How do you read people without relying on luck?

[ItsASquid]

I'm inches from quitting after years of trying to get better at Smash all around, so I hope this works out.

I cannot read people. Not even if all they do is dodge. There are simply too many options, and no clear patterns. Left? Right? Spot dodge? Jump? Attack? Shield? It's never the same thing twice, even if they've been doing an action lots of times in a battle. And if I miss, they can land whatever they like on me. Meanwhile when I try to dodge, they can hit me at will, or know exactly when I'll roll even if it was my first roll of the match.

People say to watch for habits and punish them, but people never seem to have habits in my matches. The only exception is when someone overuses one attack again and again, but this is rare.

 

[popemanz]

it's easy if they [unch you then they will again

 

[Mister.Kim1]

I'm inches from quitting after years of trying to get better at Smash all around, so I hope this works out.

I cannot read people. Not even if all they do is dodge. There are simply too many options, and no clear patterns. Left? Right? Spot dodge? Jump? Attack? Shield? It's never the same thing twice, even if they've been doing an action lots of times in a battle. And if I miss, they can land whatever they like on me. Meanwhile when I try to dodge, they can hit me at will, or know exactly when I'll roll even if it was my first roll of the match.

People say to watch for habits and punish them, but people never seem to have habits in my matches. The only exception is when someone overuses one attack again and again, but this is rare.

Start adapting to your enemy's pattern of attacks or movements.

Common example: If the enemy wants to recover to grab the ledge, prepare to spike them.

 

[Baby_Sneak]

I'm inches from quitting after years of trying to get better at Smash all around, so I hope this works out.

I cannot read people. Not even if all they do is dodge. There are simply too many options, and no clear patterns. Left? Right? Spot dodge? Jump? Attack? Shield? It's never the same thing twice, even if they've been doing an action lots of times in a battle. And if I miss, they can land whatever they like on me. Meanwhile when I try to dodge, they can hit me at will, or know exactly when I'll roll even if it was my first roll of the match.

People say to watch for habits and punish them, but people never seem to have habits in my matches. The only exception is when someone overuses one attack again and again, but this is rare.

Well, I'd say you should try to brush up on your fundamentals again. Things like spacing and zoning allows you to limit those options to make it easier to read them. Play with a simple character like the marios or the pits to not get distracted by the difficulty of your character (that is, if you main someone who's a bit unorthodox).

I'd also recommend picking up a board game like backgammon, spades, bridges, poker, or something that takes a lot of skill with some luck in it. You'll start to learn how to read patterns and pick up on traits as well.

https://smashboards.com/threads/how-to-improve-a-compilation.106060/

 

[JiggyNinja]

You're first problem is trying to read your opponent too much and (I'm guessing based on my own habits) being far too aggressive. You're probably over-committing yourself and leaving yourself vulnerable to a punish. Your opponent very likely isn't reading you better, they're just minimizing their risk better. Your opponents aren't psychic after all, they're just the same as you.

Going for a read is always a gamble. However hard you are trying to read your opponent, they will try just as hard to not be readable. You can't really ever expect to

Part of getting good at reads is knowing when it's even a good idea to try, and how much to commit trying to take advantage of it. A low risk read is basically going for a bonus. Say the opponent's hanging off the ledge. A safe read could be to wait for them to move, then use a fast attack aimed at the spot a ledge roll would end up. If they just get up or jump your attack will miss, but you should be far enough away from the opponent that they can't immediately retaliate. If you get the hit though, it's a great bonus that you can press for more advantage.

Hard reads have a much higher risk and reward, and need to be used much more carefully depending on your situation. Are you a stock ahead and your opponent's at kill percent? Some unexpected smash attacks might be just the thing you need to put the fear of god into them. If they're at 0%, it's much worse because the damage you get is not enough to be worth leaving yourself so open to punishment.

Watch some actual tourney play and you'll notice what I like to call the neutral dance. Skilled players, even when they're playing a pure CQC fighter like Captain Falcon or one of the Fire Emblem swordsmen, never just run straight at each other. Their approach is always more measured than that. Aside from projectiles (if they have any) a common feature of this dance is throwing out fast attacks (jabs, tilts, and short hop aerials) just outside of hitting range. They're not really aimed at hitting the opponent, they're just throwing out hit boxes to catch the opponent's approach. As an extreme example, I recently saw one of Hungrybox's Melee matchs from Genesis. Even when the opponent's on the other side of the stage, he's constantly throwing out Bairs to make it more dangerous to approach him.

