A bad smash day is like a bad hair day

[ACDC]

Sometimes I wake up and I'm not as good as on other days, and not just with the technical stuff, but just in smash in general. On the other hand some days I wake up and I just know how to perform. So I was interested about your experiences with either good or bad smash days and how they affected you guys. And if someone has good tips on how to turn a bad day into a good one I will post them here on this post with your name next to it. I hope you enjoy this thread and hopefully it can help some of you out there.

 

[SAUS]

My bad days typically start with me being tired. Overall, what ends up happening is that I get frustrated with my inability to do tech skill or change my reaction to a situation that keeps coming up (and beating me because I react incorrectly) and then it just goes downhill.

Really, it all comes down to that frustration - the negative attitude that ensues just keeps me playing bad. I start to focus on my tech skill which makes me do it worse and it just cycles over and over.

Sometimes it is just because I am very tired and I'm best off screwing around with some secondary characters to cool off, but other times, I can snap back if I remind myself of what is important (perhaps a goal for the day or just some better thinking towards how to approach the game).

 

[Red Rice]

It's important to take breaks every so often, some of those bad days is just a day you need to do stuff other than smash.

If you still want to play those days, you have to keep your mind blank. Which is a lot easier said than done. But in the end, if you can keep a clear head, I find that it really helps in tense tournament situations

 

[Walbytamer11]

Not a specific story, but rather a repetitive experience to share:

Basically I'm the undisputed best in my smash group of ~25 people from my little highschool in the countryside. Anyway, we recently got another member to join and he plays sheik. He's really frustrating to play against because he'll just sit contently in his shield all day. Since sheik isn't really close to fox in terms of technical skill, I'm stuck in shine (trying to perform grab OOShine or a multishine) and he grabs me and dash attacks, reads my tech roll and then fairs...same dumb combo erry time.

On the other hand, it's fox. When I'm on, I'm on (and it feels really good to 3 stock peeps).

 

[LilBro]

As a Falco main, I also have problems with consistency.
To play at my best, I make sure to
1) Wash my hands with hot water when it's cold/ wash my hands with cold water when my palms sweat
2) Sit the same way every time I play and hold the controller the same way every time
3) And most importantly, be positive! Playing Melee to cheer up/cool off is great, but I try to make sure I don't let Melee frustrate me even more when I'm having a bad day.

 

[N7S]

I make a lot of dumb reads and bad decisions when I'm having a rough day. Especially since I'm a Falcon main. There are days where I'm just on fire and could style anyone, but then there are others where I even get pushed around by the biggest scrubs in the Gaming Club. It makes me feel like a scrub and feel that I'm not as good as I really think I am. I've had two days in a row now where I just feel like I'm missing all my punishes and combos. I hope this is just normal. I feel less confident when taking on people now.

 

[SwiftOfDaSouth]

I feel like a lot of smashers (myself included) defeat themselves before the timer has begun to count down. Now, this may turn itself around mid match in some streak of inspiration, but Melee is, after all, primarily a mental sport.

 

[undergroundmonorail]

A bad smash day is like a bad hair day, in that my hair is always bad

 

[SAUS]

I make a lot of dumb reads and bad decisions when I'm having a rough day. Especially since I'm a Falcon main. There are days where I'm just on fire and could style anyone, but then there are others where I even get pushed around by the biggest scrubs in the Gaming Club. It makes me feel like a scrub and feel that I'm not as good as I really think I am. I've had two days in a row now where I just feel like I'm missing all my punishes and combos. I hope this is just normal. I feel less confident when taking on people now.

It's definitely normal. I find it annoying that bad mentality is typically what makes me play bad, and playing bad typically gives me a bad mentality. You eventually just have to wake up wanting to play and in a good mood or snap yourself out of the mindset that's making you lose.

 

[TheHolyRoller]

Yea, I go through this a bit as well. Since I am a bit newer to the competitive world, I'll just go through a period of time where I cannot do the most important of techniques while there are other times where I play like I should. It is normal. Everyone goes through a slump.

 

[Spak]

I thought I had a bad smash day yesterday, but it turned out my R button was stuck.

 

[TheHolyRoller]

I thought I had a bad smash day yesterday, but it turned out my R button was stuck.

Hahaha. At least you could still L-Cancel

 

[Spak]

Hahaha. At least you could still L-Cancel

Yeah, but my Dashdance was more like a Rolldance. In case anyone was wondering, Rolldancing isn't very effective :/

 

[MistFist]

lets see... a bad smash day... oh yes almost every day i play with this guy called david in my smash group lol hes a good guy and all but he uses sheik... and my marth doesnt really like sheik a lot at least his sheik... so yeah but what gets me pass this is pretty much what @ LilBro said. just play your game and you should be fine ... eventually, there will come that one day when you land a falcon punch and you know what? it doesnt even matter whether you win or loose cuz you just feel like a bad motha****ing ass

 

[SwiftOfDaSouth]

Sometimes I'll be doing fine and then playa charater I'm really bad against like Sheik or Zelda (yes...Zelda) and loose in a really demoralizing way and just like suck the whole rest of the time I'm playing. Sad face.

