How to get better

[Magicwand]

i started playing for money when i was a weak SDK and i think that helped me get to 1D in 6 month.
if there is no penalty for losing then people dont try their best.

[palapiku]

It's too bad KGS doesn't allow playing for money!

[EdLee]

Magicwand,

i started playing for money when i was a weak SDK and i think that helped me get to 1D in 6 month.

How old were you when you first started Go, how old were you when you started playing for money,
and how often (how many games per week) did you face mid-dan or high-dan players,
and how often did the dan players review with you?
The money is one factor, but there are other, equally if not more important ones.

[Mivo]

It's too bad KGS doesn't allow playing for money!

Yes, it'd be so great if we could not only lose our self-worth, but also our houses, cars and Go book collections!

[Magicwand]

Magicwand,

i started playing for money when i was a weak SDK and i think that helped me get to 1D in 6 month.

How old were you when you first started Go, how old were you when you started playing for money,
and how often (how many games per week) did you face mid-dan or high-dan players,
and how often did the dan players review with you?
The money is one factor, but there are other, equally if not more important ones.

i learned the game when i was 6 years old. and stopped playing after one month.
at age of 12 i played someone around 9 kyu whole month and made myself around 9k. (in one month High DDK to HIGH SDK) and stopped.
at age of 18 i visited go club and started to play seriously. (going to the club everyday)
everyone in that go club only plays for money. usually $10 ~ $20 per game.
i usually get 50 games per week against low~mid~high dan or sometimes low kyu level players.
my studyplan was to memorize all joesky in the book and use them against my opponent plus read all professional reviews on a baduk magazine.
(which worked as you can see that in 6 month i reached 1d).
i had many strong players who will play for $20 and review the game briefly if i had money. (i think playing against them worth more than their review).

i hope above info is helpful

[EdLee]

Magicwand, thank you. Yes, the age was very significant as I suspected.

[LordYunzi]

I guess this is the "cultural problem" in european go: An early start is very difficult.