The paper Regret Minimization in Games with Incomplete Information introduces counterfactual regret and how minimizing counterfactual regret through self-play can be used to reach Nash equilibrium. The algorithm is called Counterfactual Regret Minimization (CFR).
The paper Monte Carlo Sampling for Regret Minimization in Extensive Games introduces Monte Carlo Counterfactual Regret Minimization (MCCFR), where we sample from the game tree and estimate the regrets.
We tried to keep our Python implementation easy-to-understand like a tutorial. We run it on a very simple imperfect information game called Kuhn poker.
We implement Monte Carlo Counterfactual Regret Minimization (MCCFR) with chance sampling (CS). It iteratively, explores part of the game tree by trying all player actions, but sampling chance events. Chance events are things like dealing cards; they are kept sampled once per iteration. Then it calculates, for each action, the regret of following the current strategy instead of taking that action. Then it updates the strategy based on these regrets for the next iteration, using regret matching. Finally, it computes the average of the strategies throughout the iterations, which is very close to the Nash equilibrium if we ran enough iterations.
We will first introduce the mathematical notation and theory.
A player is denoted by $i \in N$, where $N$ is the set of players.
History $h \in H$ is a sequence of actions including chance events, and $H$ is the set of all histories.
$Z \subseteq H$ is the set of terminal histories (game over).
Action $a$, $A(h) = {a: (h, a) \in H}$ where $h \in H$ is a non-terminal history.
Information set $I_i \in \mathcal{I}_i$ for player $i$ is similar to a history $h \in H$ but only contains the actions visible to player $i$. That is, the history $h$ will contain actions/events such as cards dealt to the opposing player while $I_i$ will not have them.
$\mathcal{I}_i$ is known as the information partition of player $i$.
$h \in I$ is the set of all histories that belong to a given information set; i.e. all those histories look the same in the eye of the player.
Strategy of player $i$, $\sigma_i \in \Sigma_i$ is a distribution over actions $A(I_i)$, where $\Sigma_i$ is the set of all strategies for player $i$. Strategy on $t$-th iteration is denoted by $\sigma^t_i$.
Strategy is defined as a probability for taking an action $a$ in for a given information set $I$,
$\sigma$ is the strategy profile which consists of strategies of all players $\sigma_1, \sigma_2, \ldots$
$\sigma_{-i}$ is strategies of all players except $\sigma_i$
$\pi^\sigma(h)$ is the probability of reaching the history $h$ with strategy profile $\sigma$. $\pi^\sigma(h)_{-i}$ is the probability of reaching $h$ without player $i$’s contribution; i.e. player $i$ took the actions to follow $h$ with a probability of $1$.
$\pi^\sigma(h)_{i}$ is the probability of reaching $h$ with only player $i$’s contribution. That is,
Probability of reaching a information set $I$ is,
The terminal utility is the utility (or pay off) of a player $i$ for a terminal history $h$.
where $h \in Z$
$u_i(\sigma)$ is the expected utility (payoff) for player $i$ with strategy profile $\sigma$.
Nash equilibrium is a state where none of the players can increase their expected utility (or payoff) by changing their strategy alone.
For two players, Nash equilibrium is a strategy profile where
$\epsilon$-Nash equilibrium is,
Regret is the utility (or pay off) that the player didn’t get because she didn’t follow the optimal strategy or took the best action.
Average overall regret for Player $i$ is the average regret of not following the optimal strategy in all $T$ rounds of iterations.
where $\sigma^t$ is the strategy profile of all players in iteration $t$, and
is the strategy profile $\sigma^t$ with player $i$’s strategy replaced with $\sigma^*_i$.
The average strategy is the average of strategies followed in each round, for all $I \in \mathcal{I}, a \in A(I)$
That is the mean regret of not playing with the optimal strategy.
If $R^T_i < \epsilon$ for all players then $\bar{\sigma}^T_i(I)(a)$ is a $2\epsilon$-Nash equilibrium.
Since $u_1 = -u_2$ because it’s a zero-sum game, we can add $R^T_1$ and $R^T_i$ and the second term will cancel out.
