1. Read the question properly
Most of the time when I have got knocked out, it has been because I have not read the question properly, and have missed a vital clue in the question that would lead to the correct answer. Many are just common sense and we just over-complicate it.
2. Eliminate clearly wrong answers first
Sometimes you don't need to know the right answer. The right answer may be a word you have never heard of, but in the context of the question, 3 answers can't possibly fit. Even if you rule out 2 answers, you are then increasing your chance of picking the right answer to 50% instead of 25%, and that's what you have lifelines for.
e.g. a question I just saw which knocked out 12 people - "The Low Fares Airline" is an ad slogan used by which company - choices were Kix, Nestle, Ryanair, and a cigarette company (I think it was Virginia Slim Cigarettes). Now even if you've never heard that slogan, which answer would you pick? Ryanair, of course, just by eliminating the other 3 which are obviously not airlines.
Unless there is a language difficulty (and i sympathise with those whose first language is not English, the tips do state this game may not be for you if English is not your first language), there would be no reason for anyone to get this wrong
3. Take a deep breath and keep calm
If you feel anxious, you will cut off the oxygen to your brain and it will stop you focussing. FACT!
4. Nine times out of 10, your first instinct is the correct one. I can't tell you how many times I have been runner-up instead of winner, or got knocked out because I have picked my answer, then changed it right at the very last second, and my first answer would have been the right one.
5. Learn from your mistakes - oh what a lesson for life and for KOT equally.
6. Have some confidence in yourself, you're smarter than you let yourself believe. But if you don't have confidence, or put thoughts in your head like 'I never win', 'It's always the same winners', then you've lost before you've begun.
I used to play pool competitively, mixed league, only a few ladies playing against many men. When a guy saw they were playing against me, I would see their confidence drop, especially when their own team-mates would start making fun because they were playing against a woman (yes unfortunately sexism still does exist). At that point, I knew it was my game, not because I was a better player, often I knew I wasn't, but I knew that their had lost their nerve.
7. Quitters never win, winners never quit!
How often do we see this phrase used in SFI? Especially in the free games, I see about 70% of players knocked out in the first 3 questions, and not buy back in. Well, I'll tell you a secret, all the winners you see are buying back in and using their lifelines, they are using TCs to get to the winning post.
8. Don't blame the winners. Accept that some people naturally have different trivia knowledge to you, and some may have more (e.g. I have been an avid reader, crossworder and quizzer all of my life so know a fair bit), but you can learn it too. It is not just because I have learned all the answers, there's only maybe 5-10% I didn't know, but have learned, and I am grateful for that learning. No cheating, no tricks, just knowing and learning.
9. Don't blame geography. I have observed that the questions in KOT are about 90% generic subjects, like maths, science, space, art & literature, common foods, plants & animals, etc. Very few are geographically-specific and I think those that are, are distributed fairly equally between the different parts of the world.
10. HAVE FUN AND FOCUS ON THE POSITIVES!!!
If you're not enjoying it, don't play it. In the early days, while I was just getting used to how the game worked, I wasn't winning, didn't think I would, but I was enjoying collecting those VPs and MRPs, especially the Double MRPs, and knowing I was amassing enough to buy a few extra TCs if I was a bit short to make EA this month.
I focussed on what I WAS getting from it and enjoying, not what I was 'losing'.
