Game theory is essentially the mathematics of strategy. John Von
Neumann, a Hungarian born mathematician, is credited with being
the father of game theory. The sometimes poker player was
inspired by the game to develop this branch of mathematics in
the late 1920s. Game theory, which psychologists refer to as the
theory of social situations, studies decisions made in an
environment where various participants interact. It takes into
account the variety of choices that each person has at each
point in the process and determines optimal behavior when
weighed against the costs and the benefits of each action. The
choices that a participant has in any stage of a game – unless
the game consists of only one player – will be colored by the
actions and behaviors of other participants. The games studied
by game theorists consist of a set of players, a set of moves,
or strategies, and a specification of the payoffs (benefits) for
each combination of strategies. Games fall under different
categories. Poker is considered a