ZM's Bree & Clint - The science on how to win Paper, Scissors, Rock every time

Episode Date: October 2, 2026

But don't tell anyone else the theory or it won't work anymore... Bree Tomasel & Clint Roberts on ZM - find us @breeandclint on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

ZDM's Bree and Clint Pop Podcast It's our radio show But wrapped up in a neat little package just for you It's ZDM's Brie and Clint podcast Ellie you've been filling in And I know this is up your alley Because anything to do with the human brain Or when it comes to human behaviour

You're into it Yum yum yum yum yum give it to me And I'm into it too Especially when it comes to Getting different tips and tricks For winning rock paper scissors Oh yeah Because honestly, rock paper scissors has a lot of ground in your life.

You end up choosing a lot of things with that. Like it's high stakes. How do you think the woman on the real life squid game won all that money? Yeah. Rock paper, bloody scissors. That's the thing. Yep. Yep.

High stakes, high stakes games. So have you got some tricks for us? Yes. So I saw this woman who she, on her TikTok, essentially uses and talks about behavioral science to upgrade your life and how it can make it better. And she talks about this study where they analyze 300 players in a rock paper scissors tournament. And they found that there was three consistent patterns when it came to people playing rock paper scissors. Okay.

So the first one was the winner's repeat. Okay. Patent one. Winners repeat. If someone wins around, they are significantly more likely to play the same hand again. The winning move feels lucky and the brain wants to repeat it. I believe that. Yeah.

So like, let's say you and I play rock paper scissors. Right paper scissors. Oh, we're doing, oh, we're out of sync there. Isn't it rock paper scissors shoot? Oh, okay. Maybe that's a nausey thing. I don't know. Anyway, okay.

Rock paper scissors shoot. Oh, rock paper scissors shoot. Three wins. And would you be more likely now to play me again and do the same one? Yes. So that's what she's saying. It's just natural human behavior. You're like, I won the last time.

I've done that myself. I'll try that one again. Naturally, I think it's the human brain just goes, try it again. You won the last time. Okay, the next one is the losers shift in sequence. Oh, pattern two. Losers shift in sequence.

If someone loses, they almost never play the same hand again. But they shift to the next in the sequence. Lost with rock, they'll play paper. Lost with paper, they'll play with scissors. I've never thought about that. So they move to the next one. Yeah. So let's say I start with rock.

I lose, then I just go to paper. Yeah. And then scissors. Oh, wow. But what if people call it something else? Like, not everyone calls it rock paper scissors around the world. When I was younger, for me, it was paper scissors rock. See, in Australia, in Queensland, it was scissors paper rock.

Was it? I've never heard that. And people always have that reaction. They're like, you're the only one that's calling it that. Which is fascinating. So, yeah, if someone loses, they're likely to shift to the next in the sequence. And the last one is that, and I believe this is the one that people have heard before is rock is the most common. Ah.

Pattern three. Rock is the most common opening move, especially for men. It's associated with strength and dominance. And the brain reaches for it instinctively. That's interesting. You know what I've noticed, because there's sometimes where Clint and I will have to play rock paper scissors on this show. Yeah. And especially when we're playing the password to see who goes first.

And I always beat him because he always starts with rock. Really? You've just revealed your secrets. I hope he's not listening. You're same. Anyway, so they're the three. So the winners repeat. If someone wins with one,

they're more likely to play it again in the next round. Yeah. The losers, if you lose, they're likely to shift to the next one in the sequence. And the most common opening move in rock paper scissors is rock. Yeah, I believe that. I think I've done that many times. The rock first.

And then I don't know what I do next. Kind of just mix it up. Maybe I'm a bit of an anomaly. I like to mix it up and confuse everyone. What about you, Bree? That's how I would describe you. Play ZM's Bree and Clint on Insta, Facebook, TikTok, and live weekdays from three on ZM.