Rockendorf
New Member
Let's not forget that dice can be manipulated too.
Let's not forget that dice can be manipulated too.
It is definitely harder to do though. And it is more noticeable when someone tries to manipulate a die.
Back in the day I got a plastic Pokemon coin from a Japanesae starter deck and decided to practice with it. After about 2 hours I was able to "rig" it nearly every time. I decided to really test it and flipped it over and over going back and forth from heads to tails. And I was actually doing good flips, not just small ones. I had the coin going up about a foot in the air and spinning about 5 times before it landed.
Long story short, I ended up getting my first wrong one the 155th flip. So yes, I "called it" correct 154 times in a row with an official plastic Pokemon coin. Whether you beleave it or not, it happened to me. And after a few more hours of trying I could probably do it again. But I actually beleave in the spirit of the game so of coarse I would never do it in a real game.
So for discussion purposes, here is a simple test. Let's say you are the person who believes they can flip heads 8 times out of 10. Someone comes up to you and says let's bet on it. Flip a coin, and if you flip heads I'll pay you 20 cents. But if you flip tails, you pay me 80 cents. Would you play that game? How many times?
What if I came to you and said one coin flip, 20 dollars and 80 dollars? Would you play that game?
What if the split was 25 and 75? In theory, if you are correct about your 8 out of 10, you'd play all day, because the odds are in your favor.
Discuss.
I feel that Coin Flips are definitely an issue. From my experience, you can get a Pokémon coin to land on Heads almost all of the time, simply by starting the flip with Tails facing up.
I would really like to see card text changed to "roll a die", or at least you should be able to get your opponent to switch randomizers, whether it be from die to coin, or coin to die.
Correction. They cannot force you to use a randomizer other than the coins found in the TPCi theme decks (and likely and IMO, soon to be the dice found in the Plasma box). If you are using a legal tender coin that is not one of the PCD coins, a Judge can determine that the coin is not fair and find some other randomizer for said player to use (usually a die).
Correction to your correction. If the coin (not the flipper) meets all criteria, the judge cannot independently determine the coin as unfair. The flipper does not matter. The judge is looking at the coin.Correction to your correction. If you are using a legal tender coin, a judge cannot determine that the coin is not fair. Their is criteria the judge must use to determine unfairness. If the flipper of the coin meets all criteria, the judge cannot independently determine the coin as unfair. If the flipper meets all requirements using legal tender, the only way to disqualify the coin is if his/her opponent disapproves of the use of the coin.
Scientifically, can you explain what would cause a given coin to land on heads so often, just by starting it on a certain side?
Can't attest to the fact it yields more heads though, my recent experience included, no matter how much I willed my flips for the latter half of last week.
At the very least, the motion is a lot less precise than shooting free throws, which is why I can't believe anything more than 55% is generally possible.
With free throws, you are invoking many more muscles to form a repeatable movement. A single muscle in your thumb, or even adding in your shoulder, is harder to precisely control. Furthermore, the basketball backboard and rim help the ball fall into the basket.
There is no such assistance when flipping a coin. In fact, very often landing on my playmat, even flat, the coin would flip 180 degrees!
Thats why I would aim to have it land on my active Pokemon card, because it bounced less. But even then, if it didn't land flat, hitting an edge caused more variability. There is no "close" when flipping a coin like there is in shooting a basket is what I'm trying to say.
You know what I learned overall? Great players don't choose to play flippy decks.
I had Ness critiquing my deck choice and strategy all week, and I eventually realized that whatever advantage I gained by getting heads when needed was eventually negated by flipping double tails on a crucial turn.
Several times I even got double tails in two turns, which theoretically happens 6% of the time. I lose the game after that. Great players choose decks that don't put themselves in these situations.
I believe for great players to put these cards in their deck, to make them worth the slots, that they're content with a 50% net result for the overall deck strategy....meaning, they don't need to try to boost that above 50% to have a consistently winning deck.
(It's worth repeating that this is my personal opinion, and I'm sure someone is going to disagree, so feel free to post and say so just please acknowledge it is an opinion and personal choice for an individual player's feeling about the use of coins. I don't believe there is a right or wrong here, just how much individuals care about details of certain issues.)
At the very least, the motion is a lot less precise than shooting free throws, which is why I can't believe anything more than 55% is generally possible.
I don't believe that 8% makes a significant difference in the scope of a game, is what I was trying to express.
Regarding flippy decks, maybe I'm in the wrong here too, but I don't consider Hammertime part of that. Crushing Hammer is an auxiliary card that helps disrupt the opponent; the deck can still succeed hitting tails.
So let's take this discussion in a new way: if a player believed they have 58% odds of heads instead of 50%, would that influence their card choice? Think Super Scoop Up in Keldeo/Blastoise decks.