Knowing how to play Yu-Gi-Oh well doesn’t mean you’re going to play Yu-Gi-Oh well. Emotions negatively affect many players, possibly including you. What many do not realize is that you must also train your mind to play well.
You need to discipline your mind to automatically apply Yu-Gi concepts that are related to the current situation in a game. By applying basic concepts automatically and thoughtlessly, you can use more mental energy for strategic things, like adapting to specific players. Your decisions will then be more precise, which will bring home victory.
Let’s start with a simple example of this process: learning the alphabet as a child. In the beginning, you had to consciously think about spelling every time you typed a word. Now, you can write a sentence without consciously thinking about the spelling. Your brain automatically and subconsciously processes the spelling. The same goes for many other tasks, such as driving a car.
Since you don’t have to think about spelling or driving, your mind is free to focus on other things, like what to say or the best route to take. Your brain learns to do a task and then, over time and repetition, you gain the ability to do the task subconsciously. You need to train your mind to apply this process to Yu-Gi-Oh.
When tasks like calculating the odds of your opponents being face down and calculating hand ranges become as automatic as spelling a single word, your mind can focus on other Yu-Gi-Oh concerns.
Some players have no idea what they don’t know. They don’t even know that essential knowledge exists. They perceive the game at such a simplistic level of knowledge that they cannot win. Because Yu-Gi-Oh is a complicated game, these players must first learn what little they know.
Some players simply lack the Yu-Gi-Oh experience necessary to understand the game properly and will improve over time. Others are simply in denial; they know they lose but they don’t know why, and they don’t want to know. They will not admit their shortcomings to themselves or to anyone. They blame luck, the seat, the deck, or anyone or anything other than themselves.
To get better, you need to recognize what you don’t know or can’t calculate and then work to learn it. That is the basis. You will know that you are missing essential knowledge and you can work to acquire it.
Some knowledge can be gained from books, while others can be gained from experience alone. That said, to learn from experience, you have to focus on learning. Ask yourself questions about the game as you play; do it consistently and focus. Your mind will improve both in terms of knowledge and ability to concentrate.
Over time, as your knowledge and mental skills improve, you will understand and apply higher level Yu-Gi-Oh strategies. But that will require a high level of concentration. As your concentration improves, your brain will learn to perform Yu-Gi-Oh tasks without you having to consciously think about them. You’ll be able to calculate back row odds, analyze possible cards in hand, and apply Yu-Gi-Oh concepts without consciously thinking about them. You will become more competent subconsciously.
Then you can focus your thinking on a higher plane: the thought, the emotions, etc. of his opponents. Once you’ve trained your mind to function at this level, you’ll play some awesome Yu-Gi’s.
If you want to become a good Yu-Gi-Oh player, you have to come to terms with where your game is right now, understand what it takes to take it to the next level, and work towards it.
All of us, even the brightest, lack some areas of knowledge. Learn what knowledge you need to become a good player, then go out and get it! Buy the books and read them more than once; invest the time, energy, and focus it takes to become a good player.
Apply that knowledge and think about how it works when you use it. Then you will slowly learn the subtleties of Yu-Gi-Oh. Over time, the knowledge you’ve gained will be processed automatically, allowing you to focus on the subtleties. You will perceive how your game grows and how your decisions are more and more successful in any situation.
The more automatic your basic thought processes are, the better your conscious thinking will be. Thoughts that never occurred to you before will pop into your mind as your brain frees itself from the processing tasks of the fundamentals. This is the level of play you strive for. When you train your brain correctly, you’ll be amazed at how much information it can process.
It’s not easy to discipline your mind to play Yu-Gi-Oh at this level, but you’ve done it many times before with other tasks. You can drive a car without consciously giving it much thought, and you can spell and even write sentences without consciously concentrating on spelling. Create the same mental abilities with the basics of Yu-Gi-Oh; train your brain to process Yu-Gi-Oh information at a higher level. I know it’s a lot more complicated than spelling, but the rewards are great. You will find yourself winning much more often, and winning is a lot of fun.
