Oops, missed a question! So at the risk of annoying people who already read this, going to pull a George Lucas and make a lot of changes. I am not removing any information or the like, just fixing typos, revising paragraphs so they read better, etc.
...are you a reckless or a careful player, do you plan ahead or act in the moment?
Setting the tone for this post, I am "both" as I bounce between extremes. If I should be a little desperate, I tend to be disproportionately reckless; I mean I am the kind of guy who ran a copy of
Gambler back in the day (in case I had a hand that was too good to discard with
Professor Oak). On the other hand, I'll plan out moves ahead of time, but not in appropriate detail; s'almost like I forget its a two player game and
N is probably going to change my hand anyway. XD
The big thing to understand is that, for sure at a global level and possibly even at the local level (by now), I'm average at best. Maybe even "below average". I am not hopeless, but take what I just said and combine it with a high propensity for going on tilt when things go bad, or getting to excited and rushing to the point I forget things when things are going well... which really are two sides of the same problem.
How strict are you when your opponent makes a mistake, do you make a lot of mistakes yourself?
It has been quite some time since I played "IRL": I've been a PTCGO player for the past few years, and before was too busy or broke to play at say a local League. A
lot of my play experience has been online, starting with programs like Apprentice, later RedShark, and only now settling on the PTCGO since its official and lets me come as close as I can to really being a part of the game. I can (and will) go back to those older times, which is more like 2001 to 2005: I started back in 1999, but that was just at school or with friends. Even then, it would vary depending upon the specifics, which I assume is the norm for most players: the lower the stakes, the more lenient I tend to be. At League I would be inclined to allow "take backs" and even at at a Pre-Release, I recall helping new players often in the early rounds, going so far as to help one or two of them beat me. Of course, that may not have been completely intentional, as I probably didn't realize how much I was helping them until "Wait a minute, I'm now losing!" entered my head.
For tournament play in Constructed Formats, I am much less forgiving, especially the higher you go. I wish I could say it was
not because there are prizes on the line, but I can't. In addition to that, though, I really do have higher expectations of my opponents here: a legitimate part of winning is "not losing", so if you want to earn the win, you need to avoid misplays, which includes my own misplays I mentioned earlier. I am uncertain how strict I would be now that I only play via the PTCGO. I think at one time you may have been able to allow a take back, but most of the time either it hasn't been an option
or there was an "Undo" button that didn't care whether you wanted to allow a takeback or not. I explained some of my own issues, plus more that could easily be mistaken for subtle cheating. For example forgetting if I did X and so asking my opponent if I had; this is an easy way to intentionally cheat as if your opponent doesn't remember or is mistaken, you can do X twice! So while I want people to be forgiving of such things, I probably should encourage them to call me on it (so I can break such habits) and not be as lenient about the matter myself when (again) my opponents do such things.
How do you choose your deck? Do you look at your favorite Pokémon, top tiers or is there a budget involved?
All of the above, plus a little bit more. WotC came up with profiles for the major kinds of TCG players and called them Spike, Johnny, and Timmy. Spike is focused on winning and being competitive, Johnny wants to pull off clever (especially novel) strategies, and Timmy plays what he likes (usually big, "kewl" cards). I used to hate on Spikes because I misunderstood the concept; it isn't winning for the sake of winning, but using the game to test's oneself. Johnny and Timmy
do want to win as well, but its less important to them; basically if they win how they wanted to play 40 to 60% of the time, they'll be content, while if a Spike is winning 90% of the time, he will only be content if that is still an improvement and after careful scrutiny, there really wasn't anything else he could do about it. ^^'
Few players are purely a single one of these types, though such players do exist. I want to win, but prefer to avoid strategies I don't enjoy. As I've been using examples, how about another: I love control/lock decks
but I've barely been using them since they became so easy.
Too easy, in my opinion. Either they should take so much skill to implement that by the time my opponent is left helpless, he or she feels no worse than if I'd won through Prizes or another means, or they should be "soft" enough of locks that my opponent has a legitimate chance of fighting on, and won't be stuck drawing and passing (or doing a few token actions) each turn.
I like discovering new strategies and perfecting old ones, and some Pokémon are favorites I really enjoy using them even if they aren't too good, but there is a limit to this. I think Pokémon pretty much passed it 10 years ago, if not sooner. So
mostly I want a deck with a legitimate chance of winning (all other factors being equal between me and my opponent), with some indulgence for preferences or interesting strategies.
Do you check the cards that are being played often? (Your opponent's hand, their discard pile, your remaining cards etc.)
I check them but far less often than I ought to and it has cost me plenty of games. With the physical game its mostly just being lazy as I don't want to have to ask my opponent to let me look through his or her discard pile. On the PTCGO I can do so without asking and with just a few clicks, but even there I'm still doing it far less often than I should.
How do you shuffle your deck? Are you a master or a klutz (like me)
I begin and end with just a standard shuffle, with
blind pile shuffling in between. I too am a klutz and have not only seen others damage cards with a careless shuffle, but have done so myself. Not just "little" damage, but "You can no longer play this card because at the last second it turned sideways and you folded it in half. =P" kind of accidents.
