The Power of Playing People
I just tried to go long, but there was no follow-through—so adapt and get out.
In both psychology and game theory: human opponents create interactive uncertainty, which drives both challenge and meaning.
Human Game’s
Observe the skillset and movement of other human opponents in a first-person shooter—compared to an NPC—and it’s a completely different world.
This same principle explains why elite traders outperform markets—not by following scripts, but by adapting faster to other traders in real time.
Game Theory: Strategy Isn’t Fixed—It’s Reactive
In game theory, a static opponent (like an NPC) has a known or limited decision tree.
Once you understand the pattern, the challenge evaporates.
But in strategic games with multiple agents, every action shifts the environment.
Your opponent is adjusting to you as much as you’re adjusting to them.
This mirrors the foundational concept of Nash Equilibrium—where each player’s optimal strategy depends on the strategy of the other.
In solo play, you optimize once.
In multiplayer?
You optimize continuously.
In short: Multiplayer games are dynamic games of strategy.
Solo games are puzzles.
Engagement Through Mutual Adaptation
Humans introduce complex feedback loops. A player changes strategy mid-match? You notice.
You adjust.
They notice.
Now you’re both not just playing the game—you’re playing each other.
In trading, this is identical to observing real-time price action: a large buy order hits the tape. You adjust your strategy. But so does everyone else watching the same tape. You’re not reacting to the “market.”
You’re reacting to how npcs and others react to the market.
It’s multiplayer all the way down.
We aren’t just forecasting price—we are modeling other participants’ behavior. Identifying who’s being trapped, who’s adjusting, and how fast the “players” are rotating from one move to another.
It’s the ultimate multiplayer engagement.
Why This Outperforms in Both Games and Markets
Multiplayer game loops and market strategy loops share the same root advantage: they scale with skill. The better you get, the more nuanced your reads become. The deeper your understanding of the meta-game, the more you outperform.
An NPC doesn’t care how you position.
But the market does.
And it will fight back.