Is it genetic? Options

[GoobyPls]

I've played tetris off and on for like two years (during which time I took a break for like 9-12 months). I really haven't played enough to be good, and I'm not. My sprint time is like 1:15 and my game has a lot of flaws in it. I enjoy playing tetris though anyway.

Anyway, I was watching videos of some tetris pros, and it got me thinking: do all players have the potential to be "good"? I'm sure with regular practice I could get considerably better, but is a 30 second sprint or 100 lines per minute type of play accessible with just practice?

Will most people plateau far before hitting those kinds of stats?

[Paul676]

Practise enough and anyone can reach those heights. Read Bounce by Matthew Syed and you'll see why I say that.

[t0x]

thats quite a good question.. i remember discussing it a few times so far.

about the genetics part: only a very few partst of the human genome has been fully assigned to specific abilities, talents and or physical characteristics. so it might easily be that some ppl just have the "right" genetics to be good at tetris.

on the other hand lots of talented ppl i know tend to get lazy when they know that they can easily reach something by doing not much for it.

AND what i found out, a lot of tetris pros are actually quite smart ppl who mostly also play an instrument.. i m quite sure there s a correlation between finger-mind interaction which most children learn the best by playing an instrument.

nevertheless i d bet that with enough training everyone could reach sub 30

[Lucho]

blah you just gotta keep practicing and be constant, maybe try another clones and modes, not only 40 lines. My fine motor skills sucks and Im not talented in any way, but I think I managed to improve overall tetris skills. And dont forget to enjoy the game: have fun playing

[myndzi]

I think that there is natural ability and learned ability. Natural ability is just how much "clicks" without really working at it / thinking about it. Learned ability is what you work for. I don't see natural ability as a "limit" on learned ability, but it does affect how much work it takes. Look to Kevin for an example of working like a m***** f**** and achieving. Dude practice(d?) TGM like mad daily, and he's got the best collection of grades this side of the pond. I don't know how much natural ability he has for the game, but I doubt he'd have let it get in his way

[xenoslash]

"AND what i found out, a lot of tetris pros are actually quite smart ppl who mostly also play an instrument.."
That is really interesting. Just out of curiosity, does Blink play any instrument?

And I think the ability to recognize patterns helps a lot with speed.

[bigwig]

Maybe. But the good news is that you're nowhere near that barrier yet! Anyone can get to :50 with enough practice

[Paradox]

its all about practice. i wanted to reach sub 25 for the longest time in 40L mode. I practiced on avg 5-6 hours per day

i think the average person should be able to get under 30 seconds with time and hard work.

[myndzi]

> Average person
> Time and hard work

[Paradox]

> Average person
> Time and hard work

i was going to say anyone who isn't physically disabled but average person sounded better