In theory, the optimal strategy for all kinds of games against an intelligent opponent is the Minimax strategy. Minimax assumes a perfectly rational opponent, who also takes optimal actions. However, in practice, most human opponents depart from rationality.
Explanation:
- In game theory, minimax is a decision rule used to minimize the worst-case potential loss; in other words, a player considers all of the best opponent responses to his strategies, and selects the strategy such that the opponent's best strategy gives a payoff as large as possible.
- The pseudocode is given below :
function minimax(node, depth, maximizingPlayer)
if depth = 0 or node is a terminal node
return the utility of the node
if maximizingPlayer
bestValue := ??
for each child of node
v := minimax(child, depth ? 1, FALSE)
bestValue := max(bestValue, v)
return bestValue
else (* minimizing player *)
bestValue := +?
for each child of node
v := minimax(child, depth ? 1, TRUE)
bestValue := min(bestValue, v)
return bestValue