The average of utilities over a set of strategies is equal to the utility of the average strategy.
Therefore,
From the definition of $\max$,
Then,
This is $2\epsilon$-Nash equilibrium. You can similarly prove for games with more than 2 players.
So we need to minimize $R^T_i$ to get close to a Nash equilibrium.
Counterfactual value $\color{pink}{v_i(\sigma, I)}$ is the expected utility for player $i$ if if player $i$ tried to reach $I$ (took the actions leading to $I$ with a probability of $1$).
where $Z_I$ is the set of terminal histories reachable from $I$, and $z[I]$ is the prefix of $z$ up to $I$. $\pi^\sigma(z[I], z)$ is the probability of reaching z from $z[I]$.
Immediate counterfactual regret is,
where
where $\sigma |_{I \rightarrow a}$ is the strategy profile $\sigma$ with the modification of always taking action $a$ at information set $I$.
The paper proves that (Theorem 3),
where
The strategy is calculated using regret matching.
The regret for each information set and action pair $\color{orange}{R^T_i(I, a)}$ is maintained,
and the strategy is calculated with regret matching,
where $\color{orange}{R^{T,+}_i(I, a)} = \max \Big(\color{orange}{R^T_i(I, a)}, 0 \Big)$
The paper The paper Regret Minimization in Games with Incomplete Information proves that if the strategy is selected according to above equation $R^T_i$ gets smaller proportionate to $\frac{1}{\sqrt T}$, and therefore reaches $\epsilon$-Nash equilibrium.
Computing $\color{coral}{r^t_i(I, a)}$ requires expanding the full game tree on each iteration.
The paper Monte Carlo Sampling for Regret Minimization in Extensive Games shows we can sample from the game tree and estimate the regrets.
$\mathcal{Q} = {Q_1, \ldots, Q_r}$ is a set of subsets of $Z$ ($Q_j \subseteq Z$) where we look at only a single block $Q_j$ in an iteration. Union of all subsets spans $Z$ ($Q_1 \cap \ldots \cap Q_r = Z$). $q_j$ is the probability of picking block $Q_j$.
$q(z)$ is the probability of picking $z$ in current iteration; i.e. $q(z) = \sum_{j:z \in Q_j} q_j$ - the sum of $q_j$ where $z \in Q_j$.
Then we get sampled counterfactual value fro block $j$,
The paper shows that
with a simple proof.
Therefore we can sample a part of the game tree and calculate the regrets. We calculate an estimate of regrets
And use that to update $\color{orange}{R^T_i(I, a)}$ and calculate the strategy $\color{lightgreen}{\sigma_i^{T+1}(I)(a)}$ on each iteration. Finally, we calculate the overall average strategy $\color{cyan}{\bar{\sigma}^T_i(I)(a)}$.
Here is a Kuhn Poker implementation to try CFR on Kuhn Poker.
Let’s dive into the code!
320from typing import NewType, Dict, List, Callable, cast
321
322from labml import monit, tracker, logger, experiment
323from labml.configs import BaseConfigs, option
A player $i \in N$ where $N$ is the set of players
326Player = NewType('Player', int)
328Action = NewType('Action', str)
History $h \in H$ is a sequence of actions including chance events, and $H$ is the set of all histories.
This class should be extended with game specific logic.
331class History:
Whether it’s a terminal history; i.e. game over. $h \in Z$
342 def is_terminal(self):
347 raise NotImplementedError()
349 def terminal_utility(self, i: Player) -> float:
355 raise NotImplementedError()
Get current player, denoted by $P(h)$, where $P$ is known as Player function.
If $P(h) = c$ it means that current event is a chance $c$ event. Something like dealing cards, or opening common cards in poker.
357 def player(self) -> Player:
364 raise NotImplementedError()
Whether the next step is a chance step; something like dealing a new card. $P(h) = c$
366 def is_chance(self) -> bool:
371 raise NotImplementedError()
Sample a chance when $P(h) = c$.
373 def sample_chance(self) -> Action:
377 raise NotImplementedError()
Add an action to the history.
