"The Right Skills" I began writing this article on the 12th, I wrote about half of it then decided to go to bed (I do most of my writing, and everything else, in the middle of the night). Well, the next day my computer decided it didn't want to work anymore. I'm a computer monkey, I think I deleted something important for Windows to run and now when I start the computer it shuts down. So anyway, here it is the 14th and I finally found a computer to use. Instead of rewriting the "Right Skills" I'll skip to the next portion I was gong to cover, "Our Deadly Sins". Hopefully by next month I'll have my act together.
"Our Deadly Sins"
Some of us have all of them; a few winners have only one or two of them; but none of us are free of them. Some of us try to deny the last fact. We pretend to that we are better than we are, but denial is one of the worst sins. It stops us from doing anything about our weaknesses. The best way to improve ourselves is to see how we are beating ourselves. Only when we understand our thinking patterns and attitudes that prevent us from playing our best can we become the players we want to be. There used to be seven deadly sins, but as Trek players we've managed to beat that by having eight, they are:
Deadly Sin No. 1: Poor self-control. It's the worst sin and underlying cause of all the others. We all want to "do want comes naturally", but it's natural to lose. We're human, we're prone to making mistakes. Even winners, like myself, take self-defeating actions that make us feel comfortable. We rationalize that they improve our game. But winning is not natural, we need enough self-control to do the unnatural things it takes to win.
Deadly Sin No. 2: Denying reality. It's the second worst, and nearly all of us do it occasionally. We deny that this particular deck isn't good enough. We deny that we are playing poorly because we are bored, tired, or losing. We do not want to admit this because we don't want to admit our own limitations. Any type of denial can destroy our chances for winning consistently.
Deadly Sin No. 3: Impatience. Even a good player occasionally yields to it. We get a bad hand or our opponent gets off to a great start, so we "take a shot". Sometimes it works, but usually it cost us the game. I can use yesterday as an example in my game against Len. I was up one mission and attempting my second, he also got hurt when he attempted his first mission. So when I attempted he decided to "take a shot" and play only one dilemma, Murder Investigation. He knew he was taking a chance, I had six personnel and two had Security. I even told him this had all the makings of getting "scum bagged" (one of my words I like to use meaning when you should hit a random selection but miss). Well, I was right, he missed and I solved. He stopped me twice on my last mission and almost came back. He would've won if he didn't yield to his impatience and play "his" game.
Deadly Sin No. 4: Focusing on ourselves, not the opponent. We are so concerned with our own deck, our hand, our own strategy, that we forget the important information that comes from our opponent. We look at that bad hand or dilemma draw, those cards aren't going to change - no matter how hard we study them - and we miss signals and can't review the previous turns. Who did he play, what did we see in previous attempts or even previous games.
Deadly Sin No. 5: Yielding to our emotions. Anger and pressure can makes us take foolish chances - by not playing the right dilemmas, changing your strategy when you don't need to. Even a desire to be nice and help a player out can cost us later down the road.
Deadly Sin No. 6: Poor concentration. Sometimes we're having a conversation with our opponent during the game, or talking to a spectator, or thinking about your girlfriend. Usually it's more subtle, but just as destructive: for example, we all fall into the trap of thinking about earlier games - especially ones we lost or bad plays we regret. Trek is a "now" game. You need to focus because once it's time to make a play we are stuck with whatever we do. If we make a bad one we are stuck with it forever.
Deadly Sin No. 7: Educating the opposition. (This is my worst sin) We show our dilemmas when we get bad beats, or we explain why we made a certain play, or we criticize other players. We do this because we want respect or sympathy, or just expressing our frustration, but Trek is (for me, and maybe you) about winning, not making ourselves feel good. Every time we show cards, tell a story, or criticize a player it can cost us. A bad player will get better, and a good player will learn how to beat you. I had to learn this again yesterday. A week ago Steve showed me the deck he was playing, I told him what to take out and what to put in (I call this the Ray Linton Maneuver). Well, he did just that and yesterday he preceded to beat Len and me and win the tournament (actually a 3-way tie between him, Mike and me, our opposition totals were identical and we had to have a roll-off. This system does not work for Trek and I long for the days of differential. But from what I hear that's not going to happen). I don't mind seeing Steve do well and win, just not at my expense.
