This blog post is for players of any skill level who wants to get better in the Tournament scene. If you are just playing for fun, and aren't really into the tournaments, then this might not be your cup of tea. If your curious and want to up your game some then read on.

For me X-Wing is a game of Skill! Yes there is luck involved, and sometimes it's weight can strongly impact a game, but I still believe it's mostly a game of skill. I wanted to start a blog series that focuses on building up your skills in X-Wing. There's a lot of skills out there to work on, but for this post I'm going to be focusing on "Using the Force". What I mean by that is intuiting the future during the game, or more simply put, guessing your opponents moves. So in terms of X-Wing the game and this post when I say "Use the Force" I mean predicting my opponents moves.

When I first started playing X-Wing, I found that I was able to Use the Force and predict my opponents moves most of the time. Sense I knew what they were going to do I was able to counter them, block them, and in general out maneuver them. Once I started to do this more and more often, I could sense the dismay of my opponents and watch them get more flustered. Recently I've been doing a lot more losing, and I can attribute a lot of my losses to second guessing myself. I didn't trust the force. I picked my maneuver badly and gave my opponents better shots then If I had picked my first move. Knowing what your opponent is going to do is a powerful skill.

I posted this over at Team Covenant but I thought I would post it here too, with a few updates, and see what people think.

How do you train to get better at this? If you are a natural at this, then maybe you don't need to lean much. I'm going to attempt to layout a way to train yourself to get better at this skill. I'm going to break things down into smaller junks and you can work on any or all of them.

Learn the Dials: One of the first things that you want to do to get better at Using the Force, is knowing all the dials. There's lots of ways to learn the dial, but the funnest way is to just play every ship. Make it your goal to try everything. You can know what a dial is but flying a ship cements that knowledge more firmly. Here's a link to a sheet that has all the dials info on it. This is a handy reference sheet to have, but ultimately you want to have these dials committed to memory. It should be easy to recall. Once you know the dials by heart, then you can start to see what options your opponent has on any given turn. Pretty soon you start to realize that most times your opponent has only a few good options to work with, and Using the Force starts to get easier.

Padawan Training: Vassal offers us a chance to train this skill against lots of players that you might not ever get a chance to play in real life. There's lots of log files posted that you can use to start to train this skill. Right now as I'm writing this post there is the TC Aces league going on. If you go here you can look at any of the posts and download any or all of the matches played. Here's what I suggest that you do. Download one of these games, and start to guess what each player is going to do with every ship while you step through the log. Record your guess, and record if you guessed right or wrong. At the end of the match see how often you were able to guess correctly. This is a way to Score yourself. Then keep doing this with other logs and see if you can improve. You really want a wide variety of players to practice guessing. The more styles of players you observer the better. I have hundreds of tournament log files in my dropbox x-wing folder. These are older logs so you may need an older version of Vassal to view some of them, but they are there if any of you are interested. Here's a link to a game between Paul Heaver and Theorist that is one of the best games I've seen. Not only is it a great game but both display great skill at Using the Force during this match.

You can also practice this at your local game store. If you see a couple of people playing while your waiting for the next person to show up, start trying to guess their moves. See if you can figure your out what they are going to do. Your waiting anyway, you might as well turn your waiting into training.

Reading your Opponent: This is requires more depth to it so I'm going to break this topic down into more detail.

