I once had the lead over a higher ranked player and he began trashtalking and got me frazzled and he ended up beating me. I realized later that he effectively used psychological warfare. Another type of psychological warfare is to provide misinformation about upcoming spoils. Any other psychological ...

I guess break their bonus, but you have played more games on those settings than I have total. So please feel free to ignore me.
What do you think is the best counter?

In two player games, which is what I usually play, I generally try to break their bonus but sometimes that is a suicide mission ...

What is the best counter-strategy when your opponent takes the initial advantage on the first turn by holding Australia or South America?