Single-Suit Two-Person Card Play III. The Misère Game
J. Kahn, J. C. Lagarias, Hans S. Witsenhausen · SIAM Journal on Discrete Mathematics · 1989
Misère End Play is a two-person constant sum game with perfect information. The game uses a deck of cards that consists of a single totally ordered suit of $2n$ cards. To begin play, the deck is divided into two hands of n cards each, held by players Left and Right, with one player designated as having the lead. The player on lead plays one of his cards, and the other player, after seeing it, plays one of his cards. The player with the higher card wins a “trick” and obtains the lead. The cards in the trick are removed and play continues until all cards are played. In Misère End Play each player's goal is to take as few tricks as possible. Misère End Play is shown to have a simple optimal strategy.