Playing poker with Superman

[Izverg04]

Here is the matchup for today: a heads-up limit hold-em game between a world class player (WCP) and Superman.

WCP is trying his best but he has to contend not only with Superman's excellent knowledge of game theory and poker in particular, but also with another superhero advantage: x-ray vision. Superman can see not only WCP's hole cards but also flop, turn and river cards in advance.

How much do you think WCP will lose? Can he do better than -37.5 BB/100 hands which he achieves by folding every hand?

Let's see if the first comment is to find a better game. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[blackaces13]

Of course he can do better than -37.5.

All he's got to do is play super premium hands like high pairs, AK and the like. What would be interesting is the calling and raising that Superman would be doing when the pro came in raising AA. Now there's some game theory.

[Daxonovitch]

In all honesty what might be a good thought problem is if superman could see through the thickness of one card (trying to see through more causes the cards to combust). WCP holds his cards with one on top of each other. Basically this means that superman can see, A) one of WCP's hole cards (not choose-able), and B) one card of the flop preflop, then turn on the flop, and the river on the turn.

What happens to WCP's EV?

[schroedy]

<<Ducking the question>>

How do you get to -37.5?

I figure Superman wins all of the player's small blinds on a fold every hand strategy, and all of the big blinds too if he is at all alive (if the strategy truly is fold every hand, S just raises the BB every time).

[submariner]

He would only be able to see the burn cards then, right?
Either way, its another good reason for playing online.

[schroedy]

Assuming that S will fold the BB if he is not a (end) winner and re-raise otherwise, WCP raising hands that have positive expectation against "any two" from the small blind is one improvement.

To always fold the small blind = -25 BBs/100 hands.

To always raise the small blind (a bet of 1.5 BBs) wins (including the raise) 3 BBs 25 hands out of 100 (1/2 of the 50 times WCP is the small blind) and loses 2 BBs 25 hands out of 100. The same 25 BBs.

But if the raising is only done with cards that have an edge (and if WCP then reverts to fold any re-raise), WCP should win more often than 50% of raised SB hands.

But so much of this depends on S's strategy that it is hard to analyze. And I think, somewhat misleading as any player left in the game varies his strategy from time to time at least somewhat.

[schroedy]

Oops! Using BB to mean big blind here, not Big Bet. Which also explains my confusion on my other post.

[Izverg04]

See, I am not so sure WCP could even turn a profit with AA. Sure AA wins often but WCP would always win the minimum with it and lose the maximum if he employs a no-fold strategy. And SM will use this to sometimes bluff him off AA.

So -- does WCP turn a profit if he is dealt AA on every hand?

[blackaces13]

[ QUOTE ]
Sure AA wins often but WCP would always win the minimum with it and lose the maximum if he employs a no-fold strategy.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's not true because Superman would have to use game theory to determine how to handle the hands he would win and also bluff a few others based on how often the pro folded to Superman's aggression.

This is why it is interesting from a game theory perspective. If the pro will literally NEVER fold to a raise then Superman should always raise the pro when he would win on either the turn or river. If the guy ALWAYS folded then Superman should wait til the river and raise him everytime. So the pro and Superman would both have to use game theory on one another and since the pro has such a strong hand I think he eeks out a profit.

You can do this with a friend if he is a good enough player. Give him the deck and take AA everytime and tell him he can look at the board cards before they come and play him. I'll bet you beat him. Its interesting though.

[Izverg04]

[ QUOTE ]

You can do this with a friend if he is a good enough player. Give him the deck and take AA everytime and tell him he can look at the board cards before they come and play him. I'll bet you beat him. Its interesting though.

[/ QUOTE ]
Makes for an interesting proposition, doesn't it?