The outcome of the game? You be the judge of that!

Well lately I hanged out with the gang and shet and I hear a lot of bitchin' about rule-sharking, misplay, cheating and effect misconceptions. If I may simply put, it is the player's fault for not doing anything or noticing these faults beforehand because when the games over, shedding tears of defeat are meaningless.

OK, so I decided to come up with a one-shot solution to solve all of these problems. Pay attention because YOU decide how the game ends.

1. If you are stumped by a new or unfamiliar card (especially if its in non-English), ask the opponent or the judge for its effect(s). Your opponent is obliged to tell you the effect of it and the judge will be there to help you out for the confirmation of the effect and rulings. Don't be rule-sharked, EVER. If you have any doubts, ask a higher authority or even just check out the Yugioh Wikia.

2. Whenever your opponent takes move such as moving into different phases or card activations, always ask him to wait. He is obliged ask for your response (assuming you have cards to use). If he continues to defy you, you may inform the judge that he is performing fast-play. NEVER let your opponent catch you off-guard for a moment or you'll be hit in a stage where you absolutely can't do anything and its game-over.

3. Pay attention to the cards at all times. Don't ever be thrown off by some miniscule event that will give your opponent a moment to cheat. If you're lucky and you catch your opponent doing so, call the judge and accept your free win.

4. If you opponent mistook a card effect, goes through with it and would actually have a different outcome altogether, use it to your advantage. I had one time I was playing our personal tourneys and Jay activated Monster Reborn even when I had Necrovalley on the field. Our trusty Chieflion noticed right away and forced Jay to continue with the game, ruling that his Monster Reborn will have no effect. Though in other cases, if you proceed on in the game quite late and fail to notice a misinterpretation of a card, that outcome of the game can be unpredictable. Avoid that.

5. Last but not least, if the judge isn't too busy or if there are plenty of judges like in Official Konami Tournaments, ask one judge to watch over your duel at all times. If your opponent isn't a very sporting person, he will be cornered into a deadlock by the eyes of the judge, being unable to cheat or take advantage of you in any sort of way. Don't feel that you're wasting the judge's effort because its his job to dictate the rulings and watch over the tournament. Asides, they like watching a good game just about as much as anyone else right.

Be sure to note that any of these actions will help you kill time should you be in a deadlock of life points. There's more than 1 way to win.

To summarize what was said, it an be abbreviated into:

- Ask (the opponent and/or judge)
- Slow down (the opponents moves)
- Pay attention (to the cards at all times)
- Opponent's Mistake (of a certain card)
- Watch Over (with the help of the judge or spectators)

ASPOW.

Sounds pretty bad ass. I hope this advice helps you guys out if you have ever been caught in such a horrible situation. If I had to compare this with a situation of international levels, I would probably think about the FIFA World Cup match where England kicked the ball that hit the top of the football goal and cross the white line but the referees did not see it as a score. Its just a horrible feeling and thought.

To end it off, always remember to-

ASPOW THE OPPONENT! YA-HA!