This is the website for the Official DC Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament - to be held this weekend. I am unsure of how to react to this, except to say that I am in complete awe.
I took a moment to read the two "Strategy" pieces located here for beginners, and here for more advanced strategy (and awkward philosphy). The beginner strategy has nicknames for all sorts of combinations that you can follow. My personal favorite, the "Fistfull 'O Dollars" is the under-the-radar approach of rock, paper, paper (or RPP in the professional circles).
The more advanced reading instructs you to "Probe Your Opponent" (heh heh):
When you face your opponent, know what kind of match you're playing. Is it a lightning round (one throw), best-of-three, long-form game? In short matches, your best bet is to pick a good strategy or gambit and stick to it. In longer matches, you have the opportunity to "probe" your opponent. Many players will develop and practice several distinct strategies. Often, after the first five or six throws, you can identify which strategy he is using. That helps you determine which of your strategies will be most helpful. Consequently, many players develop a few opening sequences, from three throws to ten, that are independent of their larger strategies. The only purpose of these openings is to get a sense of how an opponent is going to play the match.
Here's my question: If you are in a tournament, and it is single elimination, and the MOST throws you can do at anytime is 3, how do you probe an opponent with five or six throws? Answer: you don't. Not mathematically possible. After three throws and you lose, I guess you could complain to the ref/ump/someone's mom that you were "probing" them and weren't ready. But then those are the kinds of dudes who:
a.) are still reading "The Tao of Rock";
b.) are further defining their "Meta-Strategies"; and
c.) don't think that "probing" is funny
I don't think I am ready for the psychological cat-and-mouse that is the "Crystal Ball" Meta-Strategy, which is where a player really gets in the head of his opponent by predicting what they will throw, thusly compromising the secrecy of the opponent's strategy. I may be going out on a limb here, but I'm pretty sure that's a fancy way of saying "taunting." To further illustrate this, I would tell a player that I know they are about to throw paper, based on their previous throw, and additionally - their mama is so fat that when she jumps, she gets stuck in the sky. It is inevitable that my opponent would succumb to my rapier-like observations and I would emerge the victor.
And then I had this thought. Do you think that anyone would admit to practicing on themselves? You know they do. To get ready for a tourney such as this, they can't practice on people who don't understand the philosophy of the game, no, that would be an insult to them and, in turn, their sport. So they have a beer and sit in their living room while their left and right hand compete. And you know there is that magic moment, where the person then feels like they are primed and ready. They go off to the Tournament, ready to probe their opponents.
Which brings us to our next lesson. Kids: don't smoke crack.