How many of the following statements could you truthfully make about your upcoming tournament? What can you do to make more of them true?
Logistics:
- I will get a good night’s sleep before the tournament.
- I know how I am getting to the tournament.
- I will give myself ample time to travel to the tournament.
- I will eat a balanced breakfast.
- I will pack snacks and drinks, or do what it takes to eat and drink enough during the tournament.
Cards
- I have all the cards I need for my deck.
- My deck contains no marked cards.
- My deck contains no foils, because foils can become marked during the course of a tournament.
- Every copy of each different card in my deck is from the same set and printed in the same language so that my opponents cannot figure out how many copies of a card I am playing by noticing differences between different copies.
Sleeves
- My deck has sleeves.
- My sleeves are not marked.
- My sleeves are brand new.
- My sleeves are brand new and have solid-color backs with no pictures.
Accounting
- I will have a pen and paper to keep track of my life.
- I will have a pen and paper, as well as a randomization device.
- I will have a pen and paper, plus any dice and counters I need to play cards in my deck.
Deck
- My deck is legal.
- My deck is good.
- I have the best deck in the room.
- I have the best deck in the format.
Sideboard
- My sideboard has useful cards in it.
- My sideboard is aimed at solving problem matchups and fixing specific holes.
- I know exactly how I will sideboard against all my opponents.
Preparation
- I know how to play my deck.
- I know how all the other decks in the format play.
- I know how to beat all the other decks with my deck.
Confidence
- I think I can win some matches.
- I think I am going to do well.
- I have a real shot to win the tournament.
- I have no idea who in the room could possibly beat me.
It is very rare that I win a tournament of more then twenty players without being able to truthfully make almost all of the above statements. Have fun and good luck.
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October 25th, 2007 at 10:05 pm
Tom: Brevity is the soul of wit. I really liked this.
I always take chapstick with me to events because I talk a lot and dry out. Also, I make an effort to shuffle the whole sideboard in every time and remove 15 cards after doing so. No sideboarding errors.
And I hope “randomization device” came from me but I’m probably not the first person to have said it : )
October 25th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
shuffling the whole sideboard in is a lot of work. and it takes away time from shuffling trying to find that 14th/15th card thats not supposed to be in the deck. I’d rather quickly side in and out my cards and than have 2+ minutes to shuffle if need be. Then spend 1-2 minutes being tricky and shuffling in my 15 card sideboard and than picking out 15 cards and only having 60seconds to shuffle and present my deck.
October 26th, 2007 at 9:43 am
I usually do the put everything in and pull everything out if I’m not under time pressure. I am more likely to skip that if I know my opponent is unlikely to watch me for clues about how much I sideboard. If I am under time pressure, I try to hide how many cards I am boarding but I don’t shuffle everything. I put my sideboard behind my deck all in one pile, pull out the cards I want to cut from my maindeck and put them in the back behind my sideboard, and then put the sideboard cards I want to move in from the back to the front. Then I pull off the back fifteen cards, put them away, and shuffle. That way I can do it quickly but without the obvious “HAY GUYS I AM SIDEBOARDING FIVE CARDS KTHX” of putting five cards facedown on the table from my deck, or something.
October 27th, 2007 at 7:45 pm
Just wanted to chime in with how informative and concise this was Tom. I’ve been trying to sort out my mental preparation ever since I read Bill Stark’s article that you referenced before. It really does make a difference to me when I have most of these checks done over the night before.
Thanks for this site and keep up the good work.
(An inquisitive, ever learning Irish player)
November 11th, 2007 at 3:01 pm
(1:58:33 PM) Adam Prosak: hes irate at you
(1:58:39 PM) Adam Prosak: he checked off EVERYTHING
(1:58:44 PM) Adam Prosak: on his pretournament checklist
(1:58:46 PM) Tom LaPille: roflmao
(1:58:48 PM) Adam Prosak: and still lost in t4