When it comes to games such as MtG, Poker, Settlers, etc… where’s the edge between playing casual or doing it like a pro?

When you play a game, no matter which, you should always be able to distinguish the line between fun and competition. The real key to answer the question is finding the right balance of how much fun you have while playing competitive. How so?

Let me go a bit back in the time, and explain you something about my childhood first.

Back in 1993, I was a 13 year old boy with lot to learn and not much to lose. We had this math teacher, named Patiño, who challenged us every day by playing what he called “El Ruedo” (the Bullring). El Ruedo consisted in a very simple but efficient way to motivate the students. Everyday, Patiño would be asking questions and, if you would answer them correctly then you would move one desk forward closer to the teacher; if you would answer wrong then you would lose one position and move back to the end of the classroom.

We were part of a living ladder everyday, where best students would play at the top of it, while the worst ones would be sent back to the end. Being at the beginning had rewards while being at the end punishments (extra homework, etc…). I’m sure Patiño had his own statistics from his students: % of answers correct, % of answers wrong, number of seats gained, number of seats gone, etc…

For me, El Ruedo was motivating, self-challenging and, most important, fun. I loved being at the top tables, competing with the most brilliant students, while others were also trying to compete to get my seat. It was fun being there, but, was it only fun because of me, or was it also because you could see others go down in the ladder?

Ladder systems ain’t nothing new. Chess is using it, MtG is using, all sort of sports are using it, even teachers are using it. What’s behind ladders that makes them so interesting? Very simple, they are self-breaking.

Let’s move now to our game, Magic: The Gathering. When we start playing the game, we don’t even know about the existence of the DCI rankings. We play purely for fun and we don’t care much about losing, because you play with your friends (who have a similar level than yours) and they also lose often.

When you sign in your first tournament you are informed about the DCI. You fill in that paper and, from that point, you are now interested about rankings and your stats.

At the beginning you lose and lose points, and that isn’t fun at all. Then you wonder why you are doing that bad. You start reading magazines and copy/paste decks from them. You begin to feel the improvement, but that’s not enough to make you go up, because your winning % won’t be any bigger than 50%. Then you start reading articles from pro’s on the internet, you read tournament reports, you prepare your decks based on the metagame, etc… At that point you can start feeling the improvement, and your winning % will be over 50% for sure.

From that level to the one where you become a winning player there’s an abyss. What makes someone a competitive player just like any pro? Do pros enjoy the game and have fun just like when we were casual players?

There’s few things you should do and know about competitive players:

1. They play a lot. Experience is important, because it will make easier to you certain choices. It’s very simple how to react to a certain situation when you’ve experienced it in the past.
2. They read a lot. You think you read enough? Meh, you are wrong! They read more.
3. They are people with huge self-confidence. This is probably the most important thing when it comes to being competitive. You have to believe in yourself from game 1 of round 1, to game 5 of a Pro Tour final. If you ever doubt of your chances of beating a certain player just because he’s a pro, then your putting yourself in a losing-position from the very beginning of the match.
4. They never surrender. If there’s any slim chance of winning a match, no matter how small it is, they’ll go for it. If you need to topdeck a card to win a game you are otherwise losing, you have to believe in the chance of drawing it.
5. They act like pro’s. Being competitive means behaving competitive. It’s not the same talking like a kid than saying the right words at the right moment. It’s not the same to blame your opponent’s luck when he’s beaten you, than accepting the lose, shake hands and afterwards analyze your own mistakes.
6. Winning is fun, therefore pros have more fun than any other players. Losing ain’t specially nice or funny. The more you lose, the less fun you have. So, the other way around makes lot of sense as well: The more you win, the more fun you have!
7. When they start a tournament, no matter which one it is, they play to win it and they believe they can win it. If you attend any event, and you see a pro signing in, you shouldn’t be worried about him/her, you should be encourage to defeat him, because you know you are going to win the tournament.

These are few, but not all, facts that you should know about competitive players. To become one, you need to train your mind specially. First thing to do to become a winner is believing you are one, and thinking like one. Any thoughts of losing will always put you in a disadvantaged position. Losers ain’t losers just because of their bad luck, they are, because they don’t know how to become a winner.

First step to become a winner is to think like one. Change your mind, be positive and never doubt about yourself! These are few tips I could share with you and I hope it makes you guys better players in the near future.

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