Because I like to hold myself accountable, I will admit that for a few weeks (maybe months) back in like 2001 I was guilty of weaving my deck. I failed to grasp the concept that shuffling was about sufficient randomization, where clumps and and droughts happen, and not about a streamlined flow of cards. Saying it now it sounds even more obvious than it ought to have been back then! So back then I realized I should not know the specific card on top of my deck, but I thought it not only okay but preferable to take steps to avoid clumping and droughts of particular card Types: better game for all of us that way, right? As I was running decks that were almost even on Pokémon, Trainers, and Energy at the time (or maybe 25% Pokémon, 50% Trainer, 25% Energy) I would spread them evenly in my deck after randomizing them individually.
Thankfully a more experienced, competent player caught me and pointed out I was cheating, explaining why. Unfortunately I'd given bad advice to a few new players at League before being straightened out. Oops. >.> If they remained, I am sure one of us (including myself) straightened them out.
Do you sometimes suspect your opponent of cheating? Have you ever cheated yourself?
Yes I have suspected my opponent of cheating, but since I've mostly been playing online the last several years (and the PTCGO the last two), I don't recall the details. Plus with the PTCGO, its almost never actual cheating.
I am certain I have cheated, but either my memory over is hazy, I just cannot bear to recount specific details, or I cannot bring myself to acknowledge it was cheating and not a "mistake"; most likely a combination of the latter two. This is in addition to the weaving incident recounted above. Overall people in Pokémon are quite trusting, and reasonably honest themselves. However the more opportunities you have to cheat, the easier it is to do so and the greater the temptation becomes. Even someone so honest that he or she is only going to cheat one in 10,000 times is going to have to buck the odds after 10 or so years.
Admitting to cheating is quite difficult; even when caught dead to rights it is so easy to claim it was a mistake or misunderstanding, and indeed to rationalize or otherwise convince yourself that you were not cheating. I am
not accusing anyone here who claims they have never cheated; if your memory and conscience are clear, kudos! I will warn you that you will have to work incredibly hard to remain free of cheating if you keep playing the game. Also don't just count blatant, obvious cheats but subtle things, that blurry line between an excited or anxious player getting a ruling wrong in his or her own favor, and it being an honest mistake versus an intentional skewing so turn a loss into a win.
Anyway, it should come as no surprise after this confession that I encourage players to always investigate potential cheating, at least within reason. Don't worry about elaborate sting operations, but show due diligence with all the places the rules give you the chance. Always take the opportunity to cut/shuffle the opponent's deck, use your opponent's randomize if his or her luck seems
too good, pay attention to sleeves for markings, etc. Be aware of your own stuff as well; having a marked card is an easy intentional cheat as well as an easy bit of unfortunate, accidental wear and tear. I think I just made the argument for being more strict with myself and anyone else who wishes to be a "serious" player; it is easy to slip into bad habits in casual play that then carry over to the competitive scene!
Are you a sore loser or a bad winner, or both? How is your sportmanship.
I am a better than loser and winner than I once was, but not as good as it ought to be given how long I've been playing. Most of my games being online is a mixed blessing in this regard. Even if I lose my temper for a moment in real life, my opponent isn't subjected to it. Same if I'm suddenly all cocky. I have to type it out or do something in the game for it to spill over. On the other hand, the PTCGO makes it quite easy to lose your temper, and be rude with almost no effort. The obvious is rage quitting, made easier than in real life because you don't have to look your opponent in the face, maybe will never even come in contact with them again, and for sure you don't have to actually pick up your cards.
Then there are the "weird" things. The PTCGO has a swear filter, and even if it didn't your opponent can easily report you for anything resembling an attempt at cussing them out, openly taunting them, etc. This is
not a bad thing (well, the filer is far too sensitive and that is a bad thing), but just like in elementary school people find ways around it. My pet peeve is when someone wishes "good game" or "gg". Best case scenario, it just shows they are a little dense about manners, likely it just means such expressions are totally meaningless (done as pure reflex) which defeats the purpose of using them, and possibly it is done in an obvious attempt at mocking sarcasm. You know, like when you say something stupid and someone tells you you its brilliant; when you
know I did not have a good game, be it from bad luck or bad plays, wishing me "gg" seems like a way to rub salt into the wound. Of course pointing it out here (let alone in the PTCGO chat) just seems like sour grapes.
How do you feel within the Pokémon TCG community?
Mixed (again).
I am mostly still here (part of Pokémon in general, and to some degree posting on PokéBeach) because I have a hard time letting go. I have invested so much time (and a decent chunk of money) into this game that barring a blatant sign from God that I am to quit, I'm not going anywhere. It has been a long time since I thought the game was in a "good" place, and hindsight makes me wonder if it was ever really as balanced as I once praised it for being. Better than other TCGs I've played, but I worry about this entire industry. As long as the PTCGO allows me to officially participate without spending money (just time) then I'm going to try and ride it out.
With PokéBeach itself, I've taken some unpopular positions and some folks have made it quite clear I'm not welcome because of it... or maybe I'm just too sensitive and reading something into what they've said. Others have been quite welcoming and encouraging. I know that even apart from differences in opinion and/or analysis, I am far from perfect, so I try to appreciate being here.
Oh and there are some mods like but not limited to
@bbninjas who have been a great deal of help to me and keeping myself inline without having to stifle myself.
