How to bluff and use it to your advantage
MrELk52483
There is more to magic then deck construction and the luck of the draw
Of course you can cheat and mana weave. But if you like to play fair and if
you would like to have the slight advantage try bluffing. There's allot of
things you can do, the most enjoyable is mind games
The key is "confidence not cockiness" Basically intimidate your opponent,
look him in the eye and move your lips around. If your playing type1
accidentally drop a timewalk onto the table while shuffling smile and say "oh
oops" If your playing type2 you should start playing with his mind, you should
drop a cursed scroll for example, its gives him an idea that your deck is fast
but cant decide if its pox, suicide black, or modified sligh. Another thing is
bluff without action, what this is if he's declaring attack drop your hand by
mistake and the constant mists would be face up then ::gasp:: and pick it back
up. If your a cruel person like I am and if your playing a beginner get one of
your friends to come up and look at your name tag and say "Eric Kang??? THE
Eric Kang? I've heard so much about you please sign my card!" Or something
similar to offset your opponent
Some of my favorite mind games include rushing your opponent
during his 1st main phase or something just quickly ask done? And if he's deep
in thought he'll reply with a nod or a yes so you proceed to untap and when he
realizes what happened its all over. Another thing that freaks out my
opponents is just before you draw during your draw phase flex your muscles,
stretch a little and whisper to him "now lets see if my topdecking skills can
come in handy" then you draw and then immediately count your deck, look
through you grave yard and do the same to your opponent, ask how many cards he
has in his hand and whatever he says just repeat it and then smile
so it would look something like this
Me: how many cards in your hand?
Scrub: 4
Me: I see ::smile::
If your playing blue always no matter what keep 2 islands open and if he casts
something that you don't want to counter finger your 2 islands and just look at
him, then you can flip a coin not telling him which side is what and when it
lands heads or tails just go "doh you're lucky this time!!"
A really fun thing to do is start making weird noises with your cards, like
slam them on the table, flip them around, snap them forward and backward just
make sure he's having a hard time concentrating. If he casts something that's
not really important just look at him and say "ok ...I'm a nice guy, are you
sure you want to tap the forest instead of the brushland??" and if he sticks
with it proceed to your untap and keep murmuring "..I'm a ... nice .... guy
..... "
The key thing to bluffing is you could either bluff that you HAVE a card or
that you DON'T have a card
Whether your playing a pro tour against a complete stranger or having a
friendly game with the cute girl down the block bluffing is fun
That is of course...if they don't call your bluff..
heh heh heh
hope this helped
peace!
º*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^v
Magic is nothing but a tool
for me to take control of you
P l a y e r b e w a r e
Y ou 're in for a s c a r e
-ELk...@hotmail.com
º*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^v
MTGmaster3
-ßrian
DCI# h661587
8Þ
Gary Cappallo
I've also found that the best mind games to play are to always make
your opponent think you can play something. Whenever your opponent
declares an attack take a moment to look at his creatures and your
creatures, then look at your hand and your land and think for a
moment, eventually you say "okay, I'll take three." and always look
like your examining the playing field. Also, whenever you have
creatures on the table, declare an attack, especially if you have mana
available. Even if you don't attack with any of the creatures you
can make him wary or cause him to use a spell to early.
Another fun thing is when defending. If your opponent is
constantly attacking you with the same creatures and you're blocking
with the same creatures, change things up every now and then. Say you
block his creatures 1 + 2 with your A + B respectively. Just once
swap the blockers as if you have some plan in your hand and see what
he does.
Bottom line, always keep your opponent guessing as to what you
have. If your opponent thinks he knows what's in your hand and is
right than he's at an advantage, if he thinks he knows and is wrong
than your at an advantage.
cre...@my-dejanews.com
Everything you've said so far is not 'bluffing', it's 'gamesmanship'. This
sort of crap is what separates a large majority of Magic players from those
of more 'respectable' games. If you tried any of these tricks at a duplicate
bridge tournament, at best you'd never be invited back to play again, and
at worst they'd kick you out immediately and contact the appropriate
organizations to make sure you were banned from all of their tournaments.
