Practical Poker Math

3. Given a careful study of the opposition, what is the
best price to achieve the best result without risking
more chips than absolutely necessary.
Conventional poker wisdom has long held that a primary
obligation of the big stack is to knock out the small stacks. A
game theorist would say that the primary obligation of the
big stack is to not pump up the small stacks. The increasing
stakes and other, more desperate players will eliminate most
of the short stacks — which will leave the big stacks to carefully
pick their spots and eliminate anyone left.
Strategy
The value of applying Game Theory principles in any arena
is primarily to help a player develop an efficient strategy that
dominates the competition.
From a practical perspective, Game Theory is about strategic
development. As no effective strategy is likely to be developed
in a vacuum, its formation must be the result of a close
study of not only the opposition but also past interactions.
As more players play more poker, many of them increase
their skills, and the result is that the game becomes ever
tougher to beat.
The players who have dominated the game in the past and
the players who will do so in the future are the few who can
convert the common knowledge available to every player at
the table into more complete knowledge.
Assuming that all greatly successful players are possessed of
advanced knowledge of or instinct for odds and strategy, the
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Game Theory and Poker