379 def __add__(self, action: Action):
383 raise NotImplementedError()
Get information set for the current player
385 def info_set_key(self) -> str:
389 raise NotImplementedError
Create a new information set for the current player
391 def new_info_set(self) -> 'InfoSet':
395 raise NotImplementedError()
Human readable representation
397 def __repr__(self):
401 raise NotImplementedError()
404class InfoSet:
Unique key identifying the information set
411 key: str
Total regret of not taking each action $A(I_i)$,
We maintain $T \color{orange}{R^T_i(I, a)}$ instead of $\color{orange}{R^T_i(I, a)}$ since $\frac{1}{T}$ term cancels out anyway when computing strategy $\color{lightgreen}{\sigma_i^{T+1}(I)(a)}$
428 regret: Dict[Action, float]
435 cumulative_strategy: Dict[Action, float]
Initialize
437 def __init__(self, key: str):
441 self.key = key
442 self.regret = {a: 0 for a in self.actions()}
443 self.cumulative_strategy = {a: 0 for a in self.actions()}
444 self.calculate_strategy()
Actions $A(I_i)$
446 def actions(self) -> List[Action]:
450 raise NotImplementedError()
Load information set from a saved dictionary
452 @staticmethod
453 def from_dict(data: Dict[str, any]) -> 'InfoSet':
457 raise NotImplementedError()
Save the information set to a dictionary
459 def to_dict(self):
463 return {
464 'key': self.key,
465 'regret': self.regret,
466 'average_strategy': self.cumulative_strategy,
467 }
Load data from a saved dictionary
469 def load_dict(self, data: Dict[str, any]):
473 self.regret = data['regret']
474 self.cumulative_strategy = data['average_strategy']
475 self.calculate_strategy()
Calculate current strategy using regret matching.
where $\color{orange}{R^{T,+}_i(I, a)} = \max \Big(\color{orange}{R^T_i(I, a)}, 0 \Big)$
477 def calculate_strategy(self):
496 regret = {a: max(r, 0) for a, r in self.regret.items()}
498 regret_sum = sum(regret.values())
if $\sum_{a’\in A(I)}\color{orange}{R^{T,+}_i(I, a’)} \gt 0$,
500 if regret_sum > 0:
503 self.strategy = {a: r / regret_sum for a, r in regret.items()}
Otherwise,
505 else:
$\lvert A(I) \rvert$
507 count = len(list(a for a in self.regret))
510 self.strategy = {a: 1 / count for a, r in regret.items()}
512 def get_average_strategy(self):
521 cum_strategy = {a: self.cumulative_strategy.get(a, 0.) for a in self.actions()}
525 strategy_sum = sum(cum_strategy.values())
If $\sum_{t=1}^T \pi_i^{\sigma^t}(I) > 0$,
527 if strategy_sum > 0:
531 return {a: s / strategy_sum for a, s in cum_strategy.items()}
Otherwise,
533 else:
$\lvert A(I) \rvert$
535 count = len(list(a for a in cum_strategy))
538 return {a: 1 / count for a, r in cum_strategy.items()}
Human readable representation
540 def __repr__(self):
544 raise NotImplementedError()
We do chance sampling (CS) where all the chance events (nodes) are sampled and all other events (nodes) are explored.
We can ignore the term $q(z)$ since it’s the same for all terminal histories since we are doing chance sampling and it cancels out when calculating strategy (common in numerator and denominator).
547class CFR:
$\mathcal{I}$ set of all information sets.