• Opponents Skill level - There's lots of ways to go about figuring out someones basic skill level. I'm going to go over several ways that you can make an informed guess as to where about your opponent is at. There's the direct approach, you can ask them questions while you set up your stuff at the table. You can ask, "So how long have you been playing?", "Is this your first Tournament?" These are friendly questions that can give you an a insight into their skills. Squad Construction will also tell you something about them. Are they playing the "Top Picks of the Meta", are they piloting something to counter the Meta, are they playing something Odd. Again this doesn't give you the whole picture but it's starting to point you in the right direction. When it comes to asteroid placement do they have a plan, or are they tossing the rocks out there without a care. Are they reacting to what your doing, or doing their own thing. Squad placement will also tell you a lot. This doesn't happen as much now, but I would sometimes watch swarm player set up their ships in such a tight formation that I knew they wouldn't be able to bank. This tells you something. All of these things start to paint a picture of your opponent. The more of these things that stand out, the more likely they are a newer player. One thing you have to know about this is that they could be New and have a weird squad, and setup in an odd way, and still be able to fly the hell out of their squad. These are area's to look at and think about but don't blind your self to how they play.
• Opponents Eyes/Body Language - Next time you are in a game, take a moment and watch your opponent when they are turning the dials. Look at their eyes, and see where they are looking. So many players are unaware that they are telegraphing their moves to me just with their eyes. Another thing to look for is shifts in peoples shoulders as they turn their dials. I've seen people tilt their body as they figuring out which way they want to go. When your opponents ships are pointed toward them, they have to think a little hard when turning right or left so you can see some people adjust their bodes as they try to figure out their moves. I have dyslexic moments and I know that I sometimes do this. When players are looking at the board and concentrating on what they are doing, they unconsciously give away information about what they are thinking.
• Opponents Style of play - Are they aggressive right from the start, pulling a straight 5 and a boost with their A-Wing? Are they pulling a fortress in the corner. Is their squad a High Risk High Reward type of squad, or are they running ships and more ships. Are they setup in a formation and how far are they willing to go to keep that formation? This is a tricky thing to pick up on in just one game, but when you use this in concert with these other elements a fuller picture starts to emerge.
• Smoke and Mirrors - Are they lying to you? Misdirection is a key element in winning. Sometimes you have to set things up so that latter you can pull the rug out from under your opponent. Players can purposely try and mislead you in their thinking. This could be in table talk, "Man, I have to get the hell out of here.", when what they really are going to do is something very different. Your opponent may move around and look at angles like he might be going one direction when in fact they have already picked the opposite. One way to spot this sort of thing, is if they are making a little to big of a show of it. A lot of times when players lie they give their Oscar Winning Moment to sell the lie. When players start to act "bigger" then how they have been during the game, they might just be lying.

Now that I've given you the basics on how to read your opponent, here's how you protect yourself from being read. It's a difficult to hide your moves once someone know's how to look for them, so one of the key tricks here is to do your moves when they aren't aware that your doing your moves. One thing I like to do is to start planning my moves while my opponent is doing their moves. Start turning your dials when your opponent is getting dice or measuring. In fact you can use the measuring information to help you plan your moves. I suggest this because while they are busy doing stuff during the game they aren't looking at what your doing. During the planning phase you can spend most of your time observing them. If you put all of your dials down while they are just starting to look at theirs, you start to put pressure on them, which will make them easier to read. At this point you can watch them and decide if you want to change a move. You may see something that indicates you may want to pick a different option. There are somethings that you can't hide from your opponent. Your choice in squads speaks a lot to who you are as a player, and you just can't hide that. Your opening setup tells people things. These things you can't protect yourself from, you just have to trust that the Force is strong with you.

Another way to keep hide what your going to do is to try and have multiple good options for your moves. I don't mean 1 good option and a couple of other things that you could do, but 2 very good options. If you can get more that's even better, but very hard to do. This takes planning ahead and seeing where you are going to be a few turns ahead.

Why is Using the Force a good skill to know? What does it do for you? Here's some examples of things that it's good for. If you can predict your opponents move you can block them and prevent them from getting actions. Some ships rely on their actions, like Soontir Fel. If you block him, he's in trouble. For other ships, it provides you an action advantage. You weaken that ship(s) both offensively and defensively. Predicting someones moves may gain you a positional advantage over your opponent. If you can block your opponents K-Turn while you are able to K-Turn your ships, then you will get multiple turns of fire on that ship with no chance of them shooting back. Sometimes it provides no help on the turn your on, but can give you an edge in a couple turns in the future. An example, you can see that your opponents Firespray his heading down the side of the map. You know that in a couple of turns he's going to be in the corner. Now you can plan your moves to pin the Firespray in the corner where it's vulnerable.

Here's a real world example of how Using the Force can change the outcome of a game. At Worlds 2014, in my game 6 qualifying round, I was up against Ron who was flying Fat Han + 2 Tala's and a bandit. I was flying Panic Attack. My Gold squadron pilot was able to put a stress token on Han from the turn before. So during the planning phase I saw what his options were. I know that the YT-1300 Dial has 4 green moves, and only the right 1 bank is going to work. I also see that one of his Tala's is in the way of Han so he's going to have to move him up a bunch to make room for Han. With this in mind I'm able to move one of my B-Wings up 3 straight, and Barrel Roll it left. This blocks the Tala, and blocks Han which lands Han on a Asteroid. My B-Wing has a point blank shot at Han who can't attack, and his Tala has no action support for the turn. That move set the tone for the rest of the game.

