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Hey everyone!  Sean Handy here with an article that hustlers DO NOT want you to read, but, firstly, I want people to read this
 
WARNING:  There is some strong language in the following article to get a point across.  If you are too young to read such language, go the the top left corner of the browser and click the "BACK" button.  Otherwise, read on.

I only say that because I plan to use some stronger words than I generally use in my written articles, and don't want anyone that doesn't want to read it, or, shouldn't read it, to be made uncomfortable.  That being said, this really is, the article that Yu-Gi-Oh hustlers don't want you to read.
 
The first step of recovery is admittance, so, I want to go on and say it: It is somewhat common knowledge that I have spent a decent amount of my time hustling Yu-Gi-Oh! in the past, and that is a problem.  I currently still try to profit off of deals that I make, but generally, I like analyzing metagame trends and profiting on long term investments, rather than short term rip-offs.  I mean this to say, I like to trade even on the short term for cards that I think will gain value over time.  I think it is a much healthier way to profit, as well as a way to make sure everyone walks away from a trade happily.  Are all of my trades fair dollar for dollar?  No.  Do I sometimes get more than the other trader?  Sure.  Are there times where someone gets a couple of bucks on me?  Absolutely.

Case and point, hustling is bad for the game, and, in this article, I want to bring to light some of the tactics used by card sharks to take YOUR hard earned cardboard, and, some ways to prevent it.

1. BRING ENOUGH MONEY TO EVENTS
I cannot stress this enough, and, furthermore, don't blow your money on that 'last second Fiendish Chain' before the tournament and make your ability to get home become compromise (AKA spend gas money on cards).
Allow me to demonstrate some of the cards I've purchased from people after a tournament who needed gas money
Card name - What it retailed for (what I paid)
Pot of Duality $180 ($35)
Fossil Dyna Pachycephalo $50 ($8)
Archlord Krystia $70 (playset for $50)
Legendary Six Samurai - Shi En Ult $50 ($10)

See my point?  Not to sound like a dick, but, I promise if you don't top that regional or that YCS, you're going to be O.K.  Let's view it this way, from the perspective of a hustler
>I don't actually need cards
>This person needs money to get home
>The other vendors are closed
>They take my price or they walk home

At the World Championship Qualifier in Pittsburg last year, I was paying rock bottom prices of some cards from Canadians who needed gas money to get home.  I knew that they would be desperate, as they needed gas to drive roughly 600 miles, so, I made a purchase of

Common Dimensional Prison $8 (24 for $1 each)
Ally of Justice Catastor $20 ($6)
Blackwing - Vayu, the Emblem of Honor ulti -I don't know the value- (4$)
Mystic Piper $20 ($20 for a playset*)
Trishula $50 - ($20 apiece for 3)

I am aware, in hindsight, how wrong this was to do.  On one hand, I still pay rock bottom for cards, but, I don't go out of my way to do so.  Am I an asshole for doing it?  There are two sides to every coin, so, it depends who you ask.  The guy who had to sell his D-prisons for $1 each probably thinks I'm an asshole.  I personally (at the time) didn't think I did anything wrong, because I didn't/don't actually want 20+ common D-prisons, but, he needs gas money home, and I'm happy to take the profit.  Even today, if I'm going to buy a card, I would rather up my iTrader rating online, or my ebay rating, or, support local business by buying for near retail.  If someone wants to sell me cards personally, I need that incentive.

2. Getting smart phOWNED**
This sounds silly, but, if you see someone who gets their smart phone out for every single value on ONE SIDE of the trade, they're probably trying to get value out of you.  IF this happens, insist they check all the values, and, politely ask to let you actually see the values on their screen.  It shouldn't be that offensive to them, unless, of course, they're trying to hustle you and it's not happening.  If you're worried about being polite, site my article, just say you're worried about getting hustled and asking everyone who uses a phone to do it.  Keep in mind, not everyone uses a phone, so, just because they don't have one, doesn't mean they don't know what they're doing.***

If the other person you're trading with is using a phone to check values, make sure their source is consistent.  I know that sounds silly, but, I've traded with someone before who tried to use TCGplayer.com for my cards, and then use toywiz for his cards.  I don't know if he thought I was a moron or soup kitchen or both.
 
