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DeathJester


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DeathJester's Dojo
The Road to Success:
How Do You Deal With Luck?

Bryan Camareno a.k.a. DeathJester
May 31, 2005
 

Since luck is an aspect of YuGiOh we cannot control, it leads most of us to believe that some people can only win with “God Hands”; as fellow writer, Evan Vargas, would call them. Most of you know that I’ve discussed the concept of luck and its manifestations before. To quote myself: “You make your own luck…” this statement still holds true since I last wrote about it. Today I come with additional information on this strange phenomenon we call “luck”.

Here’s a blunt and honest observation: Your opponent is as lucky as you think he/she is. Your opponent’s luck is based on the affirmation of both players considering one of them as being lucky. The more you accuse your opponent of being lucky, the luckier he/she will get. Isn’t that strange? Try it with a player that you know is lucky and proceed to observe how many times he/she will rip that Pot, Graceful, or Delinquent Duo you didn’t want them to draw. Put more specifically: Your thoughts have a significant influence on how lucky your opponent will seem or be. Negative and positive thoughts influence your game as much as your skills and card choices do. Am I saying that you can control your own luck to a certain degree? Yes.

My next observation concerns how luck works for both the skilled player and the average player in YuGiOh. This concept was brought to my attention by my good friend Kris Perovic of Team Overdose. Skilled players seem to be less lucky than average players…why? Because skilled players don’t necessarily rely on that luck to accomplish their goals, they make their moves much more precisely than the average player does; plain and simple. A skilled player will set up the game better 10 times out of 10. The only deciding factor between an average player and a skilled player is luck. A skilled player will never let himself/herself be out-played by a lesser opponent. Thus, a skilled player cannot be out-played, but can only be out-drawn by the average player. In other words, the average player MUST get lucky in order to win against the more skilled player.

Put an average player with average skill and a lot of luck in a competitive environment, and he/she will do just fine. Put a skilled player with elite skill and little luck in a competitive environment, and he/she can out-play the players on his/her own level, but struggle against the average ones. Average players can out-draw a skilled player more often than not, but may not win at all. This explanation of luck is paradoxical, but true. Now get this, match up two skilled players against each other and watch as one of them gets luckier than the other. Why is this? Because skilled players do not let themselves be out-played by any opponent but can only be out-drawn. One person HAS to win right? Given that they both do not make any mistakes, then one player must draw better than the other; that’s how it goes. No matter what, one of them will be angry and the other will be relieved.

Even skilled players can get lucky, yet they are only lucky against other skilled players. One skilled player can have a hand like this: Heavy Storm, Dust Tornado, Mystical Space Typhoon, Premature Burial, BLS, and Call of the Haunted. The other can have this hand: Breaker the Magical Warrior, Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer, BLS, Blade Knight, Jinzo, and Airknight. Who will win this game? Isn’t it obvious? This kind of situation occurs ALL the time between skilled players. This is why bluffing makes every bit of difference against between skilled players. Here is a brief explanation:

“To the uninitiated, poker is all about bluffing. Consider this your initiation – they are wrong! While bluffing is certainly an important part of the game, it’s not as effective a play as you may have been lead to believe.

In order for a bluff to work, you have to be using it against an opponent who is scared enough, or, smart enough to fold. This is the “Paradox of the Bluff”: It’s a terrible play to make against terrible opponents.”


- Phil Gordon

This advice can be applied to our game easily since Poker and YuGiOh have the same elements of luck and misinformation attached to them. When you are up against an opponent you know is not as skilled as you are, bluffing will not only cost you a good card, but it can cost you the game. Average players cannot be fazed by bluffs period. Especially since most of them do not know how to bluff effectively or read them. This is why, against an average player, you can set trap after trap and they will fall for it every time because they do not fear bluffs. So if your average opponent does not fear bluffs then you should NOT bluff. If your skilled opponent does not fear bluffs, you will catch them with real threats every time. I can guarantee that your average opponent will fall for every trick you can think of besides bluffing.

Now try bluffing against a skilled player; how much more successful will your bluff be? At least 90% more. A skilled player will almost never waste removal on something he/she suspects to a bluff; it just doesn’t happen. A skilled player will use his/her monsters to figure out the real or fake threats. In conclusion, one sure-fire way to win against an equally skilled opponent or better opponent is to bluff effectively. Another sure-fire way to beat a better opponent is to believe, or rather, affirm that you are luckier than they are. Positivity will always yield positive results.

Until next time everyone, remember to practice, stay focused, and most importantly…have fun!
 



 

 


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