Memphis' Questions

[Memphis]

Hey you 2, congrats for making the finals! Now, please save me from the pain of reading through HUNDREDS of paragraphs. I am a busy guy.

Basically, I have the same question for both of you, and then a specific question for each of you.

To both of you: please give me 2-3 tips for how I could have played a better game (aside from spending more time online, because I really didn't have that option during my peak work season).

To Angie: Where did I TRULY fit into your plan (if you've noted this elsewhere, I'm sorry I haven't got to read everything else yet, and most likely I will skim your answers in other threads, so please say it again if you've already done so before)? I know we had a f3 with Jordan, but I also was very skeptical of you and really wanted to see you go almost every round because I recognized what a strong game you were playing. What deals (if any) that you made with me were sincere/bullshit? You played a social game, and had many "allies." But, the more people you are with, the more people you have to get rid of along the way. How do you plan to salvage the votes of those you betrayed?

To Pickle: I saw you as a very invisible player, but I do know that you had to have done something to get this far. We rarely talked in this game, and quite honestly, I never viewed you as a threat. That is both good and bad because it got you far, but it seems as though you sat back and let other people make the dirty/big moves. Perhaps you can claim credit for them now, but I went most of the game knowing that I never really wanted to vote for you to win because it never seemed to me like you deserved it. Can you change my mind? You never did anything to really piss me off or make me dislike you, but I never really was drawn to you as a player either. I know I was probably a boring player and all, but I'm not the one sitting in the f2 asking for votes to win.

I wish you both the best of luck. I may not have gotten to know either of you very well, and I can't really say that I am rooting for either of you to win. But as a juror, I will do my job. My vote is truly up for grabs. Earn it!

[♠DJ Mingl£ Mixx♠]

Basically, I have the same question for both of you, and then a specific question for each of you.

To both of you: please give me 2-3 tips for how I could have played a better game (aside from spending more time online, because I really didn't have that option during my peak work season).

Thanks for the compliments, Memphis! They're much appreciated!

Hmm... you played a pretty good game. But, I do think there are some things you could have done to make it further.

1) Established relationships with those outside of your alliance -> By doing this, you would have connected more with people outside of your alliance, and made them all the more willing to keep you despite the fact that you maybe weren't aligned. In doing so, people would want you around to become a potential ally.

2) Cut side-deals, even if you didn't mean to keep them -> As you can see, as is typical in the UTRV series, this game was full of deals and side-deals, not all of which could be kept. Had you cut side-deals with people prior to when you needed to make these deals (when you were on the block), I think it would have gotten you further ahead.

3) Made a Final 2 deal with me or Russ -> Once again, this kind of coincides with #2, but is more specific. However, had you done this, we would have been tempted to keep you at the Final 7, and with the votes of Jordan and Angie already keeping you around, it would have led to you staying in the game.

To Pickle: I saw you as a very invisible player, but I do know that you had to have done something to get this far. We rarely talked in this game, and quite honestly, I never viewed you as a threat. That is both good and bad because it got you far, but it seems as though you sat back and let other people make the dirty/big moves. Perhaps you can claim credit for them now, but I went most of the game knowing that I never really wanted to vote for you to win because it never seemed to me like you deserved it. Can you change my mind? You never did anything to really piss me off or make me dislike you, but I never really was drawn to you as a player either. I know I was probably a boring player and all, but I'm not the one sitting in the f2 asking for votes to win.

It's not at all that you were a boring player, for the record. In fact, I thought your Nomination Ceremony at final 9 was extremely shocking and put a nice twist into the game, as I wasn't expecting it at all. It's more that I never had the opportunity to really speak with you except through PM.

As far as my game goes, i'll give you a brief synopsis because as you said you don't have much time, but I want you to understand what I did and that I DID in fact play this game.

This is going to sound a bit like my previous answers to Michele's and Jerry's questions, but that is simply because I think it is pretty much asking for the same thing lol.

To start off, I know I came off as somewhat invisible and looked maybe like I "wasn't doing anything."

As i've said, during the beginning of the game, I wanted to stay low-key and UTR. However, I also wanted to be a personality and develop relationships with people. By doing these things, I was able to get people to like me enough to keep me around and begin to develop relationships and alliances, but not put a big early target on my back.

Once we hit the divided house stage, I began to improve upon my relationships with others, establish myself as a trustworthy ally (by keeping Michelle when I knew everyone else was evicting her), and build alliances. I made an alliance in this house with Jordan and Angie, all the while forming a separate alliance with Russell and Brian.

Once Final 10 hit, my entire strategy was based on me being invisible. If I were to find myself on the block, I wanted to look like the weak mouse next to the strong lion. However, I was doing a lot of strategic work. I managed to convince people to take out Dan, to take out Jeff the next round, and to take out you at your eviction. Michele and Jerry left as well, but both leaving also fit in with my plans.

