1 / 28

Obtaining a fair arbitration outcome

This research examines the application of the Kelly Criterion in legal disputes to optimize bankroll growth and fair arbitration outcomes. Using mathematical modeling and risk assessment, the study explores strategic betting proportions and decision-making processes in legal scenarios. It investigates the interplay between video poker strategies and considerations in lawsuits, providing insights for individuals navigating legal disputes. The analysis offers guidance on the optimal approach to maximize long-term financial outcomes in arbitration scenarios, enhancing the understanding of risk management in legal contexts.

lmcdonald
Download Presentation

Obtaining a fair arbitration outcome

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Obtaining a fair arbitration outcome Tristan Barnett Adjunct Research Fellow University of South Australia

  2. Video Poker Suppose the game is favorable to the player. How much to bet on each trial to maximize the long-term growth of the bankroll? Demonstration Video Poker

  3. Lawsuits Display work agreement The victim was under the impression that he/she was an employee of the company and hence superannuation and holiday pay would apply. When issues were brought up about the type of agreement in 2008, the company stated that he/she was an independent contractor. The company had not issued any tax forms and no tax was taken out.

  4. Video Poker ↔ Lawsuits Is there a connection between the amount to bet in video poker and whether to file a lawsuit over a work agreement dispute? Barnett T (2010), Applying the Kelly Criterion to Lawsuits. Law, Probability & Risk. http://lpr.oxfordjournals.org/ Barnett T (2011), Obtaining a fair arbitration outcome. To appear in Law, Probability & Risk.

  5. Analysis of Casino Games A casino game can be defined as follows: There is an initial cost C to play the game. Each trial results in an outcome Oi, where each outcome occurs with profit xi and probability pi. The condition ∑ pi=1 must be satisfied. The percent house margin (%HM) is then -∑Ei/C. The total return is 1+∑Ei/C.

  6. Classical ‘Kelly’ formula Consider a game with two possible outcomes: win or lose. Suppose the player profits k units for every unit wager. Further, suppose that on each trial the win probability p is constant with p+q=1. If kp-q>0, so the game is advantageous to the player, then the optimal fraction of the current capital to be wagered is given by b=(kp-q)/k. b = [(2)(0.35)-0.65] / 2 = 2.5%

  7. ‘Kelly’ with Multiple Payouts Theorem 1: Consider a game with m possible discrete finite mixed outcomes. Suppose the profit for outcome i is ki with probability pi for 1 ≤ i ≤ m , where at least one outcome is negative and at least one outcome is positive. Then if a winning strategy exists, and the maximum growth of the bank is attained when the proportion of the bank bet at each turn, b, is the smallest positive root of

  8. ‘Kelly’ with Multiple Payouts Proof: Assume a constant proportion b of the bank is bet, with m discrete finite mixed outcomes. Let B(1) / B(0) = 1+ ki b withprobability pi for i = 1 to m, where B(t) represents the player’s bank at time t.. Assume the player wishes to maximize g(b) = E[log(B(1) / B(0)) ]. Without loss of generality let k1 be the maximum possible loss. In the interval 0< b <-1/k1 1 + ki b > 0 since ki ≥ k1 for i = 1 to m, so the logarithm of each term is real.

  9. ‘Kelly’ with Multiple Payouts (a) g(0) = 0, (b) g′(0) > 0 follows directly from the requirement for a winning strategy, and (c) g′′(b) < 0 for 0<b<-1/k1 (where k1 is the MPL)so the first derivate has at most one zero in this interval. Hence whenever there is a winning strategy, the force of growth has a unique maximum given by the root of b b* -1/k1 g(b)

  10. Video Poker

  11. Video Poker The solver function in Excel is used to calculate this value as b*=0.030679%. Example: With a $10,000 bankroll, the Kelly Criterion suggests that the player should initially bet $3.07 (likely to be round down to $3).

  12. Video Poker The Kelly Criterion can still be applied for a fixed bet by determining the minimum bankroll requirements such that the player is not over betting. If A represents the fixed amount to bet on each trial and B represents the player’s current bankroll, then a player would not be over betting in the game only if B ≥ A / b* For example, if the “All American Poker” game from Table 3 was fixed at a betting amount of $2.50 for each trial, then a player would not be over betting in the game if B ≥ 2.5 / 0.030679% = $8,148.90. b b* -1/k1 g(b)

  13. “Kelly” revolutions Edward Thorp – Beat the Dealer (1962) Edward Thorp – Beat the Market Finding the Edge (2000): Turned over 80 billion on the stock market MIT blackjack syndicate 21 “the movie” (2008)

  14. “Kelly” revolutions

  15. Litigation The victim is considering filing a lawsuit against the injurer in an attempt to obtain the total disputed amount of $13,000. There are risks involved in going to court if unsuccessful. The victim’s chances of recovering the money would likely increase with legal representation. However, there are additional legal costs associated with this likely increase in success. It is therefore important to analyze both situations where the victim is representing themselves in court and when a lawyer is acting on the victim’s behalf.

