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Game Theory Through Football

Football as a contest of choices: penalties, tactics and the rules themselves, and what the best decision looks like when the other side is thinking too.

1 part Intermediate

Start at part 1

Where should he put it? Penalties and the Nash equilibrium

A penalty taker and a goalkeeper choose at almost the same moment, and any habit gets punished. Game theory says both should mix it up, and says exactly how often. The professionals turn out to do almost exactly that.

Intermediate Part 1