560 info_sets: Dict[str, InfoSet]
create_new_history
creates a new empty historyepochs
is the number of iterations to train on $T$n_players
is the number of players562 def __init__(self, *,
563 create_new_history: Callable[[], History],
564 epochs: int,
565 n_players: int = 2):
571 self.n_players = n_players
572 self.epochs = epochs
573 self.create_new_history = create_new_history
A dictionary for $\mathcal{I}$ set of all information sets
575 self.info_sets = {}
Tracker for analytics
577 self.tracker = InfoSetTracker()
Returns the information set $I$ of the current player for a given history $h$
579 def _get_info_set(self, h: History):
583 info_set_key = h.info_set_key()
584 if info_set_key not in self.info_sets:
585 self.info_sets[info_set_key] = h.new_info_set()
586 return self.info_sets[info_set_key]
This function walks the game tree.
h
is the current history $h$i
is the player $i$ that we are computing regrets ofpi_i
is
$\pi^{\sigma^t}_i(h)$pi_neg_i
is
$\pi^{\sigma^t}_{-i}(h)$It returns the expected utility, for the history $h$ where $Z_h$ is the set of terminal histories with prefix $h$
While walking the tee it updates the total regrets $\color{orange}{R^T_i(I, a)}$.
588 def walk_tree(self, h: History, i: Player, pi_i: float, pi_neg_i: float) -> float:
If it’s a terminal history $h \in Z$ return the terminal utility $u_i(h)$.
609 if h.is_terminal():
610 return h.terminal_utility(i)
If it’s a chance event $P(h) = c$ sample a and go to next step.
612 elif h.is_chance():
613 a = h.sample_chance()
614 return self.walk_tree(h + a, i, pi_i, pi_neg_i)
Get current player’s information set for $h$
617 I = self._get_info_set(h)
To store $\sum_{z \in Z_h} \pi^\sigma(h, z) u_i(z)$
619 v = 0
To store for each action $a \in A(h)$
623 va = {}
Iterate through all actions
626 for a in I.actions():
If the current player is $i$,
628 if i == h.player():
633 va[a] = self.walk_tree(h + a, i, pi_i * I.strategy[a], pi_neg_i)
Otherwise,
635 else:
640 va[a] = self.walk_tree(h + a, i, pi_i, pi_neg_i * I.strategy[a])
645 v = v + I.strategy[a] * va[a]
If the current player is $i$, update the cumulative strategies and total regrets
649 if h.player() == i:
Update cumulative strategies
654 for a in I.actions():
655 I.cumulative_strategy[a] = I.cumulative_strategy[a] + pi_i * I.strategy[a]
668 for a in I.actions():
669 I.regret[a] += pi_neg_i * (va[a] - v)
Update the strategy $\color{lightgreen}{\sigma^t(I)(a)}$
672 I.calculate_strategy()
Return the expected utility for player $i$,
676 return v
This updates the strategies for $T$ iterations.
678 def iterate(self):
Loop for epochs
times
686 for t in monit.iterate('Train', self.epochs):
Walk tree and update regrets for each player
688 for i in range(self.n_players):
689 self.walk_tree(self.create_new_history(), cast(Player, i), 1, 1)
Track data for analytics
692 tracker.add_global_step()
693 self.tracker(self.info_sets)
694 tracker.save()
Save checkpoints every $1,000$ iterations
697 if (t + 1) % 1_000 == 0:
698 experiment.save_checkpoint()
Print the information sets
701 logger.inspect(self.info_sets)
704class InfoSetTracker:
Set tracking indicators
710 def __init__(self):
714 tracker.set_histogram(f'strategy.*')
715 tracker.set_histogram(f'average_strategy.*')
716 tracker.set_histogram(f'regret.*')
Track the data from all information sets
718 def __call__(self, info_sets: Dict[str, InfoSet]):
722 for I in info_sets.values():
723 avg_strategy = I.get_average_strategy()
724 for a in I.actions():
725 tracker.add({
726 f'strategy.{I.key}.{a}': I.strategy[a],
727 f'average_strategy.{I.key}.{a}': avg_strategy[a],
728 f'regret.{I.key}.{a}': I.regret[a],
729 })
732class CFRConfigs(BaseConfigs):
736 create_new_history: Callable[[], History]
737 epochs: int = 1_00_000
738 cfr: CFR = 'simple_cfr'
Initialize CFR algorithm
741@option(CFRConfigs.cfr)
742def simple_cfr(c: CFRConfigs):
746 return CFR(create_new_history=c.create_new_history,
747 epochs=c.epochs)