Not to be contrary, but it's both.

Basic gameplay is the easy part. Most players that play the game for any length of time make the same general moves given a situation.

The rest of the game is negotiating and knowing your opponents. Reading the board and guessing who will do what. Deciding which players are trustworthy/truceable. Some people call it OTF, others call it PGA, but human nature states that you'll trust the player you know over the player you don't know. It isn't PGA unless you choose to protect a much smaller "friend" and kill a strong "unknown" neighbor. This game is definitely about relationships on some level, just not as far fetched as people make it seem.

Everyone was a noob at this game at some point. Everyone took their licks at the high tables at some point. It's getting to know the players and their tendencies that set you apart from others. Particularly at the 2k's and 5k's, but even at the 500's, negotiating and deal-making becomes a large part of the game.

I can't choose just one answer because neither one fits the gameplay.

My $.02

It's like this... You make friends, they will learn to trust you, and you will form a reputation that others will base their play around you off of. At the same time anyone whose consistently in the top 25 could create a completely secretive alt and again medal in the top 25. You need the skills to get points (no matter what the account), but the friends surely help, as well.

Fuck it, I was going to try to argue that it was one over the other (how you play, FWIW) but it would be like arguing the American economy operates under perfectly competitive conditions.

The fact that you ask this shows why you struggle to feel like you can make traction in this game you see the system as this dichotomy of friends playing together and people playing separately.

This is both a strategic and a social game, it requires balancing both optimal strategy with what the expected responses from your opponents will be based on knowledge of them as individuals and forming a basic expectation of unknown players.

How you play.

That said, if you play like a backstabber or a farmer, or a pga, you're going to get a reputation and people will play you accordingly.

at any given table there might be players who play friendly with eachother. there might be players that backstab. there might be players that farm. more experience at the game = more able to recognize who at your table will do what. if you don't like backstabbers, pga'ers and farmers, chances are you'll act more favorably to the people at your table that are none of those.

then there are players (your fiancee being one of them) who will try to use guilt to gain favors for later games. i get a "thanks happy" every time i attack her as if she expects favors.

Thnx happy for your input

This question is what's known as a false dilemma. You could probably rephrase and have more people respond with more cogent answers.

Perhaps something like this:
Is success in this game due more to how well you play the board or how well you socialize?

My answer would be that at all but the top tables, you can lean more one way or the other and do quite well. At the top tables you need to do both well (as well as be able to come up with 101 reasons why it's ok to expand and farm. A law degree helps here.)

Being forced to choose one answer, I would say who you know.

Like Vermont.

I've only played at the 0, 100, and 500 tables. And of course the tournaments .

As for 'who you know' it's human nature to want to help your friends out instead of a complete stranger, or to attack someone you don't know compared to someone (a friend) you do know.

I try not to do that myself, but that doesn't mean it never happens.

You asked for one, and that's the one I picked. I could talk about 'how you play' but my answer for that one would be much longer.

How you play.

If you know people and don't know how to pga. . . then you are fucked

pooch you gotta know when to hold em and know when to fold em