People have hobbies so it comes as no surprise when we find out that for some, their main hobby is gambling. Nowadays, gambling is often referred to as iGaming, where gaming stands for games of chance, rather than video games. Such online entertainment has become very popular lately, with multiple online bookmakers and offers like Lucky pants bingo promo code.
Since gambling, betting, and games of chance have become that popular, it is only right to explore game theory, an aptly named study that has to do with much more than just gambling.
What Is Game Theory?
Game theory is a study of mathematical models of interactions between rational thinking beings. A very famous example of game theory is the prisoner’s dilemma, where two people are told that they can stay silent and get a minimum sentence, rely on the other to not betray them whilst they betray the other, or both betray one another. This is just the basic model of the prisoner’s dilemma, which has been modified and studied extensively in the past sixty years.
Game theory has to do with more than just games of chance, but these were the first origins of game theory, back in the 16th century. The first person to write about them was Gerolamo Cardano, in his book, Books On Games of Chance. Game theory was not a field until the 20th century, however. John von Neumann published a book in 1928, titled On the Theory of Games and Strategy.
Types of Games
Game theory has its own types of games, which then have their own models. The prisoner’s dilemma belongs to a symmetric type. The symmetric/asymmetric game models are different in regards to the payoff. In symmetric games, both players get the same payoff, while in asymmetric, that might not be the case.
Cooperative and non-cooperative games are different because the players have to be cooperative, mostly due to a written agreement. On the other hand, in non-cooperative games, players have to self-enforce the rules.
Simultaneous and sequential games are also interesting because in one case, the actions are done simultaneously, without players having any knowledge of the other player’s actions. Sequential games are different because here a player has some knowledge of the other player’s actions.
Zero-sum and non-zero-sum games are interesting because, in zero-sum games, players get the same outcome, one a positive, the other a negative. In non-zero-sum games, one’s gain’s will not symmetrically reflect another’s losses or vice versa.
Gambling and betting belong to constant-sum games.
Can Game Theory Help a Punter?
Game theory relies on mathematics and is used in both theory and practice in many different fields and industries. For the punters and gamblers, game theory offers nothing but math. The math is sound, and one should rely on numbers, but to use it to construct a game, even one of poker, is impossible because it has too many overlapping choices for even a single game.
Game theory, while a great science, cannot help the aspiring punter.