Math and Politics Hw #5

13.2

a.
i) As shown in the image above, for the first game Row’s prudent strategy is row 1 where
their best guarantee is 0, and Column’s prudent strategy is column 2 where their best
guarantee is 0.
ii) As shown in the image above, for the second game Row’s prudent strategy is row 2
where their best guarantee is 0, and Column’s prudent strategy is column 2 where their
best guarantee is 1.
iii) As shown in the image above, for the third game Row’s prudent strategy is row 2
where their best guarantee is 1, and Column’s prudent strategy is column 1 where their
best guarantee is also 1.
b. As explained above,
i) r=0, c=0, so r=c
ii) r=0, c=1, so r≠c
iii)r=1, c=1, so r=c
c. As shown in the picture, the saddle points can be found as follows:
i) Where r=c which is at row 1 column 2
ii) There is no saddle point, as there is no point at which r=c
ii) Where r=c which is at row 2 column 1
d.
i) For the first matrix, if both players use prudent strategy, there will be no payoff on
either side, the outcome will be 0.
ii) For the second matrix, if both players use prudent strategy, the outcome will be 1, and
Row will benefit.
iii) For the last matrix, if both players use prudent strategy, the outcome will also be 1,
meaning, Row will once again benefit.
13.4

a.
i) For the first game Row’s prudent strategy is row 1 where their best guarantee is 0 and
Column’s prudent strategy is column 2 where their best guarantee is 0. Given that column
2 is Column’s prudent strategy, then Row’s counter-prudent strategy is row 1. Given that
Row’s prudent strategy is row 1, Column’s counter-prudent strategy is column 2.
ii) For the second game Row’s prudent strategy is row 2 where their best guarantee is 0,
and Column’s prudent strategy is column 2 where their best guarantee is 1. Given that
column 2 is Coulmn’s prudent strategy, row 2 is Row’s counter-prudent strategy. Given
that row 2 is Row’s prudent strategy, column 1 is Column’s counter-prudent strategy.
iii) For the third game Row’s prudent strategy is row 2 where their best guarantee is 1
and Column’s prudent strategy is column 1 where their best guarantee is also 1. Given
that column 1 is Column’s prudent strategy, Row’s counter-prudent strategy is row 2.
Given that row 2 is Row’s prudent strategy, Column’s counter-prudent strategy is column
1.
b.
i) If the player plays his or her counter-prudent strategy against the opponent’s prudent
strategy for the first game it’s a saddle point, where Row plays row 1 and Column plays
column 2, and neither loses nor gains.
ii) For the second game if Column counters Row’s prudent strategy then neither will gain
nor lose. If Row counters Column’s prudent strategy then Row gains 3 and Column loses
3 points.
iii) For the third game it is also a saddle point and Row gains 1 while Column loses 1. In
order to counter the other player's prudent strategy they would both play their own
prudent strategies.
c.
i) For game one if Row and Column both play their counter-prudent strategy Row plays
row 1 and Column plays column 2, it is a saddle point, where both players neither gain
nor lose anything (the outcome is zero).
 ii) For game two if both Row and Column play their counter-prudent strategy Row plays
row 2 and Column plays column 1 where neither player gains or loses any points (the
outcome is zero).
iii) For game three if both Row and Column play their counter-prudent strategy Row
plays row 2 and Column plays column 1, where the outcome is one. Column loses one
point and Row gains one point.

13.6

As shown in the diagram above, using the min-max algorithm it is seen that Row’s prudent
strategy is row 1 where their best guarantee is 0 and Column has two prudent strategies column 2
and column three where the best guarantee is 0 for both. Two saddle points can be found. The
first saddle point is at row 1 column 2 where the best guarantee for both Row and Column is 0,
and the second saddle point is at row 1 column 3 where the best guarantee for both Row and
Column is 0.
Flow Diagram:

The image above illustrates the flow diagram for the game in 13.6.
Dominated strategies:

As shown in the image, column 1 would be dominated by both columns 2 and 3, and then rows 2
and 3 would be dominated by row 1. This would leave only row 1 columns 2 and 3, which are
also the saddle points.
13.10

Prudent strategies:
Row: Row’s prudent strategy is row 2
Column: Column’s prudent strategy is column 1

Counter-prudent strategies:]
Row: Row’s counter-prudent strategy is row 1
Column: Column’s counter-prudent strategy is still column 1

Saddle Point:

As illustrated by the flow diagram above, there is no saddle point for this matrix.

Double Prudent:
If both Row and Column play their prudent strategies, the result is row 2 column 1. This means
the outcome will be -3 and column wins.

If one player plays a prudent strategy and the other player counters it:
- If Column plays their prudent strategy and Row plays their counter-prudent strategy the
result is row 1 column 1. This means the outcome is 2 and Row wins.
- If Row plays their prudent strategy and Column plays their counter prudent strategy the
result is row 2 column 1. This means the outcome is -3 and Column wins.