Before you try reading your opponent, focus on disciplining yourself to hold back more. Temper your aggression, and give your opponent more chances to make their own mistakes instead of more chances to punish yours.

 

[Sean²]

Humans don't behave all that different from each other and many will follow the same patterns in certain situations.

Stand there and poke their shield just out of grab range....their safest options are to run/roll away, or jump. They can't shield forever. Most people who have had their rolls punished in the past aren't going to roll behind you. Rolling away can take away stage advantage. The most logical option - Jumping out of the situation is what they'll choose. You can try to intercept it with your own attack. It's a fairly safe read because most characters can't get an immediate punish on you for jumping and attacking with the other options. That's an option read.

You can get these reads most easily when you have them at disadvantage. There are only so many options for getting off the ledge - you can cover half of them just by standing still outside of getup attack range or shielding near the edge. If they regular getup or getup attack, you knock them off again. So they might try to roll or pick one of the ledge jump options. Pick one and go for it. You might miss, but that's okay. But if you hit, you're immediately put at an advantage again.

The thing about getting reads, is they're not guaranteed. You're never going to get the same read 100% of the time unless you're fighting a CPU or someone very low level. You just have to know what options they have and what you see other people generally do. Then if you play the same guy enough, if they have any bad habits, you can pick them up and read their general option of choice in a given situation, then punish them for it. For example, my friend plays Richter. He has a bad habit of rolling away once after whiffing a smash attack. If I see this I just run after him and get a free dash attack out of it.

Playing lots of different people is the key.

 

[Darches]

Jiggly nailed it on the head. I think playing a ton has improved my ability to read naturally. You should only get super aggressive if you can read the opponent's mind and have a gameplan to confuse and finally tipper them. I am, of course, claiming that Marth (Sm4sh) is OP and has incredible offense AND defense. Change mains is the fast way to victory! Counters for days! The cure for cancer!

On that note, consider using literally neutral options. As in, don't do ANYTHING. It really screws with some people. They'll have no idea what you'll throw out next. You must decide when and how to engage in offense or defense. If you're always doing something, that in itself can become predictable!

What all this means is that your actions should have intention. Don't blindly throw out attacks... Unless you're someone like Marth (even then, you need to be careful at times).

 

[Crystanium]

Reading your opponent is a skill. Save replays, win or lose, and watch your opponent. Pay attention to options, such as the number of times he or she jumps, the way he or she approaches, the way he or she returns from the ledge. It takes time and practice, and the more you learn, the better you'll become. Frustration is bound to happen, but keep your chin up and think of ways you can deal with your opponents.

 

[MrFantasticGenitalThrust]

I find improving reaction time helps. I think Zero once stated that his reactions are godlike which help remove some of the guesswork and then goes on to say how is hard to deal with because of his speed meaning you have to rely on 'luck' more than you'd like or something along the lines of that. How you improve reaction time, I don't know the best way, but I do like to go into training mode at 1.5 x speed. Everything feels in slow motion after a half hr session at overspeed.

 

[Nagol]

Everyone has habits and patterns but nobody is tuned to 100% do the same thing every time. Both players are going to adjust as the match goes on because certain things will work and others won't. Learning to condition your opponent on the ledge can help your punish game.
- don't over commit with attacks that leave you stuck. (smash attacks and some B moves).

 

[MG_3989]

I find improving reaction time helps. I think Zero once stated that his reactions are godlike which help remove some of the guesswork and then goes on to say how is hard to deal with because of his speed meaning you have to rely on 'luck' more than you'd like or something along the lines of that. How you improve reaction time, I don't know the best way, but I do like to go into training mode at 1.5 x speed. Everything feels in slow motion after a half hr session at overspeed.

There are plenty of finger exercises you can do to improve how fast your fingers move but that won’t improve reaction time alone. You need the mental aspect too and that’s based on experience and playing a lot of matches