Enforcing the bargain, though, might have proved difficult since this will not (they hope) be a repeated game.

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In a repeated-game-context, the best strategy is to always present a credible threat to your opponent so he will quickly understand it is better to pay you to go away than to engage in protracted battle.

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What she found would look quite familiar to anybody involved in the securities class-action business: A small group of specialized players who engage in repeated rounds of the same game.

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But for McCain, the move is another gamble for a candidate in need of a game-changer and one that lends credence to the self-proclaimed maverick's repeated claim that he's unafraid of bucking his own party.

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