Kuhn poker is a simplified form of poker

Poker

Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...

 developed by Dr. Harold W. Kuhn

Harold W. Kuhn

Harold William Kuhn is an American mathematician who studied game theory. He won the 1980 John von Neumann Theory Prize along with David Gale and Albert W. Tucker...

. It is a zero sum two player game. The deck includes only three playing cards, for example a King, Queen, and Jack. One card is dealt to each player, then the first player must bet or pass, then the second player may bet or pass. If any player chooses to bet the opposing player must bet as well ("call") in order to stay in the round. After both players pass or bet the player with the highest card wins the pot

Pot (poker)

The pot in poker refers to the sum of money that players wager during a single hand or game, according to the betting rules of the variant being played...

. Kuhn demonstrated that there are many game theoretic

Game theory

Game theory is a mathematical method for analyzing calculated circumstances, such as in games, where a person’s success is based upon the choices of others...

 optimal strategies for the first player in this game, but only one for the second player, and that, when played optimally, the first player should expect to lose at a rate of −1/18 per hand.

In more conventional poker terms:

• Each player antes 1
• Each player is dealt one of the three cards, and the third is put aside unseen
• Player One can check or raise 1
  • If Player One checks then Player Two can check or raise 1
    • If Player Two checks there is a showdown
      Showdown (poker)
      In poker, the showdown is a situation when, if more than one player remains after the last betting round, remaining players expose and compare their hands to determine the winner or winners....
      
       for the pot
      Pot (poker)
      The pot in poker refers to the sum of money that players wager during a single hand or game, according to the betting rules of the variant being played...
      
       of 2
    • If Player Two raises then Player One can fold or call
      • If Player One folds then Player Two takes the pot of 3
      • If Player One calls there is a showdown for the pot of 4
  • If Player One raises then Player Two can fold or call
    • If Player Two folds then Player One takes the pot of 3
    • If Player Two calls there is a showdown for the pot of 4

External links

• Effective Short-Term Opponent Exploitation in Simplified Poker