Being able to Use the Force is a great skill to have, and opens up doors into next level of playing. The better you get at this the more wins you will start to rack up. Lets some up once again the things that you need to work on to hone your skill. Learn the dials. Having the dials in your head will speed up your ability to see what they can or can't do. Once you know what options they have then you can start figuring out what option they are likely to take. Practice Using the Force when ever you get the chance. Watch your fellow players at your LGS. Look at log files and practice that. When you review log files of great players not only do you get better at Using the Force, you get to learn a little bit about how these great players think. Practice reading players. You can do this during games your in, but you can also do this while watching games others are playing. Training happens when you want it to. There's lots of veteran players out there who are very good at this, I'm curious what you guys think about this topic, and what insights you might add to this discussion. I hope you post comments below and share your thoughts on how you go about Using the Force and what you might do to get better.

Lots of good advice.

I have to admit that I've always felt it a bit unethical to try to guess where someone is going to go by watching them pick their dials. I mean, if they know what I did last turn, they can watch how much I turn the dial and guess from there. They can watch where I look when I am figuring out my dial. Do I look at my templates when looking at the table? I've often thought that these were ways that someone could figure out what I was going to do, but I always felt that it was unethical to read my opponents in this way. I try to block my own "tells", but I don't look for my opponents.

Maybe I'm not cutthroat, but it seems against the spirit of the game.

Good stuff overall.

Most interesting to me is that I never knew I could "watch" old games on Vassal. I just downloaded Vassal a few days ago and I have it all set up with the lastest version, but I haven't played yet since I quite figured out how to find a game.

All that aside, I downloaded that Theorist/Paul Heaver game and the map is red, no asteroids are showing, and it won't show anything after initial ship placement. I'll have to fool around with it more, but hopefully I can figure it out, becuase it would be really cool to watch games that way.

I have to admit that I've always felt it a bit unethical to try to guess where someone is going to go by watching them pick their dials. I mean, if they know what I did last turn, they can watch how much I turn the dial and guess from there. They can watch where I look when I am figuring out my dial. Do I look at my templates when looking at the table? I've often thought that these were ways that someone could figure out what I was going to do, but I always felt that it was unethical to read my opponents in this way. I try to block my own "tells", but I don't look for my opponents.

Maybe I'm not cutthroat, but it seems against the spirit of the game.

I'll admit that if I'm doing the same maneuver twice in a row, I will pretend to fiddle with my dial a bit before placing on the board rather than just slapping it straight down

But when it comes to what my opponent is doing with his dials I don't pay the slightest bit of attention - I mean, what would be the point? all that would happen is that I'd end up trying to second guess him and myself on the basis of very poor information

I go into most games with at least some semblance of a plan in my head - if I ditch the plan on such a flimsy justification I'd deserve to lose

Good stuff overall.

Most interesting to me is that I never knew I could "watch" old games on Vassal. I just downloaded Vassal a few days ago and I have it all set up with the lastest version, but I haven't played yet since I quite figured out how to find a game.

All that aside, I downloaded that Theorist/Paul Heaver game and the map is red, no asteroids are showing, and it won't show anything after initial ship placement. I'll have to fool around with it more, but hopefully I can figure it out, becuase it would be really cool to watch games that way.

The new version of vassal has some upgraded art, and some improvements over the older versions of Vassal. This makes not backwards compatible. If you want to see the game with Paul and Theroist you will need to use the older x-wing module 4.5. Sorry about the confusion of that. If you get stuck, please let me know and I will try and assist you.

I have to admit that I've always felt it a bit unethical to try to guess where someone is going to go by watching them pick their dials. I mean, if they know what I did last turn, they can watch how much I turn the dial and guess from there. They can watch where I look when I am figuring out my dial. Do I look at my templates when looking at the table? I've often thought that these were ways that someone could figure out what I was going to do, but I always felt that it was unethical to read my opponents in this way. I try to block my own "tells", but I don't look for my opponents.

Maybe I'm not cutthroat, but it seems against the spirit of the game.

It's interesting that you think of this as "cutthroat". Would it be considered that if you were playing poker? All you are doing is observing your opponent, and making some guesses as to what they are going to do. Sometimes even know what someone is going to do, doesn't mean you should change your move.

