Exclusive: Steve Moses Offers Big Brother 18 Houseguests Advice On Their Adventure Ahead

This begs a new question: how do you decide which approach is best for you? The answer: awareness of your own skill set. If you’re a trained undercover cop, wrote a thesis on game theory, are a wildly successful poker player, or something similar, you’re likely capable of doing whatever you want. This point doesn’t apply to you. However, if you’re with me in the other 99% of the population, your choice of approach is limited by who you are and what your skills are.

Take some time for some deep and honest thought about what your strengths and weakness in the game will be. Try taking a look at your life right now. Are you a clear and logical thinker? Are you a persuasive speaker? Your answer to these questions in real life will likely have the same answers in the house.

For example, I was an engineering student, and I was comfortable with logic and probability. Therefore, I hoped I would be able to make sound strategic decisions and perform in mental comps. Conversely, I’m bad at holding small talk, and I’m not very charismatic in a dialogue. I knew I was not going to able to manipulate and persuade people to make decisions against their own best interest. Think about what you do in your life and what skills it would translate to in the game.

When you’re deciding on an approach, you should have a clear understanding of 1) why it will keep you safe, and 2) why it works with your skill set. (The following examples are here for the sole purpose of elaborating on this idea). For example, I told my preseason interviewers that I wanted to be “the cute, sweet, innocent little kid” who will be the “super loyal player” at “the bottom of the alliance” and “isn’t emotionally ready for the game.” 1) An approach like this could help a player avoid becoming a target, since many would see him or her as a waste of a HoH reign. 2) This worked with my skill set because it’s not too far from who I really am.

While it would be very challenging to completely lie about who you are, it’s much more realistic to plan on exaggerating or minimizing certain characteristics that could help you form an approach. In my case, there would have been some truth to my interview quotes no matter what I did. I knew I could never position myself at the top of an alliance because of how commanding I am (not) in real life. Therefore, I looked for a way to turn this weakness into an advantage. For my approach, all I had to do was exaggerate my interview quotes, since they were always going to be somewhat true, and put them on display for the other houseguests to see. This could fall into my lap and keep me safe. You should pick an approach that does the same.

It’s just as important to also think about your skill set when you planning your in-game strategy. Knowing the best move for your situation won’t help if you aren’t able to implement it. You should always be biased toward decisions that play on your strengths.

For example, I had the opportunity to flip a vote between Meg and Julia. I thought that my best move, theoretically, was to create an alliance with Meg and vote out Julia. However, I knew I didn’t have the charisma to convince Meg to turn on her current allies and work with me. Therefore, because of my limitation, I concluded the best move for me personally was to vote out Meg. Based on your skill set, the best move in theory may not always be the best move in reality. You should keep this potential paradox in mind as you play.

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9 Comments

  1. You should get Vanessa on here with advice for new houseguests. That way we know to do the exact opposite of whatever she says.

  2. I think this is pretty solid advice. So many people go on expecting something big to happen from their fifteen minutes of fame, and it never works out. And it makes the show annoying.

  3. I couldn’t stand the guy when he was on the show and I wasn’t too thrilled when he won, but based on what I’ve just read (and the passage of time) all is heartily forgiven.

    To tell the aspirants that you WILL go back to your regular life once summer is over (so don’t burn any bridges) reminds people that the supposed fame and fortune are an illusion.

    The fortune, for most, will never happen.

    And the fame will be will be even more fleeting. Quick quiz: Can you name the houseguests from Season 9? Neither can I.

    There is real wisdom in Steve’s words, wisdom that we each can take in to our own lives.

    And I especially love the bit at the end about how it’s all happening on a parking lot in L.A.

    That takes the ‘glory’ out of it in a very kind way.

    You sound like you’d make a good rabbi Steve!

    • Somehow the idea that the president of CBS gets his wife to head down to an L.A. parking lot and fill an hour of programming each week makes me smile.

    • I can name all the BB9 HG’s – that was a great season. But then again, I am an obsessed superfan – so…

    • I’m with you. I really did not like Steve, but reading this is good insight. Good on him for sticking with his approach. It worked out for him, and kept us from having Vanessa win!

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