 

[Zero Meddler]

Most of my days are bad Smash days. On those occasions where I have a good one, Ohhhhh man does it feel good.

 

[Kidney Thief]

Oh man I forgot I wrote this, and I don't use the same account anymore. Surprised this thread got so many responses. I'd say the main thing for me now is just to get in the zone. If I can get in the zone I keep playing, if not I take a break so I don't get frustrated by my bad play and then play even worse. Also my mindset has improved a lot lately and that helps. Thinking positively outside of smash applies to smash. That's what I think

 

[Calzum!]

this thread is just full of Johns

 

[Zero Meddler]

this thread is just full of Johns

Yeah, we are. XD But we've all had a bad Smash day every once in a while.

 

[AirFair]

Yall be havin tech skill problems lmao i just fsmash all day as marth

no but srsly it's good to take a break when you aren't at your best. I have tech skill problems sometimes too ok

 

[Deleted member]

Like stated above, after losing some matches when I'm not in top form I feel less confidence when I am... After about a week long streak of losing to everybody on PM Wifi I'm afraid to ask for matches now... I've just been training against level nine foxes to feel better, knowing it's not another person.

 

[SwiftOfDaSouth]

Oh man I forgot I wrote this, and I don't use the same account anymore. Surprised this thread got so many responses. I'd say the main thing for me now is just to get in the zone. If I can get in the zone I keep playing, if not I take a break so I don't get frustrated by my bad play and then play even worse. Also my mindset has improved a lot lately and that helps. Thinking positively outside of smash applies to smash. That's what I think

So what's your mindset?

 

[Kidney Thief]

So what's your mindset?

Fun comes first, I now main my favourite character so that helps a lot. I used to go with Peach for easy wins even tho I didn't like her. Also I joke a lot and do ooooh's to bring hype in the match and I give credit to my opponent when he's good instead of taking credit away from myself. Also my real life situation is amazing right now I couldn't be happier and it makes me able to concentrate more when I play. Also I dronk lots of water that helps very much

 

[SwiftOfDaSouth]

Fun comes first, I now main my favourite character so that helps a lot. I used to go with Peach for easy wins even tho I didn't like her. Also I joke a lot and do ooooh's to bring hype in the match and I give credit to my opponent when he's good instead of taking credit away from myself. Also my real life situation is amazing right now I couldn't be happier and it makes me able to concentrate more when I play. Also I dronk lots of water that helps very much

Hydration is a very important aspect of a healthy mind and body lol

Thanks though, this really did help. Been having some problems on the mental execution end of Melee as of late, any advice helps.

 

[Kidney Thief]

Sure no problem man, I also think that since I've improved my tech skill I have less bad days. I now play every day at least 15 minutes and up to 3-4 hours but usually I'd say 30-45 mins. Since then I've had less and less problems with inconsistency. Sure I'll get a bad day here and then but not too often. Also I find that not playing smash 4 helps me get in the zone easier for me because there's no transition between games (But there's nothing wrong about smash 4, but it's hard to get good at both games at the same time so I made my choice) That's what I think

 

[MistFist]

the only way i play smash 4 is with items on cuz i just cannot get over the fact that the game is so slow for me... let the hate comments start sry guys i got too used to melee :/

 

[Kidney Thief]

the only way i play smash 4 is with items on cuz i just cannot get over the fact that the game is so slow for me... let the hate comments start sry guys i got too used to melee :/

No one on this thread cares about your opinion on smash 4 breh

 

[Jiggsbomb]

If I'm having a bad day, it's probably because I didn't get enough sleep. So my ritual is green tea, pomegranates and some melee vods. I'm serious, drink green tea. It will help you practice and stay focused on the match.

 

[undergroundmonorail]

If I'm having a bad day, it's probably because I didn't get enough sleep. So my ritual is green tea, pomegranates and some melee vods. I'm serious, drink green tea. It will help you practice and stay focused on the match.

Oh, that's why I'm terrible at Smash! It's because I think green tea is gross. Now it all makes sense

 

[Jiggsbomb]

Oh, that's why I'm terrible at Smash! It's because I think green tea is gross. Now it all makes sense

Green tea is groos you say!?

 

[Massive]

I am the most inconsistent smash player I've ever encountered.

When I'm on, I'm basically unstoppable. I rarely miss rests with puff and can play falco, marth, falcon, and sheik with high technicality seemingly effortlessly. I can run trains with low tiers and defeat seasoned players with Kirby, Bowser, or G&W.

When I'm off I struggle to even wavedash or L-cancel reliably.

I have given up on most of my johns for it over the years.
I usually just say "I'm sorry, I suck." now.

 

[MistFist]

Green tea is groos you say!?

omg i died! lol