Every game is different, which is why people who are good at backgammon are not necessarily going to fare very well when playing Call of Duty. Each game has its own specific set of skills that a player must master if they want to be successful.
This means there are different processes required to master these skills. For instance, while playing blackjack you may want to memorize the optimum choice of whether to hit or stand depending on each hand value, but while playing Forza Motorsport you’ll need to spend time improving your race craft and ability to carry speed through the corners.
While each game does have these specific requirements, there is a typical approach that you can take to improve your playing abilities for just about anything.
Look for How-To Guides
You are definitely not the first person to want to improve your gaming skills, so it’s almost a guarantee that there will be a huge library of content online that’ll give you hints and tips. Even the most niche titles will likely have a small community of people somewhere who share insights.
For those that enjoy playing card games, you won’t have to look very hard. Most sites that offer them will have entire sections dedicated to how to play poker, for example, covering elements like the rankings of each hand, the mechanics of each betting round, and basic strategies.
The same content is available for video games. Fans will be able to find maps that show where pickups and Easter eggs are located, how to get through each mission or level, and even explain the pros and cons of each tool, weapon, or playable character.
Read Strategy Books
While you can find most content online, you may wish to go further and read in-depth insights into different strategies and tactics. These can usually be found in books as the format gives the author more room to delve into the finest minutiae of each aspect.
Older games are the ones where you’ll find the most books available as there has been more time for authors to write them and for publishers to distribute their content. Card and board games typically also have more books written about them as they have longer lifespans than video games.
For example, there are plenty of great books for learning and improving backgammon skills. One of these, Backgammon for Winners, was written by the two-time winner of the World Championship of Backgammon, Bill Robertie, who uses sample games to examine the key traits to winning play.
Watch Others Play
As great as you are, there are almost definitely going to be players that are better than you out there. Therefore, it’s highly likely you’re going to learn something new by watching them play.
The internet has made it easier than ever to watch just about any game being played. Streaming sites like Twitch are dedicated to this sort of content and cover everything from popular video games like Call of Duty, Fortnite, and League of Legends to traditional games like chess and poker.
These streaming sites give you access to live streams as well as back catalogs where you can catch up on events that you missed. The biggest events will often include commentary just like in a sports broadcast, giving you more context and better explanations for the actions being taken and decisions being made by the players.
Practice
Of course, you can do plenty of preparation and theoretical learning, but you’re not going to improve your gaming skills without actually putting them into practice. Therefore, it is vital that you practice as much as you can as often as you can.
In fact, professional gamers, such as those that compete in esports tournaments and professional poker players, will often spend hours each day playing and then even longer reviewing the “game tapes” so they can see their strengths and weaknesses and find areas to improve.