General technique

Tetris is an abstract games with some elements of luck and a range of goals depending on the variant, making it difficult to formulate definite strategies and tactics. In many variants, a player's success lies in how accurately, efficiently, and quickly he or she can preform. This remains especially true for matches against an opponent. Some variants remove the time element, making speed less important.

Some techniques are common among many experts. Remember that beginner players will naturally take the route easiest to learn, which may not always be the best. In some cases, a player may need more than just one sitting to learn how to do something a different way. An important trait of a successful player is that he is able to change his ways and take the time to learn something better.

• Stacking for tetrises. Almost all authentic games reward the player for making tetrises. In most cases, clearing a single in order to move on to the next tetris is more efficient than building the single to a double or triple. Although, in games with line clear delay, it's of course faster to clear one triple rather than clearing three singles to get to that upcoming tetris.
• Clearing garbage. In a match against another player, the goal is to prevent yourself from topping out and to make your opponent top out instead. Remember to look down and see what garbage you have to deal with. In a lot of cases, it is more beneficial remove this garbage than trying to send more to your opponent.
• Dual rotation. Rotate both clockwise and anticlockwise, and when moving left and having to rotate I/S/Z, use anticlockwise-- inverse for right. The tetromino will need to move once less.
• Open column preference. If you leave a side open for tetrises, use the right side. If you leave the middle open for tetrises, use the right-middle. Since tetrominoes spawn closer to the left, placing the open column to the right will require them to move less.
• Next piece. Keep an eye the next pieces. They will help you prepare for how you should place the piece at hand.
• Stack evenly. When garbage comes, you want to stay as close to the bottom as possible. Don't stack perfectly even, though. You want to be able to deal with Zs and Ss.
• Soft drop sparingly. Avoid situations where you must slide. If a situation happens, like say the first two tetrominoes come S then Z, try to stack so to only need to soft drop and slide once instead of twice-- find a way to soft drop only when absolutely necessary. With respect to t-spins, you'll need to soft drop.
• Smart holding. Don't excessively hold tetrominoes. Albeit holding works more preferably to soft dropping-- do it only when necessary. Hold I tetrominoes, but do not become attached to this habit. If the first tetrominoes come I then Z, don't hold the I-- this will require a soft drop. If you have four rows lined up for a tetris, don't hold the I-- use it, as no reason justifies wasting a frame on holding it. If you get a tetromino that will result in a soft drop later, hold it, but next time stack better. Really, even experts hold a lot, but it's important when starting out to not just use it because you don't feel like thinking about how to place a piece. Learning these difficult situations where you don't immediately see somewhere that fits is very important.
• Practice often and effectively. The best way to improve your ability is to practice often and to practice playing how you would like to play idealy.

External links

http://tetrisds.moero.info/index.php?%A5%C6%A5%C8%A5%EA%A5%DF%A5%CE%C1%E0%BA%EE%BA%C7%C5%AC%B2%BD