History Main / StrategySchmategy

* "Beginner's luck" may sometimes come from this -- in a game of moves, counter-moves and counter-counter-moves, sometimes the correct move against a professional is the most basic one. Until he figures out that his opponent IS a beginner and crushes them. It can also result in wasted effort. In MagicTheGathering, for instance, there are a lot of mind games which are possible, but many of them will only be picked up on by sufficiently skilled opponents, making a new player TooDumbToFool.

* Many orkish units in various editions of [[TabletopGame/{{Warhammer}} Warhammer Fantasy Battle]] and TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} have this as a special rule. The most prominent example being the Giant.

* The second ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novel, ''The Honor of the Queen'', finds the protagonist facing off against an enemy ship that, while far superior to her own, is crewed by people who have no idea how to use it. She paraphrases the Mark Twain quote to her subordinate: "The world's best swordsman doesn't fear the second best; he fears the worst swordsman, because he can't predict what the idiot will do."

* In the second ''Literature/HonorHarrington'' novel, the protagonist paraphrases the Mark Twain quote to her subordinate: "The best swordsman does not fear the second best, he fears the worst since there's no telling what that idiot is going to do."

Strategy Schmategy describes situations where a character's behavior is unpredictable because ''he himself simply has no idea what he's doing''.

Strategy Schmategy describes situations where a character's behavior is unpredictable because ''he himself simply has no idea what he's doing''. He's impossible to anticipate, because not even ''he'' knows what he's going to do next.

* Creator/DouglasAdams coined the word "Aboyne", which he described as ''"To beat an expert at a game of skill by playing so appallingly bad that none of his clever tactics or strategies are of any use to him."''

Contrast ConfusionFu (unpredictability as a strategy in itself, instead of a function of having no strategy), IndyPloy (where a character doesn't have a plan originally, but comes up with new ones on the fly), XanatosSpeedChess (adjusting a preexisting plan to accommodate a changing situation), GambitRoulette (plans which incorporate a degree of randomness), and CalvinBall (in which the entire game makes no sense, as opposed to just one of the players).

* Professional {{Poker}} players can sometimes be thwarted by novices and amateurs, who make plays that no professional would be stupid enough to attempt and end up short-circuiting the professionals' expectations.
* The above comment about {{Poker}} is also is true for billiards players.

* MarkTwain's ''Literature/AConnecticutYankeeInKingArthursCourt'' has this to say:

* In ''Film/ThePhantomMenace'' [[LethalKlutz Jar Jar Binks]] found himself assigned a generalship in the Gungan military thanks to a political appointment. He proceeds to take out a surprising amount of the enemy himself, and the badly outclassed Gungan army manages to last long enough in their stated purpose--being a distraction--to see the opposing droid army decommissioned.

* There is some truth in the comments about fencing in the Literature section. The people who run most afoul of this are beginning fencers against first-timers, since they want to play by the rules and do things properly, but don't have the technique and reaction time yet. Epeeists in particular are notorious for finding first-timers more challenging than neophytes since epee has no rules of Right of Way. Right of Way defines a dynamic where you can not score on an attack if you have not defended yourself from an opponent's attack, and the wildly flailing new fencer often runs afoul of those rules. Epee lacks those rules, and new fencers often do unpredictable, senseless things than can almost accidentally result in touches. After some practice, they end up doing worse [[CentipedesDilemma because they begin learning what they're doing]], though that's a necessary step to mastering the weapon. This is why epee is not traditionally the first weapon a fencer learns.

* A martial artist often hates sparring against rank beginners, since their wild flailing is more likely to result in injury to someone than a somewhat skilled opponent's controlled movements. Likewise, a completely untrained fighter relying on instinct and athleticism is often better than a beginning martial artist or boxer. When the training takes effect, the reverse is true - becoming good means passing through a phase of drilling basic movements - and that makes a beginner highly predictable to an expert. This can be a difficult problem for an instructor. "You're really improving" sounds hollow when they did "better" their first time.
** In addition to using strategies that an expert would find unpredictable, there's also the safety issue. Martial arts vary in how much contact is acceptable, but competitors don't generally try to ''hurt'' each other. Whether a beginner will pull a punch and make light contact, miss entirely, or knock his or her opponent on the ground is hard to predict, even for the beginner himself.
** A completely untrained person relies upon natural athleticism, even if they don't know what they're doing. This grants them a fluidity and lack of hesitation that beginners have to surrender and experts relearn. Once an expert has technique and fluidity, on the other hand...

