A bit of bragging . . . and a humbling observation

[artie4121]

I was in a championship over the weekend in the creatively named 2009 [i:3e7a7518f4]"std 5/10/20 lge,"[/i:3e7a7518f4] and was lucky enough to edge out [b:3e7a7518f4][i:3e7a7518f4]"the mahoots"[/i:3e7a7518f4][/b:3e7a7518f4] for the Championship. Other contenders in this league were [b:3e7a7518f4]Altec1969, Roscodog, Jerlins and durantjerry[/b:3e7a7518f4], all ranging between 3000+ and 13,000+ manager points. Other contenders who gave me a hell of a time, were [b:3e7a7518f4]MoFo's of Mayhem and hammertime23452.[/b:3e7a7518f4] I got very lucky in my victory over these great managers, and got a SLEW of great dice rolls all the way along.

Aside from my (hopefully not obnoxious) bragging, I can make two observations:

1. With my 200 or so manager points, I thought I would get creamed in this league. But I didn't. Any manager who is concerned about not being up to the competition and who gets scared by these big manager point numbers and avoids this competition is making a mistake. I was one of these guys. Not only is there no guarantee that you will get beaten, but by looking at their teams and how they operate, their box scores, and who they pick, you can actually learn. These guys didn't get where they were without really having a handle on what counts in the game.

2. On a far more humbling note -- and to bring me back to earth -- the other two leagues I am in, I got swept in BOTH last night. Clobbered. Coincidence? I think this was HAL's way of telling me [i:3e7a7518f4]"You think you got it figured out, kid? . . . Well you don't, so shut up and get back to work!"[/i:3e7a7518f4]

That's what I'm going to do now. :oops:

[Roscodog]

Congratulations on your championship.

[RICHARDMILTER]

Congratulations. All things being equal I would rather not be in the same division as any of those guys. But once you make the playoffs anything can happen.

[Neil Toomey]

Great job...that is a big deal.

[Jerlins]

Humble indeed. Being in this same league, Artie's team was well thought out, and very balanced. Take credit for a fine team. It was dominant from beginning to end. Congrats.

You're right about joining leagues with experienced managers. My first ever team in Strat (I never played the board game), happened to have BigMahon and ET Defender in the same division, as well as Cristano in another division. I was actually in the playoff hunt until the very last day. I learned quite a bit just from observation, and continue to learn a little bit each and every league I'm in.

[The Godfather]

Great job Artie! Congrats!

[artie4121]

Thanks for the kind words everyone . . .

[hallerose]

You need to play with some experienced, good managers to really learn the game. I try to pick out one good manager in every league (even now) and watch and try to explain every single player and move they make. I'm sure some people now do that off of me, but it's part of the learning curve. Hopefully, I still have a couple tricks up my sleeve. The strat community here is also very helpful in posting advise, which also can be a great learning tool.

[SteadyEddie33]

[quote:289a667f96="Jerlins"]
You're right about joining leagues with experienced managers. My first ever team in Strat (I never played the board game), happened to have BigMahon and ET Defender in the same division, as well as Cristano in another division. I was actually in the playoff hunt until the very last day. I learned quite a bit just from observation, and continue to learn a little bit each and every league I'm in.[/quote:289a667f96]

Roger that. My first league, I was in a division race with Penngray and he --aware it was my first team--was even giving me some feedback/suggestions about using my relief settings down the stretch! Of course, he didn't give me enough to actually BEAT him, lol.

[artie4121]

[quote:8b9854fffc]The strat community here is also very helpful in posting advise, which also can be a great learning tool. [/quote:8b9854fffc]


I echo that. My first "mentor" was AeroDave, who tossed some valuable tidbits my way and was always open to questions and to giving advice along the way.