After "monkeying" around with my computer I finally got it working again. So let's look at what you were supposed to see last month. "The Right Skills"
You cannot win at poker without understanding and applying basic strategies. Two important skills are hand reading and game selection. In Trek it is the same, you have to understand and apply the strategy you have. In Trek this would include deck building and playing that deck, and this article does not attempt to teach them. My counterparts at DGMA would be better suited for those articles (not that I think you'll find anything good there).
My goal is to help you prepare you for those moments in the game (or maybe before) that determine the outcome. Also, prepare you for the different opponents you will face.
For reading your opponent I turn to legendary poker player Doyle Brunson. He has two general rules:
(1) Against a low-grade player, you simply make the obvious play. That is you don't get fancy. You don't try to make subtle moves that'll be far beyond his capacity to understand or appreciate. You play fundamentally better (rather than strategically better) than a weak player. In a word, you outplay him.
In Trek this means when you're playing a bad player just play straight up. You don't have to do anything special. If you have nine personnel and he has four dilemmas underneath don't get cute and attempt with five and wonder why he top-decked you and drew a Triage or Racial Tensions. Just play straightforward. You are fundamentally better, you have a better deck, and you are a better player. Winning is the only goal, there are no style points, don't be cute.
(2) Against a higher-grade player (someone who could be thinking along the same lines as you), you must mix-up your play. Sometimes you make the obvious play against a strong player (as you always would against a weak player), and sometimes you go at it another way and make a play that's not so obvious. Most of the time.you have to put a play on (outmaneuver) a strong player.
This is where you prove yourself. Here's the time for the moves. Especially when you're playing opponents you play often. For example, I was playing Len in The Player's Championship in the final confrontation. He beat me earlier so I knew I had to "make a move". I was playing TNG Shared Problems, usually doing to two planet missions first. Instead, so I don't leave all his good space dilemmas left (I knew he only runs a few), I went for that mission first (It's the hardest to solve). Well, my gamble paid off, he only had one or two he could play and I solved on my first attempt.
That's all there is to it. And it seems simple and logical enough. But knowing something and being able to execute it is not the same thing. As I proved at the NJ Maiden Voyage, I was playing Nikolai and he was attempting his last mission for the first time. I drew my nine dilemmas and I could've definitely stopped him, but I was trailing slightly and maybe felt some pressure. Instead of trusting my deck and my abilities I decided to get cute, the mission required two diplomacy and I knew he had only two in the attempt. I just played a Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and stopped one. Then I said you're stopped you only had two. He said no and showed me his Elim Garak, and diplomacy in hand, and I said good game knowing that I just blew it.
Rating Players
Poker is a game of deception; opponents will dress differently or act differently to throw you off so you can't get a read of there style. Are they loose or tight? Are the passive or aggressive? But in Trek you can get a read on your opponent in a heartbeat, even in a big tournament with players you've never seen before. You can tell if he's good or bad usually by turn two. What cards has he played? Is the deck any good? Then, is he confident or unsure? Does he look like he knows exactly what he's doing? Does he feel like he's going to win or does it look like he's there to have fun?
In poker there is four types of players: Loose-Aggressive, Loose-Passive, Tight-Passive, and Tight-Aggressive. The last one is usually best suited for a winning poker player. In Trek I've noticed there can be a comparison: Bad-Confident, Bad-Unsure, Good-Unsure, Good-Confident. The last one is best suited for a winning Trek player. Now of course there is room in the middle, you might share qualities with more than one type. And by "Good" I mean players who win more than 50% of their games and the opposite for "Bad". Let's go over these four, their characteristics and how to play against them:
Bad-Confident - We come across this type of player all the time, mostly at locals. He has all the cards, but he doesn't know how to use them. He's talking all the time, about decks and strategy, but he doesn't know what he's talking about. When he loses he blames bad luck and never looks at his deck or his playing ability. He thinks he's there to win but doesn't have a chance.
