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ECON 159: Game Theory

Lecture 9 - Mixed strategies in theory and tennis << previous session | next session >>

Overview:

We continue our discussion of mixed strategies. First we discuss the payoff to a mixed strategy, pointing out that it must be a weighed average of the payoffs to the pure strategies used in the mix. We note a consequence of this: if a mixed strategy is a best response, then all the pure strategies in the mix must themselves be best responses and hence indifferent. We use this idea to find mixed-strategy Nash equilibria in a game within a game of tennis.

Reading assignment:

Strategies and Games: Theory And Practice. (Dutta): Chapters 8-9

Strategy: An Introduction to Game Theory. (Watson): Chapter 11

Thinking Strategically. (Dixit and Nalebuff): Chapter 7

Class lecture:

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Resources:

Problem Set 4 [PDF]

Handout on Mixed Strategies [PDF]

Blackboard Notes Lecture 9 [PDF]

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