Five Ways to be a Better Player in Hearthstone

I have a new favorite online game this year, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft. It is a card game in which you match your skill against another human player once you finished the tutorial and practice mode. The game is quite fun and easy to play. What I really like about Hearthstone is the fact that it is a free to play game. I can play Hearthstone in a PC or iPad and Blizzard has promised that it will soon be available on an iPhone and Android device. After playing a match or two, I immediately sought ways on how to improve my skills in this card game. I came up with at least five ways which I humbly think has improved my skills in Hearthstone.
First, I read and tried to understand the rules of the game. I did not say that I am an expert about the rules but at least I have an idea on when to use a minion or spell card and what kind of card is appropriate to use in certain situations. To keep myself up to date, I regularly visit the Hearthstone official website.
Second, I continue to familiarize myself with all the cards available in order to improve my deck. This is not an easy task since there are almost 500 cards available in Hearthstone. The cards are divided into three types which are the minion, weapon and spell cards. There are also nine different classes in Hearthstone and I like to try and play them all. Each class has a hero with a unique power and a lot of cards available to a specific class. There are also neutral cards that can be used by all the classes. Some of the cards can be use singly while some works best in combo with other cards. Knowing the strength and weakness of an aggressive and control deck has helped me improve my chances. To paraphrase that Gambler song, "every deck's a winner and every deck's a loser".
Third, I keep in mind the mana required, attack hit and health of the cards I placed on the board. During matches, I always try to maximize the use of my mana because I usually inflict bigger damages to my opponent's hero and minions. However, there are exceptions to this kind of play. I refrain from wasting too much of my precious mana if I will gain no significant advantage or if it will mess up my play.  Fourth, RNG is an important part of the game and I try to adapt my play with the changes. Randomness is the reason that makes games fun and exciting. However, that does not mean I cannot do something about RNG. By carefully selecting my deck, I can at least somehow anticipate and prepare for a number of possible scenarios that can occur during the match. Before placing a card on the board, I at least try to play out in my mind what the outcome will be if I use of card like Crazed Alchemist instead of Mind Control Tech. By being creative in my play I can also spring some RNG against my opponent. Using a card that is not expected can put some pressure on my opposite and sometimes helped me achieve end the match rather quickly.
Fifth, I try to learn what I can from the matches I played and loss. I am not ashamed to admit that I loss a lot of matches in Hearthstone. But every defeat helps me understand the game better. Whenever possible, I watch and learned from the matches of other better players than me. Aside from watching, researching about the cards is also good way to gain mastery of the game. It is through research that I was able to know what kind of particular cards to use against another card. The internet is a good source of information. A lot of sites, forums and even podcast devoted to Hearthstone can be found. I have made use quite a number of card combinations that I learned from various internet sources.
Hearthstone is a cross platform game that I will certainly play for a long time. The regular updates coming from Blizzard certainly encourages me to find new ways to win and defeat my opponent.