* This doesn't work in TabletopGame/{{chess}}, where it's almost impossible to beat a player who's above your level. This is because if the neophyte makes a bizarre move during the opening it is most likely a bad move, and that alone tells the good player that he's not against a strong opponent. Also, it's said that playing against someone who's way worse than you will dull your skills, and it's highly advised to avoid doing so.

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* In ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'', [[TheBerserker Lu Bu]] is usually portrayed as being like this and scoffing at any sort of strategy. His raw brute power simply makes it unnecessary, and many of his enemies are taken by surprise at how completely lacking in thought his attacks can be. Likewise, [[UpperClassTwit Yuan Shao's]] massive armies and [[InfiniteSupplies vast resources]] have him dismiss the idea that strategy is even necessary, since he can simply [[ZergRush steam]][[WeHaveReserves roll]] over his enemies.
** It should be pointed out that while both Lu Bu and Yuan Shao are major threats, once they go up against someone who actually knows what he's doing and is aware of their weaknesses (like, say, [[MagnificentBastard Cao Cao]]), the strategies they dismiss wind up causing their downfall. To be exact, Cao Cao starves Lu Bu's forces into submission ([[WizardNeedsFoodBadly because even the mightiest warrior needs to eat]]) before executing Lu Bu himself, and devastates Yuan Shao's massive army with surgical strikes before destroying their main supply depot and sending the Yuan army reeling in defeat.

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* In {{Fighting Game}}s a novice player who resorts to random ButtonMashing can sometimes score wins against more experienced players.

* In ''Literature/TheWheelOfTime'', the White Tower's weapons master tells Galad, Gawyn, and Mat a story about history's greatest swordsman, who was only defeated once in his entire life -- by a random farmer with a quarterstaff.

** Although given that Mat had just used a quarterstaff to thump two experienced sword-fighters, the implication was that the story was less about the farmer's incompetence and more a warning that an ImprobableWeaponUser can be just as deadly as a swordsman.
** This is also TruthInTelevision; pole weapons, such as staves, spears, halberds, naginata, glaives, ect. are superior personal weapons to swords due to their offensive and defensive capabilities, as well as their reach and the ability to attack with either end of them. There's a reason why they were such popular weapons historically for infantry.

** It should be pointed out that while both Lu Bu and Yuan Shao are major threats, once they go up against someone who actually knows what he's doing and is aware of their weaknesses (like, say, [[MagnificentBastard Cao Cao]]), the strategies they dismiss wind up causing their downfall. To be exact, Cao Cao starves Lu Bu's forces into submission (WizardNeedsFoodBadly because even the mightiest warrior needs to eat) before executing Lu Bu himself, and devastates Yuan Shao's massive army with surgical strikes before destroying their main supply depot and sending the Yuan army reeling in defeat.

-> ''There's no sense in being precise when you don't even know what you're talking about.''

* In ''LeagueOfLegends'', this sort of behavior is likely to make your team hate you. It can be effective if you know what you're doing or playing against weak players who are merely copying what stronger players are doing without understanding it, but in reality there IS a reason for the most common strategies, such as 1-1-2 + jungler - it simply is that much stronger than anything else which is available.

Compare LeeroyJenkins, which is what happens when this kind of mindset bites you in the butt, and AchievementsInIgnorance, which is what happens when believing in this [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve actually has an effect]]. A favored non-tactic of TheFool.

* Kaori from ''Manga/{{Saki}}'' manages to defeat several high-level mahjong players because of the fact that she's a complete amateur. She can't formulate the long term strategies her more experienced competitors are known to do, and as a result they are completely thrown off by her playstyle because they can't think up of an effective counter to it.

** Invoked in the ''Manga/YuGiOh'' manga as a means of countering Pegasus's mind-reading abilities.
** Jonouchi invokes this a little as well by using chance cards with random effects.
** This pretty much defines Judai Yuki of ''Anime/YuGiOhGX''.
* [[IdiotHero Luffy]] from ''Manga/OnePiece'' has invoked ConfusionFu before, but the bulk of his ability to take his enemies off guard is a result of his wildly impulsive personality.