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BGonline.org Forums
Play-Down (long)
Posted By: mamabear In Response To: Just Wondering (Bill Riles)
Date: Wednesday, 7 May 2008, at 3:23 a.m.
In the summer of 2006, I wrote about this phenomenom in my GammonVillage series, calling it "Play-Down". You can read the three articles about it at these links, if you are a member of GammonVillage.com:
1. Intro to Play-Down, where Connie finds he is playing poorly against a bad player who gloats a lot when he wins. Excerpt:
Play-Down is not the same thing as "Pro-Am", where you intentionally make non-standard moves in an attempt to draw large errors from a weaker opponent. Examples include deliberately complicating a game in the opening, holding off with the cube, or conversely attempting a bluff double, in an attempt to gain more equity from his errors than you conceded with these suboptimal decisions. In contrast, "Play-Down" doesn't gain equity for the better player, but rather costs it as he gives in to the illogical suggestions of demonic voices from the darker parts of his own mind.
What is it that those voices say? The first thing seems to be some variation of "This must not happen!" The player who listens to this whispered warning from the shadows may become fearful of the luck element of the game, unable to face the horror of losing to this particular opponent, but knowing in his heart that he may not be able to prevent it.
2. Play-Down Panic! where good players try to hard to right the wrong that appears about to happen to them. Excerpts:
a) The good player starts to say something, but thinks better of it. Perhaps he recognizes that Connie is hearing voices in his head, and they're drowning out the more rational voices of his real-life partners. By inducing panic with their shrill chorus of "This can't be happening!", these voices are helping assure that Connie's negative run continues.
b) All three of today's positions were mishandled by players of sterling world-class caliber. They would surely have performed far better if presented with these problems as a quiz, with no emotional baggage attached. The problem was that in all cases they were playing against opponents they seriously hated to lose to.
3. Play-Down's Causes and Cures Excerpt:
...the overarching source of all Play-Down seems to be simply too much mental chatter. In mechanical terms, the wheels are spinning wildly, but the gears aren't properly engaged. In the terms of computer science, too many programs are running and the processor is overloaded. However we imagine it, much effort is expended but the results are jumbled, incomplete, and ineffective.
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