Jason Chan is writing letters. Glorious. Because of this I have been reminded that, in our hearts, I think many are willing to write letters, but like anything it takes practice to see results.
Don’t feel like practicing letters? Hmm, I wonder what other human stuff is going on.
I really like Rock, Paper, Scissors.
Let's take a look at RPS strategy.
According to the World RPS Society, there are two ways to win at RPS:
(1) Limit your opponent to two of the three throwing options. If you can persuade someone into thinking one of the moves, say Rock, sucks then you can just keep throwing scissors and either tie or win every time.
(2) Use a combination of intangible intimidation tactics to allow you to predict the play of others, like the pseudo-intelligent methods involved in reading your opponent in poker. Be Aggressive. If you talk enough smack you can put your opponent “on tilt” and drive them into a reactive mode, where you take control of the match. Once your opponent’s feathers are ruffled you should be able to naturally steer the action.
These are broad explanations of the strategy behind the most competitive game known to man. Let’s take a closer look.
"The Double Run"
Make a note when someone makes the same throw in consecutive rounds. If they throw Rock twice in a row they are less likely to throw Rock a third time. If you notice this you can protect yourself by throwing what Rock beats **scissors**. Here you will either win or tie unless they throw Rock a third time, which would be weak Rock shit.
Also, supposedly, if you get lost in your own strategizing, throwing paper is a safe last resort. I have no idea if this is true, but statistically, scissors is thrown the least often, about 29.6% of the time. Seems reasonable, right? Noobs and many others often throw Rock.
And I will conclude this introduction by saying RPS is underplayed in homes in America and it’s because all ya'll is bustas.
I usually throw Rock and I usually win, as you and Matt and Erik! and others? have found out. My greatness at RPS is due to the fact that in Xenogears, possibly the greatest non-mainstream game of all time, had a RPS badge minigame. You had to win 5 times in a row and it was nearly impossible, unless you figured out the pattern.
Stolen from a FAQ from gamefaqs.com
Another house has a guy playing rock, paper, scissors. If you decide to
challenge him, you'll have to select the option quite quickly (as you
would in a real RPS game). Each time you win, he'll give you 50 G, and
each time you lose, he'll take 50 G from you (fair enough ^_^). However,
should you manage to beat him five times in a row, he'll give you the
"Mythical RPS Hero Badge" (AKA RPS Badge), which will be useful later.
Unfortunatelly, all efforts of trying to rationalize this guy's strategy
when picking choices have proven useless to all people who have tried
(including myself). Though we thought there was method in his madness, it
seems that his choices are completelly random, so good luck.