Have you ever played a game where you could find as many ways to cheat as possible? It sounds like about every game you can think of like basketball, chess, checkers, golf, bowling; there is cheating in all sorts of games. Of course the purpose of the game isn’t to cheat but to compete to the best of your ability. Some people just don’t like putting in all of the effort. Yu-Gi-Oh is definitely one of those games. Yu-Gi-Oh is known for its unique culture of cheating and deception. I don’t think I can count how many times I’ve caught someone trying to cheat me in a match. But that is what makes the game more interesting. You can’t just see someone cheating and yell out “You’re cheating, I fucking quit,” you have to keep playing the game no matter what happens because there are ways to beat a cheater. That is why yugioh has become one of the most controversial trading card games. Although Konami, the creators of yugioh, does not condone cheating; there are sometimes where they are not able to catch all of the cheaters. I play this game because when someone cheats, I have to think of new ways play around the cheating so that I can win. Being able to out-think the cheating is an essential skill that I learned so that I may stay one step ahead of my opponent.

Stacking the Deck

Stacking; one strategy that was widely used in many matches but was soon taken care of by Konami. During the shuffle of the decks, a player would place their most important card at the top of the deck. By doing so, the player would draw the card that he wants or needs at that moment instead of waiting two or three turns later in the game and possibly losing the match. Before there were rules to counter this, it was hard to determine if a player “stacked” their deck. If I were in a duel and I knew that I needed a certain card at the time, when I shuffle I would take the card I needed and place the card on the top of the deck. I would draw that card in the next turn instead of losing the match on the next turn. I have not personally used this tactic to cheat because I rather play using the luck of the draw and because of new rules nobody can stack their decks anymore. They have no choice but to have their deck completely shuffled and cut by their opponent.

There was one time that I was in a tournament and I was getting ready to play against my opponent in the second round of the tournament. I had shuffled my deck as soon as I sat down across from my opponent. My opponent had already shuffled his deck so we went straight into the match. In the first duel, I noticed that my opponent’s best card came out on the first turn. I thought he must have had some really great luck because most of the time a player’s best card doesn’t come out till the sixth or seventh turn. In the second duel, I noticed the same thing happen and I soon became suspicious of my opponent. There was no way that my opponent could get their best card on the first turn in two duels. After the round, I asked one of my friends if they had ever seen something like that happen. It was then that I found out what stacking was. At the time, I didn’t worry about it since I was just starting to take the game seriously and I did not think I would have to worry about cheaters. I always thought that I was playing an honest game but seeing that happen gave me quite the revelation.

Not using effects correctly

This type of cheating is entirely too prevalent in the game. It is not done on purpose but it could very well change the outcome of a game. It is when a person tries to use the effect of a monster, spell, or trap card. The player will use the effect in a way that does not match with what the card says specifically. For example, I play a card that destroys only spell cards but I say that the card destroys both spells and trap cards. If my opponent had let me use the effect the way that I wanted to, it could easily change the flow of the game because I could possibly win the game if my opponent does not have any spell or trap cards to defend him. But it is not only the fault of the player committing the foul play but also the player that let it happen. Some players are willing to take advantage of another naivete to win a game.

I ended up making this mistake during a tournament myself. My opponent stared diligently at both of our fields, waiting patiently as I was taking my turn. I scanned all of my cards and meticulously played each card that I felt would help me when the duel. I made a mistake and played a card when I could not at the moment because I did not meet any of the requirements to play it. I did not realize this till I checked the cards I played again for a second time. I looked to my opponent to see if he had followed what had happened. I looked into his eyes to see nothing; he had no grasp of the situation. I had two choices at that moment; I could either continue playing off the naiveté of my opponent, or I could tell him what I had done and hope that I could take the card back. I decided to be the good sportsman and explained to my opponent what had happened. When he checked the field again, he had acknowledged that I had done something wrong and allowed me to take that part of my turn back and continue. In the end, I did not win the match; I was absolutely creamed by my opponent. But what I took away from it was that I conducted myself in a very sportsman-like manner made myself accountable for the mistake I made.

Marked Cards

Marking cards is another way to cheat. By marking cards, usually the stronger or most useful cards, a player will know where that card is in relation to his deck. I believe this tactic is very much used if a player uses clear sleeves or no sleeves at all. The sleeves are meant to protect the cards from UV rays and other things that could damage the cards. This way the player will be able to figure out when he will have the card that could possibly change the tide and win the match. There was one time that I was called out on having a marked card.

I was in a regional tournament and I had my deck in a set of clear sleeves. One of the cards I had in my deck was entirely beat up. It looked like I had put the card through a washing machine about twenty times. The opponent that I was playing against at the time called a judge over. “What seems to be the problem” asked the judge. “He is using a marked card,” said my opponent, “One of his cards has a whole bunch of marks.” The judge turned to me and could see that I was confused on the situation. I was only using the card because that card was available and allowed me to finish building my deck. “Sir,” said the judge, “Do you know that you are using a marked card?” I shook my head and gave the card a once over. “I did not know that,” I said, “I have been using this card for months and no one has told me anything about it.” The judge placed his hand on his chin as I could sense numerous thoughts crossing his mind. My opponent waited impatiently for the judge’s decision, leg bouncing out of rhythm, eyes closed to small slits, and breathing becoming slightly heavy. The judge looked to me and my opponent before clearing his throat to speak. “Young man,” the judge said to me, “You will continue to play but you are going to have to replace that card with one that is not so beat up or else I will have to disqualify you okay?” I quickly nodded my head and left from my seat for a moment to find one of my friends. I divulged what had happened and asked if he had an extra copy of the card I was using, which he did, and asked if I could borrow it. He swiftly took the card out of his trade binder and handed it to me. I then returned to my table and replaced my beaten and battered card with the crisp and clean replacement. The judge smiled and ruled for my duel to continue.

F*ck Cheating

The phrase “cheaters never win” goes right out the window with this game. I’d say about fifty percent of the time, there is a cheater that uses one of these tactics that make sure that they win their match or just win the duel. With so many different methods of cheating, it becomes harder for those that play by the rules to win. But that is what makes the game more interesting. It is the cheaters that cause people that follow the rules and “read the fucking card” like me to find new ways to fight around the lies and deceptions and the fronts that they try to put up.

When I had been honest about the mistake I made in the tournament I felt proud of myself. I felt proud because I was able to show myself that I will “take the road less traveled by” and work hard. In general, I feel that cheating is for fools that have what they want through all the lies and deceptions. I hate cheaters. I despise cheaters. Everyone should be honest with themselves and with other people. I think that with honesty, more can be earned.