As I mentioned, I had two separate alliances with Angie and Jordan and Russell and Brian. At the Final 10, I got Angie to work with me, Brian, and Russell, to mitigate the potential consequences of having two separate alliances that hated each other going against each other the remainder of the game and leaving me with people I was not aligned with. In addition to this, I made little moves along the way. I knew I was keeping Michele the whole time at Final 7, but I waited a bit to see if she would offer me any side-deals or opportunities before agreeing to keep her that round, and she did. I always wanted to look out for myself in the event that someone like Michele did win the next HoH competition.

I ended up with a Final 5 of all people I was aligned with and 3 of which I had a final 2 deal with (Angie, Jordan, and Russ). While some of these people had multiple "final 2" deals, I knew I was the one they were all true to in saying they would take to the final 2.
In addition, these two sides were "against" each other, and both wanted to keep me around, so it worked out perfectly for me.

On top of all this, I threw the competitions almost the entire game until the Final 8, and then I really started competing. This allowed me to slide through, looking "weak" compared to other big competitors, and relying on my alliances, social relationships, and the fact that others were in more obvious big alliances and were obviously great physical threats to get me ahead in this game.

Once the final 5 hit, it was an easy ride to the Final 2, where I am sitting now, and I implemented a great strategy to get here along the way.

I know you're a busy man so I won't say anymore, but by reading my other answers and Opening Statement, you'll get a good feel for why I do deserve to win this game! Thanks Memphis!

[Angie]

To Angie: Where did I TRULY fit into your plan (if you've noted this elsewhere, I'm sorry I haven't got to read everything else yet, and most likely I will skim your answers in other threads, so please say it again if you've already done so before)? I know we had a f3 with Jordan, but I also was very skeptical of you and really wanted to see you go almost every round because I recognized what a strong game you were playing. What deals (if any) that you made with me were sincere/bullshit? You played a social game, and had many "allies." But, the more people you are with, the more people you have to get rid of along the way. How do you plan to salvage the votes of those you betrayed?

Hey Memphis! 3 tips on playing a better game? This is an interesting question; definitely never heard this one before!
~Number one: Definitely have side deals. It's impossible to make it through this game without side deals, unless you win all the competitions. It will keep you around longer, if you don't let it bite you in the ass
~Number 2: Be yourself. I know you have a busy schedule, and I can't fault anyone who works hard for their living. That's commendable. But I feel like I barely got to know you even when we did talk. Being yourself and opening up to others can bring you a long ways. Both Pickle Head and I are prime examples of that.
~Number 3: Play both sides. You were a pretty ballsy player, Memphis, but I feel like if you managed to play both sides, you would have been amazing. You pinned the two sides against each other, but if you could have played both of them to your advantage, you could have really rocked it.

Now to your other questions
If I'm gonna be completely honest with you, you never really fit into my plans. You were a beast at challenges, and I know you would have picked Jordan over me in a heartbeat. I wasn't about to stick with someone who I didn't think would be loyal to me at the final stage. The week you won HOH, I was sweating bullets. I knew we didn't talk much, so I was willing to say/do anything to keep myself off the block. I won't apologize for it, cause I felt like I had to do it.

A lot of my deals were actually sincere. I sincerely wanted to go as far as I could with Jordan, Brian, and Pickle Head. Of course though, if we're going all the way back to pre-jury, my deal with Kevin was my most legit deal all game. LOVE YOU KEVIN <3 *waves* The round he left I was devastated; I truly did not want to vote off anyone in my university at that point. I know I come across as a bitch sometimes, and that's okay. But when it deals with voting off my friends/allies, I really do have a hard time doing it. But at the end of the day, it's a game. I'd be cheating myself if I didn't do as much as I could to win.

I honestly do not have a plan on how I'm going to "salvage" votes. I wanted to come into the finals, and tell everything like it is. I hope the people I've had to backstab can realize that I did it because it's first and foremost a game. For someone who is not a challenge threat, making/breaking deals is the way I had to play this game. While I know it's not always the popular way to play, it's what I do best. I played to my strengths, which are manipulation and my social skills. I really do want to win, but if you guys don't respect my game, that's okay. I'll continue to fight until it's over and I can't fight anymore. I've been tenacious this whole time, and I hope you guys can look past the backstabbing and vote for the player who truly played the game better all around. Thanks Memphis!

[Memphis]

Thanks for your answers! I think that, in the end, it boils down to a difficult decision for me because I don't really feel like I got to know either of you that well. For instance, while I was busy most of the time, I still had some decent chats with people like Jordan, Russell (even via PM), Michele, Jerry, and Jeff. And, in the end, my lack of communication with both of you can be blamed on both my busy schedule and lack of effort from both ends.

So, while you both played a strong (and very different from one another) game, I don't have the personal connection with either of you to give me a stronger reason to want to pick one of you over the other.

I'll be going through the rest of the answers thoroughly now, and I wish you both the best of luck as myself and the rest of the jury make our decisions.

[♠DJ Mingl£ Mixx♠]

Thank you, Memphis!

[Angie]

Thank yewwwwww