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cousin_it comments on [LINK] Counterfactual Strategies - Less Wrong Discussion

2 Post author: Strilanc 17 June 2014 07:29PM

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Comment author: cousin_it 18 June 2014 09:56:01AM *  2 points [-]

My game theory textbook had a simple explanation of this in terms of poker. If you play aggressively on strong hands, but don't bluff on weak hands, then everyone will fold whenever you try to play aggressively, and you never win any money. The Nash equlibrium recommends that you bluff a lot, so your behavior on strong and weak hands is indistinguishable.

Comment author: Strilanc 18 June 2014 01:47:19PM *  2 points [-]

Yes, the advantage comes from being hard to predict. I just wanted to find a game where the information denial benefits were counterfactual (unlike poker).

(Note that the goal is not perfect indistinguishability. If it was, then you could play optimally by just flipping a coin when deciding to bet or call.)

Comment author: cousin_it 15 July 2014 06:53:12AM *  0 points [-]

If I recall correctly, the recommendation was to fold on average hands, and play aggressively on strong and weak hands. You don't need to flip a coin, because your cards can already be viewed as a kind of coin that your opponent can't see.