Love in the Time of Tetris

I play video games. My most prized possession is probably my NES. Before you get any ideas like "Cool! We should totally game together" here is what will happen. I will hog the controller for hours before begrudgingly allow you to play ONE GAME while I sit behind you making noises and muttering under my breath about all your "bad moves bro" and "you dumb motherfucker". And if you mess up my game by breathing too loudly, I will fight you. Ask my sister, even the mention of Donkey Kong brings terror to her eyes and makes her scar hurt, real Harry Potter shite.

But this isn't about me and my bad cattitude, this is about me making you a better Tetris player. So here are some tips:

Center up bitches. Don't sit off to the side, you need to be dead center to judge where the pieces are going to fall.

NEVER build so you are relying on more than one long straight piece, or the I "Tetrimino" at a time. Because you're lucky if you get one when you need it, let alone two.

When you clear four lines at once, it's called a Tetris. Some people like to build up in anticipation of getting an "I" because getting a Tetris is worth more points. Personally, I use the build up strategy through level 6 then it's about just clearing lines for me.

Don't be afraid to lay down an "I" horizontally, especially in high levels where time is not on your side and height is the enemy.

Higher Levels
Once you hit level 8, shit gets real. Speed picks up and you get nervous. I use my peripheral vision to see what piece is coming and plan ahead. DO NOT OVER ROTATE YOUR PIECES, by this level you should know what each piece looks like in each stage of rotation, figure out in your head where it's going to fit before it even drops. That way you can line it up and while it's falling into place you can plan your next piece. Don't second guess yourself, don't change destinations halfway through the turn. This will kill you.
DO NOT HARD DROP. Hard drop is when you hold the down arrow and it increases the piece speed. This is just asking for trouble past level 7.

Those are some of the most important things I can think of, I'm sure there are more but you don't get to know all my secrets. And if you ever want to be screamed at while not being allowed to have a turn, come on over sometime! I love having someone to punch after I rage quit.