RNG is a good shout, it really helps you keep down your predictability, often it's easy to pick up what a player will do, if they are a bluffer, double-bluffer, etc. After a while, you have to mix it up, and if you can't do that naturaly, then an RNG is perfect for you.

Edit: I just want to point out that this is an interested topic, but psykko is a known troll, so don't get too disheartened by his rude replies to good responses guys :)

Edited 4/7/2016 23:12:12

simple thoughts I think I'm inclined to play by generally:

Playing against a lesser player just do the objective safe and best orders, what's the safest way to secure a win here? play the same game as against a really good player and you could risk losing because of their retarded orders that good players would never do.

Playing against someone who knows how to play strategically is different. A simple thing to do, both to play well and improve, is to ask yourself some questions before you commit your orders. What can I gain from these orders? What do I risk losing? Will this be to my advantage longterm? What does he expect me to do here? Is there something very surprising I can do to better my position?

I've never been the type to watch other people's games to improve (get bored right away) so if you are the same... I can't but almost want to guarantee you will improve by just really asking yourself questions like these before you commit.

@Darkpie: Really sound advice, thanks!

What Darkpie said. A similar thing happens in Poker, sometimes a poker champ can be beaten by a noob, simply because they make stupid moves and they get lucky. If you play a lot of opponents, and they all take risks against you, then statistically you will lose some of those game.

There's a proper name for this, but I think the "rule of many numbers" applies here.

You can't make the right decision every time, because players will be smart, or be stupid, or be random. And it's the random ones that are the hardest to predict (who knew?)

I try and make random moves a lot to mask my play style, so I can use the stronger moves when it counts. (Works well in Poker too, I act dumb, throw money on stupid hands when there's not much at stake, but then when they think they have me I turn tables and piss them off royaly. Always funny as hell because they think they got beaten by a noob and I was just lucky. etc, etc...)

Darkpie: that is a very good process that I know I don't follow often enough. Sometimes I will look back at my orders and think, "at best these orders would allow me to break even".