Deadly Sin No. 8: Blaming bad luck. We all do it. Blaming a bad hand or bad beat on dilemmas helps us protect our ego by justifying poor results. This is a form of denial; we deny that only we are responsible for our long term results. It makes us feel better, but stops us from working on our weaknesses. To play our best we have to increase our self-control, accept that responsibility, and sin less frequently.
This is where I would update everyone on the NJ Premier Points standings and any news on the happenings in Jersey. But since my computer is just a fancy paperweight at the moment you will be spared. When Decipher's new message boards opened I figured this would be a good chance to get some reader feedback on the Ruling New Jersey articles. So I posted on of them fancy new polls and these were the results as of 6/14:
Great 11%
Decent 11%
Average 30%
Bad 13%
Garbage 32%
Total votes: 43
When I saw this it didn't break my heart. I'm figuring half of those garbage votes are just your usual KillerB hating. So with that in mind, the jury is about deadlocked. It's either loved or hated, much like myself. So I just wanted to take a moment and respond to some of the responses to the poll:
Mogh wrote,
I voted "Great" based mostly on the last article you wrote. I found it very thought-provoking in how it draws parallels between poker and Star Trek CCG (or any TCG). I've watched enough poker on ESPN to come to this conclusion: the best players in poker and in any TCG are cut from the same cloth.
I agree, they are. You have to make tough decisions and handle the random nature of cards. You have to be mentally tough to be a winner.
Weyoun's Last Clone wrote,
I voted average. I thought it was a good read, quite interesting, but I didn't feel it really helped me as a player. I guess I'm not a real winner.
I'm thinking your motives aren't about being a winner. You're probably there to have fun and relax. As long as you are then you don't need to be a "real" winner.
Nickyank122 wrote,
I voted bad. reasons are: The name I find insulting to my friend Ian Taylor, and his excellent Ruling Britannia articles. At least his title made sense. Ruling New Jersey? What? Your writing leaves a lot to be desired. By writing I refer to both your gramma and writing style, for instance your tendency to insult and talk down to people. Do you think that all the players are huge fans of pro wrestling, which is where I would expect to see that style. When 99% of STCCG players are playing for fun, I have no comprehension of why you play the game. Playing to win is a valid motivation, but why STCCG? Why not a heap of other games? It's not like there is any serious money in it, and being a World Champion is hardly something for your resume. Maybe you could address this in one of your articles?
Insulting? They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. The title is just that, but it's more about me being the leader of Team Jersey. As for my writing style, I'm no Steven King or Hemingway, nor do I claim to be. I don't try to be a good writer, I just try to express my point. As for 99% of Trek players play for fun, I would say you're right, but as I stated in my last article, nobody has just one motive. I play for fun, that's a part of it, but my main goal is to win. No different why a pro sports athlete plays, he loves his sport, but he wants to win. I won't mind putting World Champion on my resume.
Lore411 wrote,
While I don't agree with much written in any of the articles, I often find myself reading them just to keep tabs on your area. Keep on writing them, that way everyone here in MN can be prepared for your decks at Worlds.
Kris "Lore" Sonsteby
(Warning!: The insult and talking down portion of the article!)
Well Kris, maybe that's why you'll always be in the shadows of your fellow MN players. I look forward to Continentals for Round 1. Just so you know, you will never be prepared for Jersey. No matter what anyone says about me the one thing they can't take away is that I am the Continental Champion! It's MY title. And later this month I'll be the first man to ever become Back-to-Back Continental Champion. So Kris you have to ask yourself one question, "Are you ready to play THE GAME?". When you look into your soul and find the answer I'll see you MN clowns around.
John Corbett- "How can you not sing for all to hear?"
P.S. any questions, stories, hate mail please feel free to send to johncorbettjr2 at comcast dot net
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