Subject: [Issues] Cheating...the only solution Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 15:38:31 +0900 From: Tim Wilkin To: fkusumot@ix.netcom.com The talk of cheating has once again reared its head and it always seems to do so right when someone prominent has been accused. I'm not writing to say whether I think someone has cheated or not, nor to wrestle the DCI into doing something about it. There is only one solution and it lies with us, the players. Why us, why not the judges, you might ask. Judges require proof! Most judges are afraid to act, particularly at big time events, for fear of accusing an innocent person of cheating. They hold to the 'innocent until _proven_ guilty' system that our courts work on. Is this sufficient...well, we could debate this all day long. I note with interest that Neutral Ground SF has taken the step of setting their own standards of 'proof'. Judges who are prepared to act against cheating will help clean up the scene but without the backing of the DCI and Jason Carl, judges are basically impotent. Therefore, the responsibility lies with players. In fact the floor rules are designed that way. Judges cannot watch every game of every match!.. So your opponent may have mana-stacked (weaved)...give his deck a really good riffle shuffle...several times...you think he's stacked your deck against you...ask him to riffle shuffle it...if he refuses, ask him why...ask a judge to come over and shuffle you deck for you, stating that you don't believe your opponent shuffled it properly! Keep track of how many cards your opponent has in their hand. Ensure that they keep the cards above the table. If they have the habit of piling them one behind the other, ask them EVERY TIME THEY DRAW A CARD how many cards they have. If they get annoyed, tell them you wouldn't have to ask if they kept them fanned! Keep a separate life counter for you opponent. If they disagree on their life totals, go through both graveyards and figure out what life they should be on. (This is a hard one but writing down each amount damage and how it was done on a peice of paper eliminates this problem!) Don't let them put their hand (cards) near their library or some other cards they're looking at. Take impulse for example, or scroll rack. Make sure the cards taken off the library are not put into their hand until they've dealt with the full effect (ie put three on the bottom of their library for impulse or X on top for scroll rack) If your opponent is stalling for time, ask a judge to watch the match and be open about saying that you feel your opponent is stalling. What harm will it do? Sure, it might annoy your opponent, but then if he or she truly is stalling, they deserve to be annoyed!!! I could go on all day about tactics to prevent cheating. Basically it gets down to 'watch your opponent'. WATCH EVERY THING HE SHE DOES. They'll find it darn hard to cheat with you watching every move they make. If they do cheat, then you're in a prime position to put your case to a judge. You are the judges proof...your testimony, your evidence. On the plus side of all this watching, you might also learn a lot about your opponents style of play and how to beat it!...As the old saying goes, 'know your enemy'! People cheat because they can; because we, their opponents, let them. It's time WE put a stop to it! Regards, Tim Wilkin TO, Lvl 1 Judge and an improving player!!! -- ______________________________________________ Tim Wilkin Autonomous Flight Research Aerosonde Project email: taw@vortex.shm.monash.edu.au --------------------------------- CRC for Southern Hemisphere Meteorology 3rd Floor, Building 70 Monash University Ph: 61 3 9905 9672 Clayton, VIC, 3168 Fax: 61 3 9905 9689 --------------------------------- Bureau of Meteorology Research Centre 12th Floor, 150 Lonsdale St, Melbourne, VIC, 3001 ______________________________________________