And don't even *think* of trying them at the Poker table in a Las Vegas
or Atlantic City casino! (For instance, in Bridge, during the bidding
phase it is expected that each player will always state his bids in the
same syntax and tone of voice. You don't open with "ONE SPADE!" when you
have a strong hand, and "Oh, I guess I'll bid a spade," when you have a
borderline opener. In both cases, you'd be expected to simply say "One
spade.")
Bluffing is attacking with your Llanowar Elf, leaving one forest utapped,
while your opponent has his White Knight untapped, even though all you have
in your hand is a Forest and another Elf.
> The key thing to bluffing is you could either bluff that you HAVE a card or
> that you DON'T have a card
> Whether your playing a pro tour against a complete stranger or having a
> friendly game with the cute girl down the block bluffing is fun
> That is of course...if they don't call your bluff..
> heh heh heh
> hope this helped
> peace!
The key to bluffing is always playing with the same demeanor in your facial
expressions and body language, regardless of whether you've got that Giant
Growth in your hand or not. That demeanor does not have to be cocky,
obnoxious, cute, sexy, or anything - it can be just plain non-descript; the
key is that it doesn't change whether you're bluffing or not.
> º*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^v
> Magic is nothing but a tool
> for me to take control of you
> P l a y e r b e w a r e
> Y ou 're in for a s c a r e
> -ELk...@hotmail.com
> º*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^v
>
>
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum
dirty-fly
Just kidding... (or maybe not...) solve this bluf out !
Now Really !
What you are discribing is just the type of player who is anoying and
YES you are right many people will lose to him, not just the game but the
temper !
A good bluffer is like a good cheater you will never know he is !
When i see that kind of playing in an oponent of mine ill just call the
referee and ask im to do the shuffling and to keep the game in order, BTW is
the referee is a thugh one he will penalize you for droping that timewalk
since is not allowed to show your game to the oponent.
And there is the worst part in bluff is that if your oponent calls it
just like i do and let me tell you most of the times im right !!! (shame on
the other times when im wrong :((( )
bf8...@hotmail.com
are 3 very cool black (or semi-black) cards....
Another reason I use black.
BonE
In article <xjnr1.123$Gi.10...@newsread.com>,
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
John Doran
Interesting post. I almost have never, however, done or seen done
your first opinion (drop cards, etc.). It just doesn't make sense
to me. I prefer talking fast, joking around, and playing cards fast
(tapping mana fast, etc.). Shuffling your hand works sometimes. Aswell,
asking thier hand size which is what you mentioned, is actually
not a bluff type of thing. I always like to know thier handsize and
repeatedly ask people what it is. I never really thought of it as
intimidating.
Speaking of intimidating 'begginers', I had one older guy (say late
twenties, I don't know) say, WHY THE HELL do you have 2 undiscovered's
in your chaos deck??????
IT"S A FREGGIN control deck, fer god sake's!!!
well....I wasn't really pissed off at him then, but as I tried to explain
to this 'expert' that I've got 'geddon's in the deck, and also don't use
the city of brass do to damage, and don't use the gemstone mine
because I want to use it repeatedly, he just wouldn't listen. This got
me mad. This know-it-all then said, "It's because it's a cool card, right?"
I thought I was going to take him out. I then challenged him to a game
and preceded to slaughter him easily. His excuse? YOU haven't seen
what this deck can do!!!"
I just couldn't stand it. I walked away. This guy had all the cards,
I didn't, although I wasn't a begginer (actually I consider myself
an expert without any goddam cards), I managed to beat him easily.
I *hate* people who think you know jack when your 16. Pisses me off....
Sorry for getting carried away...
--
Johnny D
Kevin Grumball
> you would like to have the slight advantage try bluffing.
