February 2008

ACKK, ERROR ON PAGE!!!! INITIATING SELF-DESTRUCT SEQUENCE!!!! --pwii

 

Hey it is Spaceman, and today I would like you to read my two-cents on the ignorant and the aware. See I have come to realize how ignorant, or un-informed for all the people that didn’t know what ignorant means (irony no?), yugioh players tend to be. Now this will not be your everyday old man rant about the failing of our surrounding. No, no this will be more like the rambling of a psychotic religious fiasco on the corner of your local supermarket.  I have been playing this game for… 5 years and every time I go to my local or a shonen jump I have noticed that there are a couple of group of people that do the same thing between tournament rounds:

1)      The main lot of people that sit with their group of friends and just play duel until the first/next round is called

2)      Al large proportion who are just trading to pass the time in between rounds

3)      The few  who are actually going around and look at peoples deck and act like they are friendly just in order to see what decks are being played

Now who do you think usually fairs better in the tournament? The answer is 3 because well those are the people who actually want to know information in order to have a more likely chance of knowing what they are facing. That is what I’m writing tonight: How to really know your opponent and how to make it so they don’t know you.

With the new news of being able to take notes, use this to your advantage. It is so helpful and I cannot stress this enough. Watching how your opponent twitches when they do something is a great thing to know tells of theirs. Not having to remember what was in your opponents hand/ deck after a trap shoot or their mystic tomato not receiving anything, accordingly, is not a negative. Bring a notebook and pen and while you are calculating life points just take a couple of notes that you think are worthwhile.  I think note taking is such an amazing thing seeing how you know what deck they have, and can then use logic to guess their side decks and then you adjust accordingly. The notes don’t have to be about your opponent purely. Heck taking notes can be something instead of shuffling your cards because of nerves.  Write down your mistakes so you can learn from them. It’s a strategy and use it towards your advantage.

Twitching.  Spasms. Weird actions taken by your opponent when they do something are something to watch for.  Always watch for these because not only are they important for knowing how they feel, but for you not to do them. Practice huffing and scratching your eyebrows, just to fake your opponent off. If you complain about your opening hand, especially during your second or third game, your opponent will relax and play like they will own you. Use that to take the win. Out play them with bluffs and fake tells. If you can do this you got it covered. But make sure you know yourself before you start trying to fake it because if you act like you have a bad hand when you do than it really doesn’t help.

Shuffle your cards when you either have advantage on your opponent and they are feeling the pressure of maybe losing, or when you draw/ got a new card in your hand. I card count all the time, half the time I am thinking and rightfully guessing what my opponent’s facedown monster or trap is because they don’t card shuffle.

Even when you don’t know what your opponents card you can educationally guess. If your opponent has already used torrential tribute, 2 pulling the rugs, and I haven’t seen mirror force all game than do I feel safe summoning raiza? Yes, yes I do. Ask your opponent questions about what they have and see how they respond. Be respectful though, but try to egg them on into saying some hints. People always want to be proven right, so if you say things you know is wrong your opponent will spring on it just to prove their superiority.

Don’t be ignorant be aware, play smart, and know how you play before you see how your opponent plays.

 

Spaceman