I posted a bunch of tips for newer users today on Twitter, and it got a lot of discussion around resources for newer users to eventually understand the nuances of the game. Like real baseball, there are a lot of unwritten rules. To really be successful, you need to know them well.

Making the most of top gaming elements

• To score enough to hit the award platforms, you will need to change your lineup at least 2-3 times per day. Once for the afternoon games, one for the night games and once for the west coast night games.
• There is no limit to how many times you change your lineup per day, which means you can technically switch out your players each inning as long as you have enough plays at your disposal
• You can play more than one card of any player at any time in your starting lineup, so try to get more copies of your top scoring cards to play multiples for multiple points
• At the current moment, its hard to pass over a pitcher for the starting lineup. They rarely score in negative point totals, and can basically be trusted to anchor your starting line up
• Watch the MLB.com scores page, which details current pitchers and batters, as well as outs and baserunners. If you want to go into super high focus mode, you can switch batters into your lineup when there are runners in scoring position, or pitchers when their team is on defense.

Trading on the App

• You will not be able to be a top player without trading. Its one of the most important elements of the game, no doubt about it
• Start at the bottom and work your way up. You will get to open a lot of packs during the course of the game, so dont think you need to shoot for the stars from the beginning.
• Go on the fan feed and search out players that have a high trader score and a high collection score by their name. They will likely have a ton of duplicate cards and will trade you commons and boosts for next to nothing.
• Be conscious of who you are trading with! Collectors will value rarity over gameplay and gamers will want multiple copies of high scoring cards. If you go into someone’s profile, and see they have a ton of nice cards but not many dupes, they may be a collector. Gamers will have tons of boosts and high scoring cards in multiples.
• For a collector, dont offer on their single cards, and be very conscious of the card count number on the back of the card. If you have a low count card that they want, you will be golden. But dont expect them to part with their prized possessions easily.
• For gamers, I would suggest offering more on the cards with dupes above nine. It means that they have more of that player than they can play at one time. They may be saving trade bait for new cards, so dont lowball them and expect them to be happy.
• Sigs are the highest value cards in the game, dont offer commons and non-inserts for any of these cards. It will only cause friction and low trader scores. I had to go 9-1 to get my first sig. Not kidding.
• I would suggest against lowballing any player when it comes to high value cards. When it comes to lower value cards, lowball away. You never know, but be prepared to be ignored if you offer junk for nice stuff.
• Never offer more than one trade at a time to anyone. Give them time to respond to an offer before offering again.
• If a player declines your trade without a counter, I would suggest against offering again on that card for at least a few hours. No one likes being harassed.
• New inserts are always worth more than older inserts. If a new insert is released, it automatically becomes more valuable than older inserts of that same rarity. Dont expect to trade 1-1 for a new card with an old card. Collectors are rabid, so they will overpay, and collectors will hold out for a good offer.

Buying Cards and Packs

• Daily coin bonus is your lifeblood, so get into the app at least once per day. You can either save up for a nicer pack of cards, or open some lower packs each day. My advice is to open the 500 coin 3 card packs at first to build your collection, and once you have some cards, switch over to save mode and buy the nicer packs that include SRs.
• I will never buy a pack in the morning. Wait until the day’s releases are done before you start buying packs. Wait until 6 or 7 pm to spend your coins. Its hard to wait, I know, but you will thank me.
• In all likelihood you will need to buy coins at some point to be competitive. Its just hard to beat the people who do if you choose not to. You dont have to spend a lot, but its good to invest 10-20 bucks a month if you really want to get nice stuff.

Shoot me a same card 1-1 trade and add comments in the box if you have any questions or need other advice. Always happy to help.