Most of what you describe isn't bluffing - it's cheating. If you tried
any of this childishness in a bridge tournament you'd be banned for
life. There are ways to bluff - like leaving two blue mana open even
when you don't have a counterspell or like not playing a land so that
you have an extra card in hand. That's legitimate. Making noises or
dropping cards is d/q material.
I teach young players that anything they say is a giveaway. You may
think you've bluffed the other guy, but it's just as likely that a good
player will see through it. If he isn't a good player then you'll beat
him anyway.
Regards,
Kevin
Knut
more than a total absence of gesture, talking and reaction. Sometimes, it
happens to me to say absolutely nothing during a game except for "untap...
upkeep... draw... I'm declaring my attack phase... 2 damages...". And when
an opponent is not stopping talking and yelling, I'm doing nothing more.
That is really anoying for the majority of all these
pseudo-psychic-players...
--
Knut
cre...@my-dejanews.com a écrit dans l'article
<6olc2f$2c0$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>
> Everything you've said so far is not 'bluffing', it's 'gamesmanship'.
This
> sort of crap is what separates a large majority of Magic players from
those
> of more 'respectable' games. If you tried any of these tricks at a
duplicate
> bridge tournament, at best you'd never be invited back to play again, and
> at worst they'd kick you out immediately and contact the appropriate
> organizations to make sure you were banned from all of their tournaments.
> And don't even *think* of trying them at the Poker table in a Las Vegas
> or Atlantic City casino! (For instance, in Bridge, during the bidding
> phase it is expected that each player will always state his bids in the
> same syntax and tone of voice. You don't open with "ONE SPADE!" when you
> have a strong hand, and "Oh, I guess I'll bid a spade," when you have a
> borderline opener. In both cases, you'd be expected to simply say "One
> spade.")
>
> Bluffing is attacking with your Llanowar Elf, leaving one forest utapped,
> while your opponent has his White Knight untapped, even though all you
have
> in your hand is a Forest and another Elf.
>
>
> The key to bluffing is always playing with the same demeanor in your
facial
> expressions and body language, regardless of whether you've got that
Giant
> Growth in your hand or not. That demeanor does not have to be cocky,
> obnoxious, cute, sexy, or anything - it can be just plain non-descript;
the
> key is that it doesn't change whether you're bluffing or not.
>
>
Gary Cappallo
>Regards,
>Kevin
Often times, especially in friendly play (yes, some of us actually
still play just for fun) people look at me and ask things like "Well,
if I cast This then your just gonna do That aren't you?" Obviously
they're just trying to get some information out of me, so I always
respond with the same tone and same expression of "I don't know". It
keeps them always guessing because I don't give anything away.
Myron Mychal
> º*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^v
> Magic is nothing but a tool
> for me to take control of you
> P l a y e r b e w a r e
> Y ou 're in for a s c a r e
> -ELk...@hotmail.com
> º*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^vº*º^v^v
Hey - I didn't know Mike Long changed his email address!
I cannot believe that you still have people in your neck of the woods that WANT to play
Magic with you, Eric. I find your "tactics" to be annoying, childish and downright
rude. And - you posted this in "strategy" where the information you gave is absolutely
useless, except in allowing people who care about the sport to see what some idiots are
capable of during a game.
Myron Mychal
<technique on blocking snipped>
> Bottom line, always keep your opponent guessing as to what you
> have. If your opponent thinks he knows what's in your hand and is
> right than he's at an advantage, if he thinks he knows and is wrong
> than your at an advantage.
Now that sounds like an actual Magic-playing strategy rather than some
childishly annoying technique.
This could probably be expanded upon in a longer articlew that could be
useful to beginning players.
Myron Mychal
Myron Mychal
> I think you're absolutely right Creace. In fact, bluffing needs nothing
> more than a total absence of gesture, talking and reaction. Sometimes, it
> happens to me to say absolutely nothing during a game except for "untap...
