

A Formula That Shows How to Cheat and Triumph at Tournaments - famous
http://nautil.us/blog/a-formula-that-shows-how-to-cheat--triumph-at-tournaments

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dripton
This may be "cheating" in some tournaments where you're expected to fairly
seed your players. But it's considered totally fine in sports like baseball.
In a short playoff series, if you think the other team's starting pitcher is
way better than yours, it's absolutely fine to sacrifice your #4 against the
#1, then start your #1 against their #2, your #2 against their #3, and your #3
against their #4. The cost is that by pushing your best pitchers back a game,
they may end up getting fewer starts.

The fix when it is considered cheating is pretty simple: let an impartial
third party (like a referee) rather than than the coaches seed the players.

