Fall 2002 

Math 486, Game Theory

MFW 8-8:50 am,         322 Sacket
office hours:   MWF 9:05-11:00  am.   205 MB
 outlines & grading
  integrity |
 textbook: Introduction to Game Theory by P.Morris, Springer Verlag
100% = 298 pts on Dec. 13.
Grades: F, D, D, C, B-, B-,  B+, A, A, A, A, A, A. 13 students.

Homework due Friday September 6, 8:00 am.
Solve Nim with intitial position 10, 100 and last move loosing. 25 pts.
Hint: Consider smaller initial positions.
To solve this game means finding a winning strategy for the first or second player.
So it should be clearly indicated which player wins and how.

Homework, 30 pts. due W, Sept.11.

A correction to Roulette solution: If you guess a number, your payoff is $35, not $36.
So the value of game is  (1/38)$35+(37/38)(-$1)=-$1/19.  For Roulette without 00,
the value is  (1/37)$35+(36/37)(-$1)=-$1/37.
Betting total of $1 on any combination of numbers gives the same value.

Sept 25. W. midterm.       min =  14, average = 30, max = 42.

midterm 2 pictures.

midterm 3 November 20.  pictures. |
homework, 20 pts, due F November 15.
Find the Shapley values for the game given by the characteristic function  v :
coalition   A  B  C  D       AB  AC  AD  BC  BD  CD
v           1  2  3  4        5   6   7   8   9  10
---------------------------------------------------
coalition   ABC   ACD   ABD  BCD     ABCD
v             21   22    23   24       40

Dec 2. poker .
Dec 4. hnwrk 20 pts, due Dec 6: compute the probabilities of a pair and 4 of a kind in poker.
See  poker  for solution. Several students included two pairs (but not 3 of a kind) in their answers
for probability of a pair.

Repeated Prisoner's Dilemma graded.
Dec 9. We discussed, among other things, hex. See the link to
Playing the Numbers: An Introduction to Game Theory  by Ben Davis
for a proof that the first player wins:, his webpage   .