RPS Ladder Tournament!

[R Cohrs]

Well, finally got a win against Franklint.  It was a rough battle again, had 2-0, but he worked his way back to 3-3.  Then I threw out of turn again by accident, but this gave me the opportunity to reassess the situation, as I knew this throw would count if I tied, and I ended up pulling out the victory 4-3.   Rough game there!  I used a series of scissors to attack, but there were 2 key moments in this game that turned the tide in Franklint's favor:  I went against my strategy and instinct again by switching throws too early after 3 S in a row, and I stayed with S once too long late in the game.  Franklint probably has the details of the match though, as I didn't write it all down.  In any case, quite the competitor.  I guess the Franklint effect is getting the opponent to mis-throw; I don't know what it is with that, but I've done it a bunch of times against you for some reason.

[Franklint]

Phew, tough game. Thanks, R Cohrs, it was a close battle and one I enjoyed a lot. Some very interesting strategies came to light during the match, and I had to make some tough calls.

Here's the throw record:
Franklint P vs S R Cohrs
Franklint S vs S R Cohrs
Franklint P vs S R Cohrs
Franklint P vs R R Cohrs
Franklint S vs S R Cohrs
Franklint S vs S R Cohrs
Franklint R vs S R Cohrs
Franklint P vs P R Cohrs
Franklint P vs S R Cohrs
Franklint R vs S R Cohrs
Franklint R vs P R Cohrs

Perhaps, indeed, I will have an effect named after me, if this phenomenon continues with other opponents and other matches.

Thanks again for the match, R Cohrs. You're not such a bad competitor yourself . A well-deserved win.

Well, my time in the top spot was short and sweet. I'm hoping to get back there at some point, but for now are glad not to have given it up to someone who was less of a competitor than R Cohrs.

Cheers,
Franklint

[R Cohrs]

Oh yeah, and I finally read the rules more carefully, and it seems there's no such thing as "building a lead," so I doubt I'll be calling anyone out again anytime soon.   Makes sense though when I think of boxing and other sports; the champion can successfully defend all they want, but lose once and you're the challenger again.  Just ask the Patriots about building leads last year; 1 game from the perfect season and they blow the Superbowl.  A big ha ha to that! 

[martinburley]

First, great match guys. R Cohr's two Toolboxes earlier in the match set things up nicely for the bait-and-switch SSP at the end. I'll update the ladder rankings now.

By the way, R Cohrs, while you can't go any higher than 1st place in the ladder, the end-of-season prize for 'King of the Ladder' is based on winning matches that either (a) lift you to 1st place or (b) keep you in 1st place, so if you have your eye on that prize, it's worth issuing more challenges. Well, assuming you feel confident you'll win. At the moment you have two points towards that prize, Urbanus and I have one each, so it's looking good for you...

[martinburley]

R~P~S game 139496 has expired.  Your challenge to Master Roshambollah
has gone unanswered for 7 days.  Sorry it didn't work out. 

Well. Loathe as I am to win by forfeit, it seems I have little choice.

I was 3-0 up against Rosh, and I guess he just hated the idea that I might 'skullcrush' him 4-0.

Cheers for the match, Rosh. You lasted longer than I thought you would.

[custardchuk]

I'll put up a challenge to Franklint. I am aware he is currently in transit to Roshambo and sense that he may be a little off his game.

[Franklint]

Sounds good. I'm posting here mere hours before flying interstate to catch a plane to LA. Exciting.

Cheers,
Franklint

[srn347]

LA? You might find rosh there. Or was that vegas?

Welcome, seekers

srn347

[martinburley]

R~P~S game 139542 has expired‏
From:    R~P~S (rpsnoreply@rpsgame.com)
Sent:    Tuesday, 27 May 2008 1:47:02 p.m.
Reply-to:    R~P~S (rpsnoreply@rpsgame.com)
To:    R~P~S Player 'martinburley' (rpsnoreply@rpsgame.com)

 
R~P~S game 139542 has expired.  Your challenge to C. Urbanus
has gone unanswered for 7 days.  Sorry it didn't work out. 
 
