winning with a pente vs 5 captures
Posted:
Sep 23, 2009, 3:07 PM
It seems to me that winning with 5 in a row takes more skill than winning a game making 5 captures. I see many players would rather take a 5th capture over a pente when having a one move choice !. while it might be more fun to capture, I would like to see more rating points given to winning pente move.
Re: winning with a pente vs 5 captures
Posted:
Sep 23, 2009, 6:14 PM
the only way I can envision this as a likelihood at all is if players were in a tournament and a tiebreaker (by number of moves to win or other methods) were needed. Otherwise, a win is a win and ratings should rise or fall accordingly.
Retired from TB Pente, but still playing live games & exploring variants like D, poof and boat
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Re: winning with a pente vs 5 captures
Posted:
Sep 25, 2009, 6:34 AM
sometimes a pente is harder to get, and sometimes 5 captures is harder to get, just depends on the opening, who your playing, how well you play, ext.....
seeing straight forward structure, and seeing how it lines up to get your pente can sometimes be much easier than trying to visualize a vast capture trade scenario. the after math of a complex landing, that has many possible paths spreading like tree roots.
to just say that getting 5 captures is easier than getting a pente is one hell of a claim.
i say its one of two things, depending;
its either a personal preference of the player to go for pente or 5 caps...
or..
its based on unique circumstances of (a) given position(s) that may dictate what is available.
in short, some times you got a choice, sometimes you dont, and when you got a choice, they might be equal, or they might alternate as to what is easier depending on variables such as the above said, and probably others not said.
but i guess that's just one guys opinion....
zoeyk
PS. you cant really say which was easier to get in a given game "if" your not sure that the game was executed using "Perfect Play". human error in my mind doesn't allow clear validation of your theory, if your theory is based off of your own experiences and those experiences were of less than perfect. you'll need something a little more substantial to verify perhaps.
Scire hostis animum - Intelligere ludum - Nosce te ipsum - Prima moventur conciliat - Nolite errare
Re: winning with a pente vs 5 captures
Posted:
Sep 27, 2009, 4:21 PM
Interesting question this one. (after a bit more of a think, I rewrote this post)
jhs55, if it takes less skill to win by 5 captures, then shouldn't everyone be playing to win by captures?
Clearly the attempt to get 5-in-a row creates the opportunities for capturing. So they are like yin and yang - two sides of the same coin.
Is it not so that the player who plans to thwart the opponent via captures, must be able to see the plans of their opponent, and understand the methods by which they might achive 5 in a row, and then have to plot a way to prevent it? Does this not require as much skill?
If it is easier to get 5 captures perhaps this says more about our skills at defending against it?
cheers Alison
Message was edited by: alisontate at Sep 28, 2009 11:36 AM
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Re: winning with a pente vs 5 captures
Posted:
Sep 30, 2009, 4:52 PM
This question leads me to more questions...
Out of all possible winning paths at any moment, would there be usually more 5-capture wins than pente wins?
I think this is possible especially later in the game since captures accumulate and when one attempts to do pente opponent may usually backfire by 5-capture.
However, it is very likely that in most of those situations winning player usually has a set of choices to choose from and therefore it wouldn't be very effective to give more points for 5-in-a-row wins.
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Re: winning with a pente vs 5 captures
Posted:
Oct 2, 2009, 7:25 PM
I prefer to win by captures because it is more difficult for ME to do. Not that I have tons of pente skill or anything, but there was a time when I was pretty good and educated on the latest lines and it became boring for my mind, so these days, if and when I play, I look for the captures.
Not sure which one takes more skill, guess it would depend on how the mind works and how good the person is at memorizing winning lines and the skill levels of the opponents playing. Lots of factors to consider really. There are those that play just to play and those that play to win.
Please note, I have never viewed this game as being very skillful because I am able to memorize lines pretty easy and find that boring after a while. It is not about the win for me, it is about the experience and the person on the other side of the board. I like to watch how their mind works. I also enjoy playing against the norm. Something in my mind just wants to change it up from time to time and go against the grain rather than with it. haha
Not sure I said all that correctly, quite the ramble really.
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Re: winning with a pente vs 5 captures
Posted:
Oct 9, 2009, 5:45 PM
Oh yeah?
Well point, counter-point this ...
Everything tastes better with bacon; nothing else makes bacon taste better; therefore, bacon is the best food.
Along that line of reasoning (or lack thereof): Surely no one can dispute that getting 5 in a row along with a 5th capture at the same time, would reguire the most skill. Has anyone ever seen or heard-tell of such a thing?
Well, maybe getting 9 in a row (unblocked) on the 5th capture would require the MOST skill!!!
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Re: winning with a pente vs 5 captures
Posted:
Oct 10, 2009, 8:37 AM
Uhhhhh did I detect some blasphemous disturbance in the force to the effect that fish makes bacon taste better? Say it isn't so!! I sing love songs to bacon......I like shrimp and all, but we're just friends at the end of the day.