I have to admit that I've always felt it a bit unethical to try to guess where someone is going to go by watching them pick their dials. I mean, if they know what I did last turn, they can watch how much I turn the dial and guess from there. They can watch where I look when I am figuring out my dial. Do I look at my templates when looking at the table? I've often thought that these were ways that someone could figure out what I was going to do, but I always felt that it was unethical to read my opponents in this way. I try to block my own "tells", but I don't look for my opponents.

Maybe I'm not cutthroat, but it seems against the spirit of the game.

It's interesting that you think of this as "cutthroat". Would it be considered that if you were playing poker? All you are doing is observing your opponent, and making some guesses as to what they are going to do. Sometimes even know what someone is going to do, doesn't mean you should change your move.

You know, I've thought of that, as well. Part of it is, though, that I don't like poker or gambling. So, I do consider that shady. To me, it seems that it's against the spirit of a fun game. I'd rather intellectually outguess my opponent than study his body language to interpret his moves.

I have to admit that I've always felt it a bit unethical to try to guess where someone is going to go by watching them pick their dials. I mean, if they know what I did last turn, they can watch how much I turn the dial and guess from there. They can watch where I look when I am figuring out my dial. Do I look at my templates when looking at the table? I've often thought that these were ways that someone could figure out what I was going to do, but I always felt that it was unethical to read my opponents in this way. I try to block my own "tells", but I don't look for my opponents.

Maybe I'm not cutthroat, but it seems against the spirit of the game.

I often pick up a dial move it during the combat phase before retuning it face down to the table. The move I place it on is what I am planning to do for my next round unless something changes on the board I have to adjust to.

Lots of good advice for Using the Force, but no advice for Dark Side Mind Tricks?

Number one for me is to spin your dial excessively, especially if you still have it face-up on the table. I mean, yeah, if someone is giving away their position with their eyes, that's one thing. But if you're looking every which direction and rotating your dial constantly, people can no longer 'guess' where it lands.

I also like to fake my opponents out and make them think: Are they really going for that hard two? Are we sure they're looking at where their maneuver templace may or may not cross an asteroid and deny actions? I do this a lot: look at all the options I'm considering, and pay particular heed to options I won't be taking. Then I spin the hell out of my dial every which way while "pondering" my options when I know exactly where I'll be going.

That's not to say it always works, and you'll invariably end up in situations that are usually 'obvious.' One trick I like to pull in an 'obvious' situation is to K-Turn when facing an asteroid, even though it looks like I could clear a bank or hard turn. My thought process is that I'll lose the action anyway, and I'd rather face one damage from crossing the asteroid and confusing my opponent than a potential heavy hit from a predictable move. The Dark Side has many tools up its sleeve to muddle the Jedi's mind.

Most importantly, however, is knowledge. Knowing every ship's maneuver is paramount to succesfully Using the Force (and, perhaps moreso, utilizing the Forces of Corruption), but one thing I do feel is cheap is having a list of every ship's maneuver with you. That feels a bit too gamey for me, like you can just look at green maneuvers you don't have memorized otherwise. Seems kinda lame.

Nice read. As far as I'm concerned, if it's part of the game, and turning dials is a huge part of the game (that you lose on Vassal), then it's fair to read it and react. But honestly, it's less important (since there are also ways to confuse the reading) than knowing the capabilities of the ship's dial and assessing likely tactics early. Asteroids, deployment, the list, first moves are all excellent indicators of the direction of the match. I also tend to look for "precision" in an opponent: speed of decision-making, crispness in movement template usage, decisions on actions, etc., as a sign that someone is sure/unsure of their moves and adjusting accordingly. Honestly, "confident" players are often the ones that are easier to read and tend to telegraph their moves more than unsure/indecisive ones. There's a fine line when you have enough experience/knowledge of the game to the point you can then relax and be less predictable. Like in poker, the ones that don't panic and remain calm, even if dice rolls go poorly, are the ones that probably require the most caution.

... but one thing I do feel is cheap is having a list of every ship's maneuver with you. That feels a bit too gamey for me, like you can just look at green maneuvers you don't have memorized otherwise. Seems kinda lame.

Why on earth would it be "gamey" when on each and every one, including those on the back of the core rulebook, there is written in plain text: "Players may reference these at any time."

Seriously. The amount of things that people will call cheesy in this game is kinda ridiculous.

Lots and lots of good advice OP!

