EPTA losing streak is detrimental to what little free time I have to play Starcraft. As a law student I don't have a ton of extra time to play. Add in getting ready for a fight in March, a girlfriend, and a new puppy and my days are pretty well filled up. I tend to fit in a few games between classes on M/W and try to play a few games on T/Th nights. So when a losing streak happens it is necessary that I deal with it quickly to prevent it from souring my free time.
In this post we are not going to deal with a losing streak by looking at mechanics of Starcraft. There are much better players than I that can help you with those things. Instead we are dealing with situation where you are making mistakes you can notice but instead want to figure out how to prevent them. For the most part we will be talking about problems that stem from your own physical awareness, emotional awareness, and surroundings. Essentially, we will be looking at how emotional or physical states can lead to mechanical in game problems.
Yesterday, I kicked off my in between session by going 1-6. The first win was quite easy and I felt really confident on what was going to happen. From there I proceeded to lose the next 6 games in a row. As each loss happened I became more angry or frustrated. I actually stopped early so that I could study for an exam that I have on Friday.
Later than night I got a chance to review all of my games. There was one very apparent issue going on: Poor decision makings. None of the games saw me losing in the macro battle or getting rolled over early. For the most part there was a key decision or lack of decision that cost me the game. A shining example was against a zerg player who put a nydus worm in the corner of my base as I moved out for a timing attack. I had failed to scout my entire base. He simply put it in the corner where I failed to scout. By the time I heard the sound of the canal opening it was too late. The majority of my forces were 1/2 way to his base. I decided to base trade. It worked but I was not able to destroy the canal later.
Finding Your Problem
Now that I knew what the problem was the next step is to analyze why those problems happened. Before coming to Law School I managed to pay my rent, bills, and fun time by playing poker. It was paramount to analyze losing streaks or bad plays and "solve" them. While there is a ton of literature of the mental game of poker, I will summarize it in a short list and then apply it to SC.
Ask yourself at the time of the play/game:
1. What was my emotional state?
2. What was my physical state?
3. How did I feel about the environment around me?
4. Did I take any steps to alleviate any negatives from the questions above?
The Answers:
1. Emotionally I was content. I had just finished a tough class and I really understand the material. I don't think my emotions played much into the early games. However, in later games as I became frustrated it seeped into my games. I began to rush builds in order "get back my wins". Decision making obviously faltered even deeper in the later games.
2. Physically I was tired. The class was exhausting. In addition I had not slept well last night due to being sore from a difficult training session the previous evening. I would say this was the biggest problem that led to poor games.
3. My environment is the same as always. I play in my study area at school between classes after I prepare for class. No problems here.
4. I did nothing. I continued to play. This is the BIGGEST area you need to pay attention to.
Fixing the Problem
Now imagine that you are in the middle of a losing streak. You decide between games to review some of your losses. You see what is causing your mechanical problems them and decide to take the steps that I did above. For some of the problems fixing them is quite easy. If your tired stop playing and get some rest. If you don't like your surroundings (i.e. it is noisy or you don't like the area) then you can simply move.
The hardest problem to fix is when you have emotional issues. As a poker player going on "tilt" (making decisions rashly, playing totally on emotions, or simply just playing poorly) could cost you your rent, food, and gas money. Tilt had to be fixed immediately.
I have read books on the subject and listened to some great podcasts on it. Each "expert" has their own approach. I would recommend this "basic" approach when you first start to sense "emotional tilt":
1. Get up. Simply get up and take a walk around. Think about what is bothering you. Think about realistic, simple, straight forward ways to deal with the issue. If you are unable to do this then STOP your session. Go out and do something else. Let your emotions subside.
2. If it is in mid-game then things are much more difficult. The standard advice at the poker table was to concentrate on your breathing. Think deliberately of breathing in and then breathing out. It should come close to meditation.
However, this is not a realistic expectations when playing SC2. There are many things that you need to be doing. Building units, scouting, expanding, etc , etc. While in poker you had a new deal after each hand when you could focus on breathing and only needed to act 1 out of every 9-10 times you can't do that here.
The modification that I would use is to "focus" on the basics. If you have not seen Day9's mental checklist VOD then please visit here:
Day9 - Mental Checklist
Now when you are tilted you need to get back to basics. Just follow the checklist. Use it almost as a mantra.
Build Workers
Build Units
Scout
Expand
Just keep going throughout it. It should help calm you down.
I realize that I have synthesized a LARGE amount of material in a short post. If you are interested in reading/listening to more in depth on how to handle your emotions then please make a comment and I can provide you links to books, podcasts, and threads.
