Is there a list of simplified poker games - preferably ones for which there is either a complete solution (ie the optimal strategy for all players is known) or at least some extensive analysis, either theoretical or as a simulation.
Here are some examples of the kind of thing I'm talking about -
AK game
There are two players, and a deck containing a single A and a single K.
- Both players ante $1.
- Player 1 is dealt a card from the deck, and the other card is put aside.
- Player 1 may either bet $1, or fold.
- If player 1 bets, player 2 may either call or fold.
- If player 2 calls, the game goes to a showdown - and player 1 wins if he holds A.
In this game it can be shown the the optimal strategies are for player 1 to bet if he has an A, and bluff 1/3 of the time if he holds K. Player 2 should call 2/3 of player 1's bets.
This game is simplified because (a) there are only two possible hands, (b) there is only one street, (c) only player 1 has any information, (d) there are no reraises, (e) the only options are bet $1 or fold (ie it is a limit game), (f) there are only two players.
AKQ game
There are two players, and the deck contains AKQ.
- Both players ante $1.
- Both players are dealt a card from the deck.
- Player 1 may either bet $1 or fold.
- If player 1 bets, player 2 may either call or fold.
- If player 2 calls, the game goes to a showdown, with A > K > Q.
This seems more complicated since there are more cards and both players have information, but it's not that much more complicated. You can show that player 1 should bet all his aces, bet all his kings (it's a pure value bet - since p2 will always call with aces and fold with queens, your expectation from betting is -0.5 vs -1 from folding) and bluff at least some of his queens. Player 2 should always call with an ace, fold with a queen and call some of the time with a king.
This game illustrates the card removal effect - if player 2 sees he has a Q, he knows that player 1 must hold A or K, so he can always fold (there is no chance of winning a split pot in the case that player 1 also holds Q).
[0,1] games
In this situation the players aren't dealt a poker hand, but instead both receive a number uniformly from the range [0, 1]. The rules might allow reraises, they might not. There are various games of this kind discussed in The Mathematics of Poker by Chen and Ankenman, some of which can be solved exactly.
In some sense these games are slightly more realistic, as there is a range of possible hands. They have no card removal effects, as the player's hands are independent. However, they still only have two players and a single street.
Kuhn poker
This is essentially the same as the AKQ game above, except that player 1 can either check, fold or call, and player 2 is allowed to raise if player 1 checks. This is solved in Kuhn's 1950 paper "Simplified Two-Person Poker".
It demonstrates how the ability to reraise gives some of the advantage back to the second player.
I'm interested in games that are still simple enough to be solved, but are closer to "real" poker. The major thing that these examples leave out is the lack of further streets (more cards to come, which might improve or detract from a player's hand), the number of players and the effect of stack sizes. Can anyone point me in the right direction?