On the topic of neutral (asking for advice)

[NeZQuick]

So when I started SF6 (my first SF more or less but not completely new to FG's) I immediately went for Ken - I learned that apparently he's the top of everyones tier list later on so don't judge me on that, currently a Plat3 player, but let's move on to the topic at hand:

Neutral and poking specifically is what I'm having trouble with.
I know Ken's 5HP and 2MK (and situationaly 5MK) are his best pokes, some say best pokes in the game, I know more or less how to transition from them, so obviously I try and use them as best I can BUT!
I feel like whenever I press a button I lose - whenever I press 5HP it either just doesn't reach, or I get hit with a low, whenever I try to 2MK it feels like I'm actually controlling the other character cause I'm the one getting hit instead, I dunno if it's maybe rollback doing this but on my screen it honestly looks as if me pressing the button is what made the other character move - and this happens in a fair percentage of my matches, though I understand it's probably just bad timing coupled with me pressing said buttons 'maybe' a bit too much.

But what's the deal here? Am I actually spamming it too much? I will admit I don't fully understand WHEN it's good to poke but its not like I'm mashing my life away, I press the buttons when I'm more or less convinced it should reach, so I need more patience and only press buttons AFTER I see the opponent press one? Or is it more about spacing? Both?

[Konossööri]

You pretty much answered your own question. Don't just press buttons mindlessly, try to move into and out of their range and see how they react. If you can make them whiff, whiff punish. If you can walk into your effective range, press buttons.

Alternatively, parry drive rush into buttons and go brrr. Neutral mastered.

[NeZQuick]

Originally posted by Jonah:

You pretty much answered your own question. Don't just press buttons mindlessly, try to move into and out of their range and see how they react. If you can make them whiff, whiff punish. If you can walk into your effective range, press buttons.

Alternatively, parry drive rush into buttons and go brrr. Neutral mastered.

Well see thats the thing, at least about the effective range part, I've spent a fair time in the lab so I'm pretty confident with my ranges (I actually spent a good portion of labbing on tiptoe'ing to figure them out). But in an actual match, even though I'm sure I barely just got into my range - me pressing a button makes me lose neutral, people be pressing buttons as soon as they see me move a tiny bit closer?
I'd be guessing it's more about patience overall then

[Peddie]

For better or worse, there's no universal approach even when fighting against the same character, some opponents require more patience than others, with others too much patience will be your downfall, but that's also part of the fun, each opponent is a little puzzle to solve. Let the Ls be your guide~ (that said, in terms of studying replays even Fuudo recommends looking at victories regularly as those are more motivational to watch than nothing but Ls, while being mindful of what you could've done better even while winning)

[丹青@Cirous]

In fact, you have already given the answer

1. Anticipation: When both sides are preparing to attack, sometimes it’s just who is faster.
2.Experience： When you or he is ready to attack, you can always grasp the correct timing to attack if you have experience.

[NeZQuick]

Yeah sometimes the duckie method just works xD (asking and explaining something out loud to come up with the answer yourself)
And yeah, I suppose I just need more experience and patience - without overdoing the patience part, stuff to keep in mind in todays ranked session!

[X]

Nobody's going to know the answer to your question without actually watching you play. I would suggest post the same topic on reddit with some replay IDs or cfn asking for help. That site has way more individuals willing to help with actual technical data. Steam is just a place to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and circle jerk.
The very basic answer is
if you throw out a button and whiff -ur spacing is wrong.
If you throw out a button and it trades or loses your button was late. The other players active frames hit your hurtbox at the same time or a frame earlier.

[NeZQuick]

Originally posted by X:

Nobody's going to know the answer to your question without actually watching you play. I would suggest post the same topic on reddit with some replay IDs or cfn asking for help. That site has way more individuals willing to help with actual technical data. Steam is just a place to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and circle jerk.
The very basic answer is
if you throw out a button and whiff -ur spacing is wrong.
If you throw out a button and it trades or loses your button was late. The other players active frames hit your hurtbox at the same time or a frame earlier.

thats fair, im just not much of a reddit person xD
and as basic of an answer it is, it's still appreciated

[vSandro]

Originally posted by X:

Nobody's going to know the answer to your question without actually watching you play. I would suggest post the same topic on reddit with some replay IDs or cfn asking for help. That site has way more individuals willing to help with actual technical data. Steam is just a place to ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and circle jerk.
The very basic answer is
if you throw out a button and whiff -ur spacing is wrong.
If you throw out a button and it trades or loses your button was late. The other players active frames hit your hurtbox at the same time or a frame earlier.

I wait, i wait , i wait. I throw button and the other Guy jumps in the exact right moment :D