How to (almost) always win rock-paper-scissors

Believe it or not, there is a 'science' on how you can win the 'random' game of rock-paper-scissors… well, almost.

16:59 02 May 2014

Rock-paper-scissors is one of the most common and simplest games used from childhood fun right up to adults in need of an impartial way of deciding a matter. 

 

It’s what we do to settle the bill, to decide who is going to do the dishes, or who will take out the trash. But did you know that there is a way to increase your chances of winning this game? 

 

Scientists at China’s Zhejiang University conducted the first large-scale study of the game and they found that player behaviour typically follows a predictable pattern. 

 

They claim that people start picking each variable about one-third of the time. If they win, they will usually stick with the same play. If they lose, they will switch actions in “a clockwise direction” from rock to paper to scissors. 

 

“Whether conditional response is a basic decision-making mechanism of the human brain or just a consequence of more fundamental neural mechanisms is a challenging question for future studies,” the Zhejiang researchers conclude.

 

It means that if in game one player A picks rock and player B picks scissors, player A will most likely stick with rock for game two after winning with the hand on the first round. Knowing this, player B would be wise to switch to paper to foil player A's repeated rock. In the third round after failing with rock, player A is likely to switch to scissors at which point player B switches to rock and wins again!