To beat these players you don't have to do much. Their decks aren't very good and they will make mistakes. Remember, they are a low-grade player so just play straightforward. Don't get fancy. And don't waste your time trying any mind-games, they are so blind, they think they are good and nothing you say will change that.
If you are a Bad-Confident player- You have to simply stop denying reality. You have to see you aren't winning enough games. Sure you probably go 2-2 in most tournaments, but that's not a good player. It's not all bad though, you have an excellent trait in a player: confidence. You just need to look at yourself and be real. Maybe you could use some help? There's no shame and asking for help from fellow players.
Bad-Unsure - These are what I like to call "T-shirt" guys. They are there to have fun, socialize, and relax. They are generally nice, quite guys. This is probably the most common type of Trek player.
If you can't beat this type of player than there's not much hope for you. They don't put any time in there game. They probably have a wife, kids, or whatever and Trek is just another hobby. Once again, all you have to do is play your game and don't waiver. Even if you find yourself behind (this can happen in 2E no matter your opponent), don't "take a chance". Trust yourself and your deck and he'll need a miracle to win.
If you are a Bad-Unsure player- If you're playing to have fun and whatnot, than you're doing just fine. You're satisfying your motives and that's what's most important. But there are some players like these who become good (50%+ wins). I'll use Steve as an example, when he started he won about 1, maybe 2, games a tournament. Then he won the Cruiserweight Belt and he didn't want to lose it. He started asking for help, he listened and responded to it. Soon he was beating Len and I. He also went 4-0 Day 1 of Continentals. He lost the Belt to Nikolai and hasn't gotten it back, but he's gained confidence and skill. He still needs plenty of both but might be a player one day.
Good-Unsure - These guys blend in with the wallpaper. They never talk smack; you usually never notice them until you're in a game with them. They know what they're doing; they have a great deck and know all the cards. But in a game they are a little nervous and aren't sure what their next move is. They have a bad habit if making dumb mistakes.
To beat this player you have to be on your game. You can't sleep on this guy early. He's playing a solid deck so you can't mess around. But here's the key, he'll slip up. You have to make him pay when he does. And when it's time for him to make a tough decision, it's time to get in his head. Mess with him; say whatever to make him more worried. Hell, even before the game I go at him. Remember, you need an edge; this is a chance to get it.
If you are Good-Unsure player- Well, you really can't teach confidence. It's something you gain during life. If you're not confident in Trek I'm willing to bet you go about your whole life that way. You can only gain it one win at a time. Much the opposite a bad player has to look at himself and realize his faults, you have to realize your strengths.
Good Confident - This is the ideal Card player, no matter what the game. They have it all together, the deck, the ability, discipline, intensity, concentration; they know they are going to win. There are always looking for an edge, then take maximum advantage of that edge. It's not all perfect; sometimes you can get cocky and let a game slip. Also, if you are an aggressive player, like myself, other players will become hostile towards you. But you will gain respect.
Of course, these are the toughest players to beat, but if you're also this type of player, this is why you play the game. To be the man you have to beat the man. Play your game and let it dictate what you have to do. If you get a read on him and see a move that will work then this is the time for it. Even the most confident of players can get rattled, let's say a horrible dilemma draw. It's worth taking a verbal shot at him; you make be able to put him on tilt (make him play below his normal capacity).
If you are a Good-Confident player- You can go about to two ways, you can be aggressive (mean guy approach) or more passive (nice guy approach). I truly believe being aggressive gives you an edge, but it just depends on your personality. It depends if you want to be loved or feared. What will help your game?
