The Psychology of "Psyque!"

A good player doesn't only know how to play the game (meaning knowing combo strings and how to execute supers/ultras). After a while a good player starts developing baiting strategies (trying to psyque out your opponent). These strategies can be simple (fireball speeds) or very deep(footies) and learning how to both apply them and read them makes you a better player.

So what's the idea behind these psyque games? First you try to make your opponent think that you're going to execute the same "pattern" over and over again. A good fighter can see these repeating patterns in a fight and use them to its advantage. You're going to play on this strategy.

My favorite psyque is in the wakeup game. Once you knock an opponent down (for example due to a hurricane kick), then you set the wakeup game. For a Wakeup game I have three strategies

- Strategy 1: Wait for the opponent with a level 3 focus attack (let it autoexecute just as they are getting up)
- Strategy 2: Start a focus attack, and dash cancel backwards
- Strategy 3: Start a focus attack, and dash cancel forwards -> Dragon Punch

Individually, I have practiced and understand the nuances of these three strategies (for example, at what time start the focus attack to gain a level 3, or when to dash back to miss a Guile's Flash Kick.

Strategy 1
For this strategy, just stand next to your opponent as it's laid down, and start a focus attack. If your opponent opted for a "delayed" wakeup (meaning, it's not waking up immediately) then dash cancel backwards (you'll just whiff the focus attack). If your enemy is slow to wakeup you'll hit the level 3 and give him a crumple stun. On which you can punish it seriously with any of the different combos for crumple stuns.

Strategy 2
If your opponent is "Reactionary", his (or hers, who knows) first instinct will be to wake up with either an EX, or a focus breaker, or (for shotos) a dragon punch. If you dash back halfway through the focus attack (a little earlier or later depending on the opponent), they will whiff their wakeup strategy. Then you can punish the whiffed attack.

Strategy 3
Some opponents think the best offense is a good defense, and instead of waking up to an EX move, they will use avoiding techniques, most notably neutral jump, or back dash. When you start your focus attack, cancel it in the middle by dashing forward, and following up with a dragon punch. This will punish the "avoiders" since you have closed the gap between you and them, and they woke up to a vulnerable game.

Now the interesting part is that by having dominated these three techniques you have a way of confusing your opponent. Most fair players have one wake up strategy, better have two, and best have three or four.

The fair players will repeat the same wakeup strategy over and over, so what a good player does is to "scope" out what is their wakeup by using strategy 2 (dashing back, and seeing their response). Depending on their response, then you can home into one of the three strategies and just keep repeating it (these fair players have a hard time switching "gears"). It is painful to watch when a player struggles being punished with the same wakeup strategy, but it happens to all of us. And the reason is that usually they haven't or don't know different wake up games. And this is true for not just wakeup but for any other type of strategy.

If you run into a "good" player, then more "Advanced" planning needs to happen. As you "scope" out what is their wakeup strategy, you will need to keep in mind what strategy you have applied to your opponent.



For example, if you apply Strategy 2 to scope out, and see that the opponent dashed backwards, then on the next wakeup game, you'll follow with strategy 3. If he does something different then he's trying to figure out your pattern. It will be good for you to keep "rotating" the strategies as to keep him confused (this can backfire as well, more on this later). But as each risk is very rewarding when doing it correctly.

For example, sometimes I will execute strategy 2 (dash back) at most two times in a row (against a good player), and then switch to strategy 1 (since they will be expecting the dash back and might try to dash forward). This will throw them way off, and instead they will switch to a "defensive" mode, on which I move onto strategy 3 (dash forward). If these four strategies connect, then you have a very demoralized opponent that can't react well (I have seem some that will just stand there waiting to be taken).

Now this is not to say that this pattern is the "end all". In reality it depends on how well you read your players. I noticed that very high-ranking players might sometimes stick to a set wakeup strategy, because they know you're rotaing yours and eventually their wakeup will pay off when you switch your wakeup attack on them.

In all there is a lot to learn, but little things can describe what kind of a player you're facing. The smallest things (is he using the same 3 combos over), or have they dropped one in favor of another? This will tell you their adaptability (which will be a post for another day).

I'll be posting some memorable videos in youtube for all to see on each particular strategy.