midSVM
What is gamma in SVM?
Updated May 17, 2026
Short answer
Gamma defines how far the influence of a single training example reaches in RBF kernel.
Deep explanation
A small gamma means far influence and smoother decision boundary, while large gamma leads to tighter, more complex boundaries that may overfit.
Real-world example
Used in fraud detection systems for tuning model sensitivity.
Common mistakes
- Setting gamma too high and causing overfitting.
Follow-up questions
- How does gamma affect bias-variance?
- What happens if gamma is too small?