  16. Litigation

  17. Litigation The total legal costs are given by the maximum possible loss (MPL) in the representation of the game. Given the well-defined mathematics of the Kelly criterion, the victim’s decision as to whether to file a lawsuit could be based on B ≥ A / b*. Using Solver in Excel, b*=0.722. Therefore the victim may consider filing a lawsuit against the injurer if their bankroll is greater than or equal to 1800/0.722 = $2,493. In general the victim may consider filing a lawsuit against the injurer if their bankroll is greater than or equal to MPL/b*.

  18. Litigation Using Solver in Excel, b*=0.647. Therefore the victim may consider filing a lawsuit against the injurer if their bankroll is greater than or equal to 300/0.647 = $464. It is important to understand the differences in the games given by Tables 5 and 6, and often situations arise where obtaining higher expected costs have more associated risks involved.

  19. Negotiation How much should the victim be willing to accept in an out-of-court settlement? Baird D., Gertner R. and Picker R. (1994), Game Theory and the Law. Expected payout for injurer = $3,550 Therefore an out-of-court settlement could be $3,550 + Legal Costs However, the victim has a 30% chance of ending up with a loss in court even though the expected payout is positive. Therefore, the victim may be risk-averse and be willing to accept less than the expected payout in an out-of-court settlement.

  20. Game Theory The mathematical foundations of game theory as outlined in Von Neumann and Morgenstern (1944) is built around maximizing expectations. This is shown in a game theory axiom which states that numbers in the game matrix must be cardinal utilities and can be transformed by any positive linear function f(x)=ax+b, a>0 without changing the information they convey. f(x) = x+4 P1: 0.2A,0.8B, Possible -3 payout P1: A=0, B=1, Payout at least 2 P1: 0.2A,0.8B, At least 1 payout P1: A=0, B=1, Payout at least 6

  21. Game Theory

  22. Game Theory Definition 1: Consider a 2 x 2 zero-sum game where at least one of the payouts is positive and at least one of the payouts is negative. The value v of the game under the Minimax Theorem is either positive, negative or zero. Risk-averse strategies can be obtained when v is positive such that the expected payout for P1 is positive regardless of the strategies used by P2, and the probability of obtaining the maximum possible loss (MPL) for P1 in the game is reduced when compared to the strategies under the Minimax Theorem. Using Definition 1, the risk-averse solution for P1 to Game 3 is obtained as P1: 1/3 < A < 4/9, 5/9 < B < 2/3. These calculations were obtained by noting that P1 always obtains an expected positive payout regardless of the strategies used by P2.

  23. Game Theory The Kelly Criterion is applied to Game 3 to demonstrate why the favourable player may consider risk-averse strategies. The value of b with both P1 and P2 using Minimax strategies is obtained as 0.222. Therefore P1 (the favourable player) should wager an amount of 0.222 * current bankroll to maximize the long term growth of the bank. Since the amount that P1 can bet is fixed at 1 unit, the decision on whether to apply Minimax strategies or risk-averse strategies can depend on the size of the bankroll. Using Solver in Excel, Table 5 shows that P1 would need a bankroll of at least 1/0.2217=4.51 units to avoid over betting by using Minimax strategies. By using risk-averse strategies, P1’s bankroll can be less than 4.51 as given in Table 5.

  24. Game Theory Given the Kelly Criterion maximizes the long-term growth of the bank, this would appear to be a reasonable method in a favourable gambling context, and shows that the averaged expected amount of profit is less than the amount given by fixed betting on each trial. Based on this reasoning an arbitration value could be determined by the averaged expected profit as given under the Kelly Criterion. For Game 3 this value is given as 0.1111 * 0.2271 = 0.0246. Arbitration (Minimax) = 0.1111 Arbitration (Kelly) = 0.0246

  25. Negotiation The total expected bank = total expected profit x b*. The total expected bank could be used as the minimum amount that the victim should be willing to accept for an out-of-court settlement, and given as $2,563 from Table 7. Note that this amount is less than the total expected profit of $3,550.

  26. Arbitration Baird D., Gertner R. and Picker R. (1994), Game Theory and the Law. Arbitration value = Total Expected Profit + Legal costs = $3,550 + Legal Costs Arbitration value = Total Expected Bank using Kelly Criterion + Legal costs = $2,563 + Legal Costs A general arbitration formula V is given as: V = E * b + C where: E is the expected payout b is the Kelly betting fraction C is 50% of the total legal costs between the two parties

  27. Conclusions • The Kelly Criterion (as typically used in favourable casino games) is applied to dispute resolution to determine: • whether it is beneficial to file a lawsuit given there are risks involved if unsuccessful in court • whether it is beneficial to have legal representation in court to obtain a higher expected payout or minimize risk through legal costs by representing yourself in court • how much to accept in an out-of-court settlement and has revealed that the party attempting to recover payment should accept an amount less than expectation • a fair arbitration value between the two parties in dispute

  28. Further Work • Willborn S (2005) A lawyer’s view of the statistical expert. Law, Probability and Risk 4, 25-31 • Is it worth paying for expert witnesses? • How much should lawyers be charging?

More Related