> upkeep... draw... I'm declaring my attack phase... 2 damages...". And when
> an opponent is not stopping talking and yelling, I'm doing nothing more.
> That is really anoying for the majority of all these
> pseudo-psychic-players...
>
Although this is hardly any kind of "technique" that can be abused, I have
learned that people who play Magic seem to LIKE playing it fast. I mean, I
see creatures untap and a card getting drawn almost simultaneously . . . lands
being tapped in the blink of an eye and creatures/spells being played.
I must say that when I play, I simply cannot do this - I like to think.
However - I do NOT at all stall. I make methodical, intelligent plays and
survey the board a lot and try to avoid making mistakes and such. Though my
opponent may be a better player and can even play his deck "faster" without
this thought, taking only slight pauses at critical moments, I maintain a
constant pace.
THis helps me avoid a lot of things. I always remember to pay may cumulative
upkeep effects because in my mind, after I untap my last permanent, I say to
myself - "Upkeep - any stuff needing to be paid?" and then I proceed to draw a
card and I say "Draw Phase" as I draw it as a reminder.
A lot of the time, my opponent is very annoyed that I can keep a slower pace
without stalling. Often - they are ancy to get to their next draw phase and
play. It's like that uneasiness when you are playing a big game of Risk and
it isn't your turn - you WANT it to be . . . the excitement and anticipation
builds during your opponent's turns . . . and when they stop to think, that is
lengthening the time until they "get to play" again.
I try to tell myself that I am always playing - even (and especially) during
their turn. I don't get ancy . . . I don't play too fast . . . I let my
opponent take his/her time - I cannot help that they do not choose to use it.
I cannot tell you what the average number of times I hear "Are you done?"
during my turn is, but it is not because of me usually . . . at least 60% of
the time, someone is impatiently waiting for me . . .
This has actually helped me to win a lot of games, especially in sealed and
booster draft. I have never been called for stalling - I simply take enough
time rather than "the absolute minimum time" to perform my actions. Players
get frustrated that I can do this - the better players do not seem to be
affected at all. It's like when I used to play CHess in High School. On a
lot of moves that seemed to be simple and straightforward, I'd take an extra
minute off my clock to think about them -I usually have a lot of time to
spare.
So I am trying to encourage players - especially newer ones - to not be
impatient in waiting for your turn to play. If your opponent is taking a
little extra time, take it yourself as well. Study your permanents . . .
don't have any? Study your hand? Don't have any cards there? THink about
what IS in your library . . . study your opponent's side of the board . . .
study her graveyard. don't stall, but don't just sit there andddd sigh and
NOT use the time . . . that is silly and a bad strategy in my book.
Also . . . it will help you avoid letting some idiot like Eric who started
this thread from getting a "free turn" on you because a speedy opponent
encouraged you to play at his/her pace rather than your own.
Just a thought
Myron Mychal
David Linder
If anyone's interested, that was just a (bad) rewriting of an article
in the Duelist by Zak Dolan a few years ago. Is if that guy could have
come up with it on his own.
David Linder
marvant duhon
World Championship (held at a Las Vegas Casino; I do not know if the title
has any official standing) was won by the same person for the third year
in a row. This is unbelievable, because of the structure of the
tournament. A THOUSAND poker players, most of whom make a living from
this, are each given a thousand dollars. They play about five to a table
until one person has all the money. Then the winners play for higher
stakes and so on until one guy has a million dollars. It's all on camera
so cheating will not work. Trying to give misimpressions by the means
that were advocated at the start of this thread was allowed, as it
is in much of poker (but NOT in bridge at all). How did one guy defeat the
odds every year? He said he won because he kept his demeanor exactly the
same throughout.