I have to admit that I've always felt it a bit unethical to try to guess where someone is going to go by watching them pick their dials. I mean, if they know what I did last turn, they can watch how much I turn the dial and guess from there. They can watch where I look when I am figuring out my dial.

Great Post OP. Many good points and a great jumping off point for reading opponents.

I have to admit that I've always felt it a bit unethical to try to guess where someone is going to go by watching them pick their dials. I mean, if they know what I did last turn, they can watch how much I turn the dial and guess from there. They can watch where I look when I am figuring out my dial. Do I look at my templates when looking at the table? I've often thought that these were ways that someone could figure out what I was going to do, but I always felt that it was unethical to read my opponents in this way. I try to block my own "tells", but I don't look for my opponents.

Maybe I'm not cutthroat, but it seems against the spirit of the game.

It's interesting that you think of this as "cutthroat". Would it be considered that if you were playing poker? All you are doing is observing your opponent, and making some guesses as to what they are going to do. Sometimes even know what someone is going to do, doesn't mean you should change your move.

You know, I've thought of that, as well. Part of it is, though, that I don't like poker or gambling. So, I do consider that shady. To me, it seems that it's against the spirit of a fun game. I'd rather intellectually outguess my opponent than study his body language to interpret his moves.

I'm really not sure how guessing could be considered cutthroat or unethical? If they turn away and you check their dial while they weren't looking that would be unethical. Using observation as a tool doesn't strike me as unethical.

I don't think trying to observe their dial movement is unethical. For me, though, it's an inefficient use of run time. It takes too much effort for me to observe and guess what small movements mean, so my processing power is better spent trying to figure out their moves based on the board state. That's just me, though. Some people might have an easier time interpreting that sort of information than I do.

Is it legal to move your dials when it's not the planning phase? I always thought that since it said, "During this phase, each player uses maneuver dials to secretly choose one maneuver for each of his ships," then we were only supposed to use the dials to select a move during that phase.

I'm really not sure how guessing could be considered cutthroat or unethical? If they turn away and you check their dial while they weren't looking that would be unethical. Using observation as a tool doesn't strike me as unethical.

To me it is against the spirit of the game. It's all "meta game". Maybe it's just me. I try to do things to confuse people that might be trying to read me, but I don't try to read other people. It just feels like cheating to me. I want to out fly my opponent based on my skills, not because the other guy is telegraphing his moves without realizing it.

... but one thing I do feel is cheap is having a list of every ship's maneuver with you. That feels a bit too gamey for me, like you can just look at green maneuvers you don't have memorized otherwise. Seems kinda lame.

Why on earth would it be "gamey" when on each and every one, including those on the back of the core rulebook, there is written in plain text: "Players may reference these at any time."

Seriously. The amount of things that people will call cheesy in this game is kinda ridiculous.

Hell, I ask my opponents about their ships' greens sometimes and they do the same to me. This information isn't secret, only the maneuvers we actually set are (int agent pending, of course)

I've endeavored to remember them all, but now with the aggressor and scyk I have two more to commit to memory

Good read and I agree that X-wing is a game were skill is key.

And quit using my last name so much! (FORCE)

EDIT I do have a habit of spinning my dial around fast to throw anyone trying to observe my dial to predict my move. It also really throws people when you pick your move really quick.

Good read and I agree that X-wing is a game were skill is key.

And quit using my last name so much! (FORCE)

EDIT I do have a habit of spinning my dial around fast to throw anyone trying to observe my dial to predict my move. It also really throws people when you pick your move really quick.

I will Force myself to quit.

I'm really not sure how guessing could be considered cutthroat or unethical? If they turn away and you check their dial while they weren't looking that would be unethical. Using observation as a tool doesn't strike me as unethical.

To me it is against the spirit of the game. It's all "meta game". Maybe it's just me. I try to do things to confuse people that might be trying to read me, but I don't try to read other people. It just feels like cheating to me. I want to out fly my opponent based on my skills, not because the other guy is telegraphing his moves without realizing it.

For you it's against of the spirit of the game to watch your opponent and maybe make some adjustments based on your observations.

What does spirit of the game even mean? If you were flying a x-wing and your tailing a Tie fighter, you will watch them to see if they are going to bank right or turn left, and adjust accordingly. I just don't understand why you would ignore information because it's not in the spirit of the game. Do you ever bump into your own ships on purpose? Is that in the Spirit of the game? Spirit of the Game seems like an excuse to handicap yourself. Please keep in mind that this post is for competitive play, not just playing at your house drinking beer.

