Subject: Things all good players should consider

I haven't been playing yu-gi-oh but for about 2 weeks now. And, like any other card game, it 
truly amazes me how stupid some of these people can be. 
When I first starting playing, I bought a Kaiba and a Yugi starter deck, and about 3 blue eyes 
packs, because in most card games, the first few sets are the most powerful. I took the 
contents from these decks and packs, and made a defensive deck that got me ranked about 3 in 
my city. I am not saying I am good, but unlike some of these players I have played against, 
I know how card games work. Here are some of the things I've learned that will aid you in any 
card game you decide to play.

The Concept of Threat/Counter-Threat

EVERY card in your deck should either be a threat, a card that stops a threat, or a card to 
support your threat/counter-threats. Let me explain. A threat is any card that your opponent 
has to deal with, or else they risk losing. A 100/0 monster would technically count as a threat, 
but not a very good one. If a card in your deck does not serve one of these purposes, it is 
useless and should be removed. Many cards can be more than one thing, however. A Blue Eyes is a 
HUGE threat, but also could be considered a counter-threat, because you can block other players 
monsters. The amount of support cards in your deck should be at a minimum, because what's the 
purpose of having a bunch of cards to support cards you have a low chance of drawing because 
there are so few of them?

The Three Advantages

There are three advantages either you or your opponent can have at any givine time. They are 
time advantage, card advantage, and field advantage. 
I'll explain these further. Remember, these are all linked in certain ways, such as card advantage 
usually turns into field advantage, and field advantage will you give a time advantage in some 
cases.

Time Advantage-When you have more time than your opponent to set yourself up or deal with a 
threat. One example is your opponent has 2 cards left in his deck, while you have 10. You now 
have a time advantage because your opponent only has 2 turns left to win, so they are pressed 
for time.

Card Advantage-This is probably the MOST IMPORTANT CONCEPT IN ANY CARD GAME. Card advantage 
would take an entire book to explain all the processes involved in it, but in short, it means 
having more cards than your opponent can deal with. If your opponent cannot deal with all the 
cards that are played against them, they are in trouble. This is why beatdown decks are so 
dominant in all card games, because the speed of these decks allows them to play multiple threats 
at a time, making them hard to deal with. Anything that gets you card advantage is extremely good, 
and cards like Pot of Greed can aid practically every deck.

Field Advantage-This means having the better field position than your opponet at the time. It 
could be having more/bigger monsters, having better traps, more life points, etc. Raigeki gives 
you tremendous field advantage.

Later, I will explain more of these concepts and how to use them to your advantage, but for not, 
remember them when playing/building a deck.

Alan Carver
And by the way, if anyone wants to play online yu-gi-oh, my MSN name (i used to have aim but its
 messed up now) is ender_wiggin550@hotmail.com