The important point, though, is the etiquette of the game. In
friendly games the players choose whether deceptive gamesmanship is
allowed, by mutual consent (so ask before playinf if you want to use it
on someone you have not played before). In tournmament games, or any games
in which players agree to use tournament rules, it is against the rules
and rude. With people whom I know I occasionally do enjoy more wide open
standards, including jokes and deceptive gamesmanship. But let's keep it
in its place.
Marvant Duhon
Knut (kn...@netrover.com) wrote:
: I think you're absolutely right Creace. In fact, bluffing needs nothing
: more than a total absence of gesture, talking and reaction. Sometimes, it
: happens to me to say absolutely nothing during a game except for "untap...
: upkeep... draw... I'm declaring my attack phase... 2 damages...". And when
: an opponent is not stopping talking and yelling, I'm doing nothing more.
: That is really anoying for the majority of all these
: pseudo-psychic-players...
: --
: Knut
: cre...@my-dejanews.com a écrit dans l'article
: <6olc2f$2c0$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
: >
: > Everything you've said so far is not 'bluffing', it's 'gamesmanship'.
: This
: > sort of crap is what separates a large majority of Magic players from
: those
: > of more 'respectable' games. If you tried any of these tricks at a
: duplicate
: > bridge tournament, at best you'd never be invited back to play again, and
: > at worst they'd kick you out immediately and contact the appropriate
: > organizations to make sure you were banned from all of their tournaments.
: > And don't even *think* of trying them at the Poker table in a Las Vegas
: > or Atlantic City casino! (For instance, in Bridge, during the bidding
: > phase it is expected that each player will always state his bids in the
: > same syntax and tone of voice. You don't open with "ONE SPADE!" when you
: > have a strong hand, and "Oh, I guess I'll bid a spade," when you have a
: > borderline opener. In both cases, you'd be expected to simply say "One
: > spade.")
: >
: > Bluffing is attacking with your Llanowar Elf, leaving one forest utapped,
: > while your opponent has his White Knight untapped, even though all you
: have
: > in your hand is a Forest and another Elf.
: >
: >
: > The key to bluffing is always playing with the same demeanor in your
: facial
: > expressions and body language, regardless of whether you've got that
: Giant
: > Growth in your hand or not. That demeanor does not have to be cocky,
: > obnoxious, cute, sexy, or anything - it can be just plain non-descript;
: the
: > key is that it doesn't change whether you're bluffing or not.
: >
: >
: > -----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
: >
MrELk52483
this isnt bridge or pokwer
And another thing
you dont like my playing methods?
well you can "not like my playing methods" while i sweep you in a tournament
cause i have you thinking im running living deaths standard
i dont comment on how you play the game
so dont comment on my playing style
and cheating?
what im doing is cheating?
thats just hilarious and plain rightout stupid
its skill full tactics
im manipulating my opponent to my advantage
if i need that one match point i will do everyhting in my power to get that one
match point
but i will not cheat
so please dont accuse me of being a mikelong and blatantly cheating
thats a serious mean of offense to me and i will shove my foot up your ass if
you accuse of me cheating
peace
Morgan Lewis
>
> Ummm one point
> this isnt bridge or pokwer
No, but the courtesy aspect should be the same.
> And another thing
> you dont like my playing methods?
> well you can "not like my playing methods" while i sweep you in a tournament
I doubt it--I for one would just ignore your juvenile stunts.
> cause i have you thinking im running living deaths standard
Not with what you're doing; what you're doing isn't bluffing, it's just
being a jerk. If you were bluffing, you might be able to make someone
think that--but what you're doing is simply trying to distract your
opponent and trying to get a free turn by saying "done yet?" before
they're ready, and other trash tactics like that. Frankly, you're going
to get sliced to ribbons by anyone who isn't easily intimidated.
> i dont comment on how you play the game
> so dont comment on my playing style
You offered it up for critique, don't blame us if we take you up on the
offer.
> and cheating?
> what im doing is cheating?
> thats just hilarious and plain rightout stupid
It's correct. What you are doing directly violates the terms of good
sportsmanship.