You got away with it last month, but I know you're all dying to see the New Jersey Premier Series Standings. Here they are:
1. Len Neidorf 156 Pts. ($24)
2. John Corbett 110 Pts.
3. Michael Keller 84 Pts.
4. Nikolai Fomich 68 Pts.
5. Steve Fitchett 58 Pts.
6. Vera Sergeyeva 40 Pts.
7. Matt Sinclair 36 Pts.
8. James Bottomly 26 Pts.
9. Rob Tapp 16 Pts.
10. Tim Geary 8 Pts.
10. Cliff Lentz 8 Pts.
10. Michael Vroom 8 Pts.
13. Drew Christensen 6 Pts.
NJ Premier Series Schedule
Jan. 24th- KillerBOWL IV, Champion - Len Neidorf
Feb. 22nd- The New Jersey Pre-Territorial Open, Champion - Michael Keller
Mar. 28th - New Jersey Territorial, Champion - Michael Keller
Apr.17th & 18th - The Jersey Masters, Champion - Len Neidorf
May 16th - The New Jersey Player's Championship, Champion - Len Neidorf
June 6th - The Kellerman Invitational, Champion - Len Neidorf
July 18th - KillerSLAM!, Berlin NJ
Sep.- The World Champion Invitational
Oct.- The World Series of Trek $8 Buy-In, $2 Entry Fee
Nov.- KillerBAD BLOOD!
Dec.- The New Jersey Premier Series Championship (Major) $10 Entry Fee
Point Breakdown
1st - 24 Pts.
2nd- 18 Pts.
3rd & 4th- 14 Pts.
5th thru 8th - 8 Pts.
9th thru 16th - 6 Pts.
17th thru 24th - 2 Pts.
26th thru 32nd - 1 Pt.
*Majors worth double points*
The $24 is what Len took in by winning the Player's Championship. Nothing but high stakes here in Jersey. The 18th will bring KillerSLAM! with a Triple Threat, with Len and Steve, for my Heavyweight Title. Steve won the last tournament and has an opportunity to leave Berlin with both belts. Len has won three straight Premier Series tournaments and has a massive point lead. Looks like the odds are against the Champ.
Here's my Origins report: I went, I played Trek and sucked, I played poker and sucked. It got so bad I found myself playing board games at 3 a.m. with guys I didn't even know. But they turned out to be cool. The one dude got up and said he had to "take a walk". I'm down; I know what "take a walk" means. So I got to thinking, it's been some years since I "took a walk". Plus it was a pretty shitty weekend. So when he got back I said, "next time you take a walk I might come with you." I think I caught him off guard and he responded, "That depends on what you mean." I said, "You know what I mean." he said all right. So I "took a walk" and it sadly enough turned out to be the highlight of my trip. All because I committed deadly sin No. 2: denying reality. I played the MV and a warm-up on Friday; I should've known my dilemma scheme wasn't going to work there. Even the next tournament in Jersey I still tried to make it work and it failed. I was stubborn and I paid. So it's back to the Lab.
Shockingly enough we have something in the mailbag this month and it comes from the other side of the pond. Ian Taylor wrote:
If you delete the 'like myself' from the middle of paragraph three, this months RNJ is great. Even with it in it is still pretty good and only brought down by the one annoying bit of self-glorification. The series seems to be taking a good direction. I can definitely see the influence of a lot of poker articles but the points are also very valid for Trek. I look forward to the next one if the quality continues.
The sentence was: Even winners, like myself, take self-defeating actions that make us feel comfortable. Remember, these two articles were in reverse order, I defined winner (good) as a player who wins more than 50% of their games. And so what if I did anyway? I am a winner, if I can't throw a bit of self-glorification then what's the point? As for "if the quality continues", talk about annoying. You can take your tea drinking, fish and chips eating, non-toothpaste using self and kiss my fat American ass. Be a good little Brit, like Tony Blair, and do what the USA says, read the article, learn something and, if you have something useful to say, chime in when you want. Until then, I'll see you clowns around.
John Corbett- "Hey, how can you listen to this without feeling the urge to dance?"
P.S. any questions, stories, hate mail please feel free to send to johncorbettjr2 at comcast dot net
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