... but one thing I do feel is cheap is having a list of every ship's maneuver with you. That feels a bit too gamey for me, like you can just look at green maneuvers you don't have memorized otherwise. Seems kinda lame.

Why on earth would it be "gamey" when on each and every one, including those on the back of the core rulebook, there is written in plain text: "Players may reference these at any time."

Seriously. The amount of things that people will call cheesy in this game is kinda ridiculous.

I wouldn't fuss at an opponent for doing it, it just seems lame is all I more enjoy learning a ship and knowing its maneuvers than just relying on a sheet of maneuvers to know it. It's fine if people do it, much like using a turret ship, but it doesn't make it any less lame to me. And, hey, it's never stopped me from winning more than losing, so it isn't that big a deal

For you it's against of the spirit of the game to watch your opponent and maybe make some adjustments based on your observations.

What does spirit of the game even mean? If you were flying a x-wing and your tailing a Tie fighter, you will watch them to see if they are going to bank right or turn left, and adjust accordingly. I just don't understand why you would ignore information because it's not in the spirit of the game. Do you ever bump into your own ships on purpose? Is that in the Spirit of the game? Spirit of the Game seems like an excuse to handicap yourself. Please keep in mind that this post is for competitive play, not just playing at your house drinking beer.

For me, playing at the house and tournament gaming is the same. I'm not a @#$^ in tournaments just for the prize.

What does it mean? It's using out of game information to your advantage. It's like someone accidentally flashing their cards to you in a game. It's someone walking behind them in a card game with a mirror and you happen to see. It's someone looking over your opponents shoulder and commenting about his hand or dial choice. It's taking information that you normally wouldn't have to your advantage. To me, that is unethical. It's slightly less than cheating.

EDIT: Wait...I think it's more akin to looking to see if your opponent flashes his hand or hopes that someone is holding a mirror behind your opponent. It's one thing if it just happens, but looking for it...hoping for it... to happen is unethical.

For you it's against of the spirit of the game to watch your opponent and maybe make some adjustments based on your observations.

What does spirit of the game even mean? If you were flying a x-wing and your tailing a Tie fighter, you will watch them to see if they are going to bank right or turn left, and adjust accordingly. I just don't understand why you would ignore information because it's not in the spirit of the game. Do you ever bump into your own ships on purpose? Is that in the Spirit of the game? Spirit of the Game seems like an excuse to handicap yourself. Please keep in mind that this post is for competitive play, not just playing at your house drinking beer.

For me, playing at the house and tournament gaming is the same. I'm not a @#$^ in tournaments just for the prize.

What does it mean? It's using out of game information to your advantage. It's like someone accidentally flashing their cards to you in a game. It's someone walking behind them in a card game with a mirror and you happen to see. It's someone looking over your opponents shoulder and commenting about his hand or dial choice. It's taking information that you normally wouldn't have to your advantage. To me, that is unethical. It's slightly less than cheating.

EDIT: Wait...I think it's more akin to looking to see if your opponent flashes his hand or hopes that someone is holding a mirror behind your opponent. It's one thing if it just happens, but looking for it...hoping for it... to happen is unethical.

For me playing for kicks, is not the same as playing at tournaments. When I'm at a tournament I'm out to win. I'm not going to be a @#$% about it, because that's not my nature, but I'm going to use everything I know to help me win. If I'm watching you and I can see that you have 2 good options, and I can tell by your body language that your going to do option 1, then I'm going to use that info to help me win. I don't see this as unethical. I'm taking a risk that I'm reading you correctly. If I guess wrong I could be putting myself in a bad position. I don't agree with your statement, "Wait...I think it's more akin to looking to see if your opponent flashes his hand or hopes that someone is holding a mirror behind your opponent." That is an accident that your taking advantage off. I don't want to win because of an accident. This is about a skill of reading someone. To me this is more like "Rock, Paper, Scissors" I know you only have 3 choices, I'm going to try and figure out what your going to pick. I've beat a friend 10 times in a row with this, because I know him really well, and I could read him when he's going to change his sign. Some people are good at hiding there intentions. The goal of this post is to let people know how to start to learn this skill, and how to protect yourself.

We currently don't agree on the ethics of this, but it is part of the game. Players are doing this even if you are not, so if your not going to try and guess your opponents moves, then I suggest that you practice hiding what your doing.