> its skill full tactics
No it isn't, what you're doing has nothing to do with skill. If you had
skill, you wouldn't need to use such tactics.
> im manipulating my opponent to my advantage
> if i need that one match point i will do everyhting in my power to get that one
> match point
> but i will not cheat
Rushing your opponent isn't cheating? Dropping a card to show them what
your deck contains, despite DCI regulations, isn't cheating? Most of
your stuff is either in direct violation of the letter of the rules, or
at least in the spirit.
> so please dont accuse me of being a mikelong and blatantly cheating
> thats a serious mean of offense to me and i will shove my foot up your ass if
> you accuse of me cheating
>
You're cheating. Period. No two ways about it. If you don't like
people accusing you of it, don't do it.
You know, SOME of us are skilled enough players that we don't _need_ to
make asses out of ourselves trying to disrupt our opponent's thinking.
And SOME of us are honest enough that if we're going to lose, we accept
that without trying to cheat our opponent out of a well-earned victory.
But I guess that doesn't apply to you. "Win at all costs" is a trait
found only among one group of people--assinine losers.
Morgan
NFLed
>this isnt bridge or pokwer
>you dont like my playing methods?
>well you can "not like my playing methods" while i sweep you in a tournament
>so dont comment on my playing style
>what im doing is cheating?
>thats just hilarious and plain rightout stupid
>im manipulating my opponent to my advantage
>if i need that one match point i will do everyhting in my power to get that
>one
>match point
>but i will not cheat
>thats a serious mean of offense to me and i will shove my foot up your ass if
>you accuse of me cheating
Cheating is defined (though not perfectly at all) in the rules and
include poor sportsmanship. I only accuse those I see cheat
and/or those who say they do something which is defined as
cheating.
Regardless of cheating, some day you may care how others
think of you (and not just because of what you can get out of
others). Respect which is earned by winning through fair play
is far more rewarding and consistent than the respect gained
from using unethical tactics to win matches.
As stated on other threads if winning is the absolute goal then
go ahead and cheat and/or play in an annoying manner. I pity
someone who needs to do this to win. I pity someone who
fools themself into thinking that this makes them happy.
Keeping two islands untapped or asking how many cards an
opponent has is skillful playing. Rushing an opponent by
constantly saying "Done?" is pitiful -- yes it may win money
and tournaments but it's pitiful.
Ed B.
GURU 418
that they don't know they are doing that tells you how they are "feeling" about
the game---if you play the same people you will often learn tendencies of these
people---in example---i play one guy that flips his cards in his hand----if he
has a "good" hand and thinks things are going his way---he flips them
continuously---waiting to play---if he has a bad start---then he will either
not flip them or flip them very fast----so some of your "tactics can
backfire---someone that understands what you are trying to do will royally turn
it against you and make you feel the fool---so think about what you are doing
before you try it
GURU
MrELk52483
unsportman like? think what you want
All of these "tools" i use are in most local tournaments when i play in a
bigger sanctioned tournaments i tend to understand that i shoudlnt under
estimate my opponent so i concentrate on what i do and how i should play it
In my post i wrote you can keep 2 islands untaped and i also wrote you can rush
your opponent, if one appeals to you? use it if one doesnt? then dont
simple as that
do you think oen of my friends will come up tome nd look at my name tag or i
will really flip a coin to decide whether to counter your spell or not
there is a place and time for fun and games
you ppl either dont see the humor in this or you ppl are just 100% losers
i dont want to be a ass like llya
so i sincerely apologize to everyone who took this post seriously
as it was meant to do soemthing to friends or a local tourney you goto
sanctioned or non-sanctioned where you know everybody
its pretty obvious when your playing an important game that your nto gonna be
fooling around
once again..my fualt if you took this the wrong way
and why dont you try it sometimes with your friends
it works
no matter how skillfull your opponent is, it gets himt hinking about you and
not about how hes going to get that cad bloom into play next turn