If you'd like to challenge someone else, go here:
http://www.rpsgame.com/cgi-bin/challenge.cgi

Well, and, indeed, well. One opponent forfeiting may be due to misfortune, but two forfeiting smacks of conspiracy. All the same, I'll take the win.

[R Cohrs]

Hmmm... Nice one?  Good timing for you martin, as this is an extremely hectic week culminating in leaving for Korea on Saturday (hopefully but most likely barring catastrophe/slow bureaucracy).  So no point in challenging you, as you win a pt if I lose.  And another rematch with Franklint seems like a bit much, so I will make my challenge to Mr. C Urbanus.  His not responding to throws at this point would be very helpful, as internet access after tomorrow will be sporadic for a while.  I hear they have e-mail access at the school I where I will teach, so this should be resolved in a couple weeks.  Until then, nothing lost, nothing gained!

[Franklint]

Oh lord. custardchuk's theory was very much correct. I've been out of sorts the past couple of days, and he used this to his advantage to rack up a skullcrusher against me.

Here's a throw record:
Franklint P vs S custardchuk
Franklint P vs P custardchuk
Franklint P vs S custardchuk
Franklint S vs R custardchuk
Franklint S vs S custardchuk
Franklint P vs P custardchuk
Franklint R vs R custardchuk
Franklint P vs S custardchuk

As you can see, I served out some terrible play, especially in the first part of the game, and what was worse, I knew I was doing it. My Scissors after an already predictable Bureaucrat has to have been one of the most amateurish and utterly predictable moves I have ever used. While I was partly aware of this, I had some crazy idea that he'd think it was too amateurish. Presumably he guessed that my play would be much like this due to the jetlag. Or perhaps I just play like this generally.

custardchuk used some clever trash talking to influence my throws, which helped him with his wins.

My biggest annoyance with this match was allowing custardchuk to get a skullcrusher, which provides more competition to R Cohrs, ScissorSista and myself.

In any case, a great game, custardchuk, and very well played. I learnt much from our encounter. I'm not quite sure what, but I know it had something to do with how badly I played, how this can be prevented, and how counting your chickens before they hatch in your trash talk is an effective manoeuvre ("Here comes the skullcrush." was a favourite phrase of custardchuk in our match).

Congrats on the skullcrusher. I guess I'll have to get my revenge in a real-life race-to-four in Sonoma.

Cheers,
Franklint

[martinburley]

Great win custardchuk.

I sense that you're going to try to build on your momentum by challenging me.

So rather than let you have things all your own way, I'll step in with a pre-emptive attack. I challenge you.

[Maxamillion]

After a period of deep deep meditation & seeking clarification realization has dawned.

The win by default of game Number 139093 Maxamillion v Master Roshambolah is hereby claimed.

With respect
Mindfull Max

[martinburley]

Congratulations on your enlightenment, Max. And on your win.

[Franklint]

Oh man. I just discovered something exceptionally cool. If you take a look at the "current standings" thread, you will notice that the four people with skullcrushes to their name are ScissorSista, R Cohrs, custardchuk and myself. "Whoop-de-fucking-doo", I hear you say. Wait, there's more.

A very interesting addition to this is that the final three of those mentioned above have gotten our skullcrushes against each other, in a layout very much like RPS. R Cohrs skullcrushed custardchuk, who skullcrushed me, who skullcrushed R Cohrs. It is very interesting how our varying styles of play completely smashed those of someone else, only to be completely smashed by the final person in the trio. I think it means something that the core workings of our sport emerged in our play styles, and the fact that such a relationship can actually exist in real life is yet more evidence against those who believe that Paper couldn't possibly beat Rock.

The obvious flaw in this finding is the presence of ScissorSista in the group. This, however, is natural, as Sista's playing style represents the unknowns, the hidden dragons who rise up through the ranks to miraculously (although not in Sista's case) win tournaments, without relationships with the rest of the competitor base, officials or organisers. It is for this reason that I recommend ScissorSista changes her nickname to DynamiteSista, and in this link between game mechanics and game results, she indeed symbolises Dynamite and other outcast throws. It is important that, in this instance, Dynamite is not used because of its illegality, but because of its freedom from the bonds of the other throws. I'm not ripping on Sista in anyway, so everyone please be clear on that.

Cheers,
Franklint