Texas holdem and rock paper scissors (RPS) are played similarly in theory.

If you played your friend (Bob) 100 games of RPS it would be wise if you to play to Nash equilibrium. play each option 33/33/33, in a random fashion. If you truly randomize your actions at this frequency you are guaranteed one beautiful and very important thing over time: a tie!

This is a powerful realization because if we apply this balanced strategy to our game it forces our opponent to do something: play the exact same way or lose over time. Now what’s nice is Bob (opponent) is not a game theory nerd and he doesn’t really care about optimal RPS so he will not apply it when you play him. Instead he will identify false patterns in your game and react accordingly, he may try to trick you, who knows. What we can surmise though, is that Bob will have a bias towards either rock, paper, or scissors. When we know what a perfectly balanced strategy looks like then it becomes substantially easier to quickly identify our opponents imbalances and react accordingly. If we recognize that our opponent favors paper to any degree over 33% then we have identified an exploit. Now we are obligated to deviate from Nash equilibrium and choose scissors 100% of the time. Now we have gone from a guaranteed expected value of (EV) 0 (a tie) to an EV of X varied on how strong Bobs bias towards paper is.

Texas holdem is no different in theory. You can play the game to Nash equilibrium and generate an EV of 0. Of course it’s nearly infinitely more complex to do so (impossible for a human even) but still: ecause thats true, in order to really play the game well, it’s imperative to study what a perfectly balanced strategy actually looks like. Again, a familiarity with balance will make the imbalances in our opponents clear and now it becomes easier to articulate the correct response. In poker, if you think and play this way, and your opponents do not, you can dance around each opponent like an expert swordsman on the battlefield. Virtually untouchable, every attempt to ensnare, cut down, or capture the assailant is met with a perfectly orchestrated response. In poker we fight for EV. In order to generate the most EV you must understand how your opponents are deviating from an EV of zero, and find the adjustment. No different from choosing scissors 100% of time against bobs biased decision making.

Source: game theory

Additional info on Nash equilibrium: