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How you prepare yourself for important matches.
- Thread starter Bentendo1
- Start date
Jesiah is a cocky moron who thinks he is a god for winning one battle. If you beat someone, win with dignity. Don't flaunt your win around. A lot of us have beat good battlers, but we don't make a warstory showing how much of an arrogant ass we are. Theres a difference between predicting your opponent as an idiot and treating him as one; Jesiah drifted to the latter.
Same way I prepare for anything. I don't. I go in with a fighter pilot cocky attitude and come home a winner or not at all. I find that the same people overpredicting me are the ones who will study 3 hours for a test and get nothing out of it, or spend weeks researching for a 5 page essay.
The key is mindset, don't catch your mind in a prediction logic loop, just make the best move based on the situation at hand, don't try to predict more than a turn ahead and don't rely on prediction unless you know your opponent well or at least know his team makeup.
The key is mindset, don't catch your mind in a prediction logic loop, just make the best move based on the situation at hand, don't try to predict more than a turn ahead and don't rely on prediction unless you know your opponent well or at least know his team makeup.
Read Jesiah's warstory, I don't like the saying "play like your opponent is an idiot." It doesn't help me, nor do I understand it. If anyone wants to take a chance at explaining it, go ahead, but I'm warning you it's been tried before.
I also don't like the "go all out" advice, that's exactly what I try to avoid. I play conservatively by nature. Fuck, I don't know what to do anymore. The way I'm playing obviously isn't working. Does that mean I should switch it up and go make an offensive team? Should I try to perfect my current style of play- which isn't working? I feel so lost. -.-
I also don't like the "go all out" advice, that's exactly what I try to avoid. I play conservatively by nature. Fuck, I don't know what to do anymore. The way I'm playing obviously isn't working. Does that mean I should switch it up and go make an offensive team? Should I try to perfect my current style of play- which isn't working? I feel so lost. -.-
Ben, you do not yet realize your importance. You have only begun to discover your power. Join me, and I will complete your training. With our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy!
All cheesy Star Wars quotes aside, I've just tried using a completely different style of gameplay, and wound up with mixed results. I did a bit better in battling because it is more suited to the current metagame, but I also felt uncomfortable using it, as it wasn't a very familiar experience.
Of course if I'm preparing for an important match I assume I will know the opponent beforehand (perhaps in a tournament). My team line-up may end up being altered slightly, though I doubt I'd play any differently. I won't react differently to say, Garchomp, no matter who the opponent is. I will respond to the Pokemon, not the player.
Being fairly new to tournaments, it's definitly a different feeling playing "for" something, rather than just playing. But if you loosen up, and play like you always do, you'll be at your best. I've made this mistake a few times, getting over anxious and making silly mistakes, and I knew that I was making them at the time.
High risk, high reward does pay off better in tournament play, but don't go drastically changing your team to incorporate something new.
High risk, high reward does pay off better in tournament play, but don't go drastically changing your team to incorporate something new.
Exactly what I do. it's useful to have the information at your fingertips, in case they are running some random UU you have never heard of.
I think the best way to be successful is to make a team with a goal. Then, with each individual move, consider how it will help you acheive that goal whilst keeping the bigger threats that your opponent may have in check. I've hit a few slumps and I can say that it isn't fun. At one point I had to take a break from battling and then start back with a completely new team. If there's anyway I can help you on shoddy/wi-fi let me know. :)
I never take that cocky attitude. I hate everything about cocky--even too much confidence I think is too much.
To all of you who say its only your fault if you lose, I'd say thats wrong. When someone beats you in a skillful manner, give them some damn respect. Saying you lost because of something you did wrong does not give the person who beat you the respect they deserve. This is no gray area-- If you lost, you lost. The other person beat you, you did not beat yourself.
I hate battles where I am under a lot of pressure, because quite frankly I do get jittery. Knowing I am facing a competitor that knows the metagame most likely better than I do is scary. But I don't prepare, instinct guides me. I always lay it all out on the table, all of my skill into that battle. If I lose, I was not good enough. Plain and simple, I need to keep finding ways to get better.
To all of you who say its only your fault if you lose, I'd say thats wrong. When someone beats you in a skillful manner, give them some damn respect. Saying you lost because of something you did wrong does not give the person who beat you the respect they deserve. This is no gray area-- If you lost, you lost. The other person beat you, you did not beat yourself.
I hate battles where I am under a lot of pressure, because quite frankly I do get jittery. Knowing I am facing a competitor that knows the metagame most likely better than I do is scary. But I don't prepare, instinct guides me. I always lay it all out on the table, all of my skill into that battle. If I lose, I was not good enough. Plain and simple, I need to keep finding ways to get better.
Usually, if it's that important like in a tournament or something, I eat or chew gum in front of the computer screen to calm my nerves, go away on AIM, turn the cell phone down, and just play. I actually do shake sometimes, and for that, I look away from the screen and take a few deep breaths.
Lately I've been having the exact same problems, Ben. I'm sure it's been amplified in all those tourney battles I've had over at PB.
Unfortunately, I've gotten in the habbit of creating a team right before the battle, as I don't really have a set team at the moment and most of my battles are with kami, so I'm always changing my team and never getting used to just one.
Generally, I open up the Smogon analysis, a type chart, a damage calculator, and AIM, so that I can discuss the current battle with other friends. That, imo, helps a lot, because so many times I've been battling and right before I make a move, you or Pulse or somebody else will point out how stupid my choice would've been.
I guess my advice would be to just relax, put on some chill music (Jack Johnson anybody?), and go for the ride. You can't do anything but be pissed at yourself afterwords if you lose, so go over every option in the battle, and place yourself in your opponent's position to see how they may be thinking/feeling. I may not be the one to be talking, though =\.
Unfortunately, I've gotten in the habbit of creating a team right before the battle, as I don't really have a set team at the moment and most of my battles are with kami, so I'm always changing my team and never getting used to just one.
Generally, I open up the Smogon analysis, a type chart, a damage calculator, and AIM, so that I can discuss the current battle with other friends. That, imo, helps a lot, because so many times I've been battling and right before I make a move, you or Pulse or somebody else will point out how stupid my choice would've been.
I guess my advice would be to just relax, put on some chill music (Jack Johnson anybody?), and go for the ride. You can't do anything but be pissed at yourself afterwords if you lose, so go over every option in the battle, and place yourself in your opponent's position to see how they may be thinking/feeling. I may not be the one to be talking, though =\.
Generally I just play. I'll probably open up the Smogon Analysis Index to check movesets and aid my prediction.
GB_Packers_Ftw
LOOKS LIKE FAVRE GOT SHUT DOWN
Just feel the ryhtem and put yourself in your opponents place, you'll do fine. Don't freak out about it its just a game. Watch some Packer highlights
That's what I do. I switch to Blissey whenever my mewtwo is effected by a status condition.
Most people have their quirks when battling. I've never been good in tournies, (something about the pressure and my bad luck doesn't enable me to win more often than not) but I can say from laddering it's easier to concentrate when I just do what I do.
I for intance, kinda sing/hum fun songs (not too loud though!). Pisses my brother off, but helps me concentrate and keeps me from making completely retarded moves. Also, I get headaches so I have a glass of water there if I need it (helps for some reason).
I'm not saying you should do that, but just find something that works for you. It may take a while, but once you do it'll help.
And about your whole play style thing, I've tried adapting my playstyle when Wobba was unbanned because I found it was harder to make defensive play work. Whoring Wobba worked for a short period of time, but I found myself drifting back to my comforting style. So I guess you should test to see if something works better for you, then stick with it if it does, or go back to square one if it doesn't.
I for intance, kinda sing/hum fun songs (not too loud though!). Pisses my brother off, but helps me concentrate and keeps me from making completely retarded moves. Also, I get headaches so I have a glass of water there if I need it (helps for some reason).
I'm not saying you should do that, but just find something that works for you. It may take a while, but once you do it'll help.
And about your whole play style thing, I've tried adapting my playstyle when Wobba was unbanned because I found it was harder to make defensive play work. Whoring Wobba worked for a short period of time, but I found myself drifting back to my comforting style. So I guess you should test to see if something works better for you, then stick with it if it does, or go back to square one if it doesn't.
Turning off the lights and turning chats off, only leaveing instant messengers up. Turn on some centering music. Unless I have advance knowlage of what my opponent is useing, I make sure I am useing a familar team, and familar stratigies.
Load up firefox with smogon search in my search bar, for quick referanceing of stats and builds, and occationaly bulbapedia for their type/immunity chart.
I play with the exact oppasite mindset than the "play like your opponent is a moron," I try to assume my opponent is sandbaging me, playing with the ideal team situations, and play causiously but not cowardly.
Load up firefox with smogon search in my search bar, for quick referanceing of stats and builds, and occationaly bulbapedia for their type/immunity chart.
I play with the exact oppasite mindset than the "play like your opponent is a moron," I try to assume my opponent is sandbaging me, playing with the ideal team situations, and play causiously but not cowardly.
Something that I find helps is imagine that I'm writing a warstory of the battle, and narrate each turn, imagining that I'm writing to an audience. It helps me to make rational moves, when I'm thinking it through in my head I often realize what the smartest move is. It's sort of hard to explain, but it really helps. It's also helpful because it helps me find warstory-able battles.
I meant postponing our battle, not actually stalling in the battle.That's what I do. I switch to Blissey whenever my mewtwo is effected by a status condition.