Life In 19x19

balmung wrote:The problem is and will be for a while(So I have been told from stronger players who watch me play and review my games) I have a problem of playing instinct and very fast when there is no need to on kgs. My friends tell me the only thing keeping me from zooming through the sdk is playing more meaningful games. My last 15+ games on kgs have been meaningless I have either played to fast or didn't stop and think. It haunts me because the next day after a game I will be somewhere thinking about a position from it in which I didn't think, and then I will read out the correct solution right then. This is why I don't play online at all and why my rank stays between 10-7 kyu. I hate playing fast and from the adrenaline rush I get from playing ranked games, and I haven't found away to break because now it's more than a habit, playing fast when there is no need to is now close to an addiction.

I completely understand - this has happened to me too. One piece of advice I've found helpful: for every single turn (no exceptions) consider at least two moves. I think Yang Yilun said this. It looks like part of your frustration stems from your focus on what happens to your rank.

Joaz - I don't think we mean the same thing when we say humility. You should, of course, play boldly when warranted and attack where you are strong.

balmung wrote:I hate playing fast and from the adrenaline rush I get from playing ranked games, and I haven't found away to break because now it's more than a habit, playing fast when there is no need to is now close to an addiction.

Then don't play ranked games for a couple months; just play free games.

If you're playing too fast, move the mouse to the side of the screen, sit on your hands, and read out what's going to happen. That, in itself, will force you to think a little bit. Then you can start setting yourself goals, like "I want to spend 25 minutes on the first 100 moves."

jts wrote:

balmung wrote:I hate playing fast and from the adrenaline rush I get from playing ranked games, and I haven't found away to break because now it's more than a habit, playing fast when there is no need to is now close to an addiction.

Then don't play ranked games for a couple months; just play free games.

If you're playing too fast, move the mouse to the side of the screen, sit on your hands, and read out what's going to happen. That, in itself, will force you to think a little bit. Then you can start setting yourself goals, like "I want to spend 25 minutes on the first 100 moves."

I played another game today not as fast, but there were a few parts were I obviously wasn't thinking just clicking. I felt bad after I won because I didn't play my best game, and my opponent was peeved because I didn't let him undo a misclick, but I don't do undos or ask for undos. Your probably right.

Keep slowing down.

The enemy here, I believe, is not fast play (you can read while playing fast, it's just that there's more chances of missing stuff), but failure to read. For every move, read out what will happen, and evaluate at each step - questions like is this sente or gote? is it really? if I sacrifice, can I gain? what other moves could my opponent play? if it's gote, where should I tenuki to? can I live there if I invade? where are my forcing moves? if my opponent doesn't respond to one of them, how do I punish? Don't stop reading during your opponent's moves, either. Just keep reading.

Shaddy wrote:The enemy here, I believe, is not fast play (you can read while playing fast, it's just that there's more chances of missing stuff), but failure to read. For every move, read out what will happen, and evaluate at each step - questions like is this sente or gote? is it really? if I sacrifice, can I gain? what other moves could my opponent play? if it's gote, where should I tenuki to? can I live there if I invade? where are my forcing moves? if my opponent doesn't respond to one of them, how do I punish? Don't stop reading during your opponent's moves, either. Just keep reading.

Guys you need to look at the games. This latest game that he played "slower" he averaged 3.4 seconds per move.

balmung what the heck dude.

Joaz was nice enough to review the actual strategy of the games. But the 2nd game balmung only used a total of 2 minutes and 58 seconds.

LESS THAN THREE MINUTES FOR A GAME OF GO.

This is making me sick I have to stop now.

balmung wrote: I hate playing fast and from the adrenaline rush I get from playing ranked games, and I haven't found away to break because now it's more than a habit, playing fast when there is no need to is now close to an addiction.

Now we're talking. Do you actually feel compelled to play many games in a row like that? I think we all want to feel good while playing go, otherwise, why bother? When we find a way to feel good, there's something in the brain that makes us want to return to that place. Challenges feel good. One way you can challenge yourself of course is to play faster---the anticipation of finding out what will happen next is hard to resist---and that can be a hard habit to break. Probably it is necessary to seek a different kind of challenge while playing---one that will interfere with playing fast. Maybe deliberately try a new opening that you have to think about more because you haven't hard-coded any stock responses for it yet. Then the challenge can be: can I win this way? Will my opponent play a move I didn't consider? Still maybe some adrenaline, but probably better for your game than seeking the rush in just speed alone. Just find a substitute rush is all I'm suggesting.

Get a big glass jug and a stack of nickels (dime, quarters, whatever). Use a stopwatch for every move. Every time you play a move and took less than 15 seconds, deposit a nickel in the jug. (Deposit three nickels each time you forget to use the stopwatch).

Give the jug to a charity with a cause you despise.

daniel_the_smith wrote:Get a big glass jug and a stack of nickels (dime, quarters, whatever). Use a stopwatch for every move. Every time you play a move and took less than 15 seconds, deposit a nickel in the jug. (Deposit three nickels each time you forget to use the stopwatch).

Give the jug to a charity with a cause you despise.

I like everything except for the actual stopwatch, which I think would be distracting. Just counting breaths should be accurate enough. And if you start breathing 5 times as fast, you'll probably just pass out, so the habit will correct itself that way.

They say to sit on your hands if you play too fast. And they're right--it's a good habit and one that I've often used.

If mental exercises such as reading two alternate moves don't work, I'd really recommend some kind of mechanical activity to slow you down.

Did you feel that you needed to play fast because your opponent was playing fast? In a game I played yesterday, after I was thinking of what move to play for 30 seconds my opponent typed "....", and that irritated me for the entire game. It made me want to win badly, sure, but I wasn't thinking clearly, or reading out what the best move was for the rest of the game. I even played an atari from the wrong side that I felt should have cost me the game (I missed out on killing a large group, or at least getting a better result in the corner). Sure, I won, but I still think I could have done better if I hadn't let one thing my opponent had done dictate how I played for the rest of the game. You could always try flipping your mouse upside down between moves, so that you can't just click instantly. It should slow you down by at least a second or two!

whitelotus7 wrote:Did you feel that you needed to play fast because your opponent was playing fast? In a game I played yesterday, after I was thinking of what move to play for 30 seconds my opponent typed "....", and that irritated me for the entire game. It made me want to win badly, sure, but I wasn't thinking clearly, or reading out what the best move was for the rest of the game. I even played an atari from the wrong side that I felt should have cost me the game (I missed out on killing a large group, or at least getting a better result in the corner). Sure, I won, but I still think I could have done better if I hadn't let one thing my opponent had done dictate how I played for the rest of the game. You could always try flipping your mouse upside down between moves, so that you can't just click instantly. It should slow you down by at least a second or two!

I'd respond "...---..."

If people are annoying, splash some humour into their faces and enjoy the fact that you playing the game legitimately causes them so much distress. It's basically a sign that they are already losing the psychological battle - embrace that, it's them that needs to learn to cope, not you

whitelotus7 wrote: In a game I played yesterday, after I was thinking of what move to play for 30 seconds my opponent typed "...."

It is possible that your opponent sometimes gets bad lag, and was just checking the connection. I've done this on occasion.

whitelotus7 wrote:In a game I played yesterday, after I was thinking of what move to play for 30 seconds my opponent typed "....", and that irritated me for the entire game.

I wouldn't take it personally! Sometimes I'll type "." or ".." because I think I'm timing out.

Speaking of lag: ninja'ed.

Thanks guys, I never thought about that. I haven't had anyone disconnect yet, so I thought he was just being impatient.