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Learning game theory is like getting a cheat code for understanding how people and organizations make decisions—especially in competitive, strategic, or uncertain situations.

How to use this public page: either read as is or make your own copy with the duplicate button top right

Generated in ChatGPT // Prompted by Rae Lambert, co-founder of River

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Key Points

• Game theory reveals the logic behind strategic decision-making in competitive situations
• Core concepts include Nash Equilibrium, Prisoner's Dilemma, and strategies (dominant, mixed)
• Understanding payoffs and player interactions helps predict outcomes
• Games can be zero-sum (winners and losers) or non-zero-sum (mutual benefit possible)
• Commitment, credibility, and trust significantly impact game outcomes
• Applications span economics, business strategy, politics, and everyday decisions

Table of Contents

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Why you should learn Game Theory

Anyone seen the show American Primeval on Netflix? A woman and her son are headed west with a bounty on their head.

As they seek a guide to help them cross brutal terrain, a bounty hunter closes in. Some locals ask the bounty price. They know where to find the target and will share intel for half of the bounty. Bounty Hunter shows the bounty slip and is immediately killed. Fucking idiot.

Once they have the bounty slip, they don’t need him, and certainly don’t need to split the money. Why wouldn’t he see that coming? Could just be bad writing, or the character just does not understand game theory.

I’ve noticed my husband & co-founder Ryan is much more intuitive with game theory. He quickly thinks several steps ahead from the point of view of our counterparts, which makes him an excellent strategist. It’s come in handy during fundraising for River, building a startup in a heated competitive market, negotiating with juicy stakeholders, and just life in general.