swordfish

hello, i was wondering if any of you can help me figure this out. I'm playing a game of rock-paper-scissors against a computer. My goal is to win 15 times in a row. Let's say that the computer picks rock/paper/scissors in a completely random way; it doesn't use a pattern nor does it have AI. My question is, if I were to play against the computer non-stop until i meet my goal (or i die), which approach would have the best chance of getting 15 wins in a row? A. Keep playing ROCK all the way. B. Using a pattern i.e. ROCK -> PAPER -> ROCK -> SCISSORS -> PAPER -> SCISSORS then repeat C. Randomly choosing between rock/paper/scissors every round. D. They are all equally bad/good. E. The above are all crap, use this --> (INSERT BEST APPROACH HERE). F. Other answer. (please specify)

whoops! 4got to check-up on this, been busy..... anyway here now! Theres a problem with this solution: About CaptainEd's proposed modified competition; we can't/shouldn't alter the test in any way, its part of the brainteaser. About the strength of the wizard's poison: All i can say, because it's all I know is: Wizard's strongest poison will always be weaker than witch's strongest poison. Wizard's weakest poison will always be stronger than witch's weakest poison. By how much? we don't really know exactly but the difference should be big. Yoruichi's answer is close, it just need to go a different direction.

this my friend is a riddle for another day

We have been using water to keep things simple but the witch and wizard would actually use something that looked like poison but are actually placebos (the King doesnt know what the real poison should taste like anyway) so the king would not know this unless he tests them, the placebos, himself. What the king would see was the wizard dying and the witch surviving; suddenly the witch goes all whoozy and whips out another bottle and saves herself from dying. Right away CT knows something is amiss. He would then figure out that the two had been more concerned for their own lives than his safety; how he would act on this information is up to him. bottom line is we are looking for a solution that keeps him in the dark. P.S. it all depends on the strength of the poison currently active, a weak poison gives you more time to save yourself

Lets say that the cruel tyrant king would be very upset when witch suddenly whips out another bottle, when it looks like she was gonna die. After all the task was to make the king the strongest poison, whats the deal with hiding a bottle of obviously stronger poison from him? P.S. If you were afflicted with a weak variant of the poison, symptoms may take longer to manifest; it also takes longer to kill you though.

This solution is correct and is in fact the simplest solution! let's kick it up a bit then! I thought so too the first two poisons will cancel eachother out leaving the third poison unchecked P.S. The poison's effects are not invisible, I mean you dont just drop dead you feel something so you know you've been poisoned

This one is quite old, I'm posting it because I've enjoyed it immensely and want to share to those who might not have seen it yet, and to see if anyone would present new and innovative solutions. Here we go: A long time ago a cruel tyrant ruled over a kingdom. One day the tyrant king heard rumors of the development of a new deadly poison in his kingdom. The rumors say that this poison comes in different potencies, the stronger ones can kill in mere minutes while the weaker ones may take some more time to take effect. Apparently the only antidote to this poison is a more potent version of itself. Fearing that his enemies may use it against him, the king figured that he should have a vial of the most potent blend of the poison with him in case he needs it to counteract a weaker one he may ingest unwillingly. To accomplish this he called upon his two best assistants; the wizard and the witch. He gave both a week to each brew the strongest version of the poison they can; after a week they were to come back and let the king test who made the stronger poison. The test is as follows: The wizard and witch drinks the other's poison; then they drink their own. The person who does not die would be the one who had made the stronger poison and thus wins. After hearing what the test was gonna be, the wizard was uneasy for he knew that the witch knows more about poisons than him and can unquestionably brew a stronger poison. With this in his mind he thought of a plan where he can guarantee his survival even if the witch's poison is superior. The witch however is also smart, she knew the wizard knew he could never beat her and thus would resort to cheating. With this in mind the witch thought of how the wizard would cheat and thought of a counter. A week passed and the king summoned the wizard and witch once more. They exchanged bottles and drank; they exchanged again and drank. After a few minutes, the wizard dropped dead. Q> What was the wizard's trick? What was the witch's counter-trick?