginia in 1928, Nash became well known for a 28-page work
he did at age 21 which defined his “Nash Equilibrium” concerning
strategic behavior in non-cooperative games. Poker
players are most drawn to the story that while he was in a bar
near Princeton and being goaded into approaching an attractive
blond-haired lady, he suddenly shouted and then ran off to
complete his work on “The Mathematics of Competition”
which is one basis of Game Theory today.
Game Theory and Poker
More than the study and application of a set of principles,
Game Theory in poker is primarily about two goals:
1. The study and understanding of the opposition
2. The development of an efficient strategy to dominate
the competition.
To be of maximum value, this study and understanding must
be translated into effective action, and these actions must be
the antithesis of everything a poker opponent thinks or does.
The difference between an antithesis and a correct response
defines the utility of Game Theory in poker. An opponent
makes an obvious bluff. You are certain that your hand will
not even beat the bluff. A correct response in poker is to fold
your hand when you know you are beat. The antithesis is to
raise or re-raise and make your opponent fold his.
This is an example of a move. In an environment of everincreasing
odds and stakes such as a poker tournament,
good hands just don’t come along often enough for a player
to make it on the strength of his hand alone. A winning
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Game Theory and Poker