How to Increase Your Chances of Winning at Rock-Paper-Scissors - A Scientific Approach 0 17

Rock-paper-scissors is a game popular worldwide, used for both entertainment and resolving everyday disputes. According to the rules, theoretically, each of the three possible throws has a 33% chance of winning; however, in practice, the game can be somewhat more complex.

To simplify the understanding of strategies, it is helpful to visualize the cycle in which all three throw options interact with each other. Based on the rules of the game, we can see that rock beats scissors, scissors beat paper, and paper beats rock.

This can be visually represented as a pyramid, where each corner corresponds to one of the three possible throws — rock, scissors, or paper. Following the directions of the arrows, one can easily determine which throw will win in a specific situation.

How to Win at Rock-Paper-Scissors

Statistics show that to achieve victory, it is optimal to start with paper. The World Rock-Paper-Scissors Society reports that in tournaments, rock is the most common throw with a frequency of 35.4%, while scissors are less common at 29.6%. A study conducted in 2016 also confirms the dominance of rock. All of this indicates that choosing paper as the first move is a wise decision.

However, this may backfire. An experienced opponent may be aware of this and, therefore, is likely to choose scissors or tie with paper. In such a case, it is better to use scissors as the first throw, as you will either win against paper or tie with scissors.

A study conducted in China in 2014 showed that players who lost a round are likely to change their throw in the next round, choosing an option that could beat the one they just selected. This means that if you won a round, a good strategy would be to repeat the same throw that your opponent used in the previous round.

If you chose paper in the first round and beat your opponent's rock, it is quite likely that in the next round your opponent will choose scissors, as that is the throw that beats paper. You can choose rock to win in the following rounds. In other words, if you won a round, move through the rock-paper-scissors cycle.