How do you think?

[onlyaaron17]

So Ive been playing smash when I was a kid and didnt start playing competitibely until roughly 2 years ago. I played a lot of brawl on wifi and I got into the melee scene last year and only went to 1 tournament. By now Im certain I can textbook people really well. I am a good observer I can tell you what your opponent is going to so I read patterns and habits and my head starts downloading it subconciously. But I have a huge huge problem. Mentally I dont know how to think during a match. I dont know what options will cover when my opponent does X pattern a lot. I could tell u how to do a mu but I wont be able to think and execute it on my opponent. How do you think during a match? How do u practice thinking? If you know what your opponent is going to do how do you notebook it in your head during the set?

 

[Diabolical PIe]

Just play the game, dude. Play it a LOT. You need to have your options built into your muscle memory so you don't even need to think about the optimal punish for each situation- you just know. It's great that you know what your opponent will do- now just play the game a bunch and experiment with different types of reactions. Eventually you'll find answers you'll like and develop your own style. That's all there is to it.

 

[EPsilon933]

Know what things counter other things, like grab > shield. Like if you predict your opponent shielding, go for a grab. Just play the game more so you can remember things faster in actual games

 

[AirFair]

Yeah playing a lot gives you experience on what options will work the best in certain situations.

 

[Modesty]

Know what things counter other things, like grab > shield. Like if you predict your opponent shielding, go for a grab. Just play the game more so you can remember things faster in actual games

This is important. Before you can even start to read people, you have to learn when the appropriate time to do certain things is.

 

[MTGEL33T]

Agreed. Like the others said, practice more (not bots) that stuff will eventually become second nature to you.