3. Fast talking
Slow down.  Simply put.  Slow.  Down.

If someone is talking really fast and just throwing numbers around, it is easy to get lost in everything and think that something is a fair deal.  Look up what a quick change artist is, and it is basically the same thing.  Trading is meant to be fun.  If you're confused and not having fun, don't trade.  It's as simple as that.  To a lot of people, trading is just another way of dueling, and, in my mind, should be treated as such.  Think about all of your "plays".  Don't rush on a trade because the  round is about to start, think about it.  There are times that you might lose a trade because of this, but, I promise, the amount of money that you WON'T get hustled is great than the amount you might lose.
 
4.Tag lines to devalue your cards
Stick to your guns.
If you value a card at something and they try to knock it down a bit, stick to your guns.  Some common lines

"It just got announced for a reprint man."
"The card isn't even that good."
"It's only worth that much because of dumb fuck collectors"
"This card looks a little beat."****
"But it's just the *insert lower rarity here* version!"

I could go on and on, and you will here more than this.  The only way that you can adjust you prices accordingly with the other trader.  If they value everything of theirs at 150%, SO DO YOU.
 
5.  If something seems fishy......
If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and acts like a duck, it probably is, a duck.
If you are trading with someone and they value everything strangely low (especially while buying, and are not in a 'need gas money' situation), then it is probably a stolen collection or the cards in general are stolen.  I remember at YCS Charlotte in 2011, I purchased a couple of mats for $10 each.  Sweet deal!  Right?  Wrong.  Later, I heard multiple people complain about their mats being stolen.  Including, several that I had bought (and already re-sold).

6.  Offer to buy cards from them
A lot of people claim to not be hustlers, and then offer to buy you Caius, The Shadow Monarch for $.50.  Hey, that's apparently a fair fuckin' price right?  Offer to give 'em 50 cents for their's!  Hell, offer em a couple bucks for 3 of 'em!  They apparently only value it at 50 cents, give 'em a good deal, right?  This tactic generally makes word spread around that you are someone who can't be scammed with cash and sharks will leave you be.
 
7.  Don't make yourself look tasty.
As awkward as that sounds, and, as polititally incorrect as this is going to sound

DON'T
BE
A
FUCKING
MORON

Excuse the language, but, seriously, most times, if something feels wrong it is, and most of my advice simply boils down to this:  If you're smart and confident, you will be fine.  If you think something is wrong, there probably is.  Trading is supposed to be fun.  Keep it that way.  If you're in it for the money, you don't have to be 'that guy' that trades a Gungnir, Dragon of the Ice Barrier straight up for a Tour Guide from the Underworld.  If you have the ability to get a couple of bucks and that's what makes you happy, go for it.  If you think that Chain Disappearance is going to go up because of priority changes, trade for it at what it is worth now, and then see what happens.  Nobody likes 'that guy'.  I hardly have a locals anymore from the hustling I've done, and frankly, shit sucks.  Don't let it happen to you, on either side of the spectrum, and, be the guy that helped someone who almost got ripped.

It's a game.  All of this that we're reading about.  It's a game.  I've seen people
1. Stop being friends
2. Miss house payments
3. Go to jail
4. Get kicked out of their hosue
5. Make people completely despise them.

All over this game.  There is nothing wrong with taking something seriously nad having a passion, but, remember, at the core, it's a game.  There are some of us who don't mind the idea of a hustler, on the other hand, there are venues who literally WILL NOT host Yu-Gi-Oh! events due to the fact that the game has a frowned upon player-base. 

Thanks for reading
Never stop Learning
Sean Handy
The McShake Alchemist
 
 
Wanna talk more in depth about all of this?*****
contact me
facebook: facebook.com/shakezilluh
email: andro_sphinx@yahoo.com
twitter: paper_gangsta_
pojo forum: themcshakealchemis (no t, because I'm stupid)
youtube: themcshakealchemist
 
 
 *Note I was literally MADE FUN OF for paying 33% on something by the people I rode up with, I just wanted to play the deck so I was willing to go 'up to' 33%.
**I like puns, step off.
***I still don't own a smart phone.  Seems silly not to, but, I'm too hypothetically jewish to pony up the dough.
****If it truely is beat, then adjust the price accordingly
*****It would be awesome if anyone who currently hustles would be willing to come forward for an interview, if they have any insight that they would like to add to the conversation.  I pledge to keep their identity anonymous