David Sirlin is a multiple-time national tournament champion in video games. As part of Street Fighter Team USA, he represented America in an annual international fighting game tournament held in Japan. He graduated from MIT's Sloan Business School in 1998. In his book Playing to Win: Becoming the Champion, Sirlin includes a complete analysis of Sun Tzu's book The Art of War and its applications to virtually all competitive games and to "real life."
Here are some of Sirlin's pointers for handling the issues that top players face.
1) "The principles of winning apply equally to all zero-sum competitive games. No matter the game, you must create an environment in which you can improve. You must practice against a wide range of opponents. You must free your mind from self-imposed rules that prevent you from winning. You must develop "mental toughness" and the ability to read the minds of your opponents. You must interact with a community of other players. Whether you play chess, tennis, Quake, Mario Kart, Street Fighter, or poker, the lessons are all the same." Page 7.
2) "Building your life around any game is arguably a mistake, but I'll pretend to ignor that point, as it sure helps when it comes to winning." Page 11.
3) "I personally prefer to play against average and poor players for a bit, as a way of to hone my skills of attacking efficiently." Page 12.
4) "Self-doubt does not win games; positivity does." Page 22.
5) "When losing badly, you are often forced to choose only from high-risk options that have big enough payoffs to put you back into the game." Page 40.
6) "Critical moments are what you need to create and take advantage of when you're losing. They are what you need to supress and avoid when you are winning." Page 79.
7) "Games require training, practice, and discipline...Games teach you to remain calm under the most dire of circumstances, and to never give up until your very last breath of life is spent." Page 130.
Sirlin's book is, "Dedicated to winners and those who strive to win." I suppose that says it all.
And, before you place a book order, look at the Free Offers page.
R. Steve McCollum
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Order this book from Amazon.com. You can be certain of amazingly low prices, oftentimes free shipping, and really fast service.
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Copyright 2009 R. Steve McCollum
