Kuhnpoker
Kuhnpoker is a poker variant that has been reduced to a minimum and was developed by Harold W. Kuhn for the purpose of game theory studies. It is a zero-sum game for 2 players. The deck of cards consists of only 3 playing cards , for example a king , a queen and a jack . Both players put an ante into the pot . After both players have received a card, they can either fold or bet (another ante). The first player has the option, after he has passed and player 2 has bet, to now also bet. If both players choose the same option, there is a showdown and the highest card wins. If one of the players has passed but the other has bet, the latter wins. With this game, Kuhn demonstrates that it is impossible for player 1, despite an optimal strategy, not to suffer ruin in the long run if player 2 also plays perfectly. A profit is only possible for player 1 if player 2 deviates from the optimal strategy. His exact loss is 1/18 ante per hand.
The insurmountable advantage of player 2 is based on his information advantage over player 1, who always has to act first and thus either has to pay player 2 too often with marginal hands or too often lets him see the showdown for free with marginal hands.
Effects
Kuhn's studies first made the advantage of the position in poker known to a wider public. Especially in no-limit games, the effects are decisive. Doyle Brunson once claimed that if he had position on the other players in every hand he could beat any game without looking at his cards.
Disregarding or ignoring the positional advantage or disadvantage is one of the most costly beginner mistakes in poker.
credentials
- HW Kuhn, Simplified Two-Person Poker ; in HW Kuhn and AW Tucker (editors), Contributions to the Theory of Games , volume 1, pages 97–103, Princeton University Press, 1950.
Left
- Scientific treatise on Kuhnpoker in English (PDF file; 152 kB)