The Basic Concept:

To win a pvp fight, all you have to do is have some advantage your enemy does not. Even if you have an advantage, it all comes down to sheer luck-- if you believe in luck. It actually depends on many small assets that usually go unnoticed.

Here are some of the most occurring advantages you can use to your benefit.


Critical Smash:

To preform a critical smash, you must be above your enemy when you do it. You can either achieve this by leaping from high ground or by jumping. Either way, if you strike your opponent while falling, you will execute a critical smash. You will know when it happens if white star particles fly out of your opponent. This is even more powerful when combined with Axes. (1.9+)

Charge:

To charge, you must, hence the name, be sprinting towards your enemy. As soon as you can hit him, jump up and hit. Unlike a critical smash, you should strike him while being lifted from your jump. This won't do any extra damage, but it will deal severe knock-back. Useful if you are playing on a floating island map. Beware, only use this on enemies not aware of you yet. If you charge at somebody looking right at you, there is no way to avoid getting hit.

Sneak Attack:

If you are on the offensive, before you pick your target, beware of those aware of you and oblivious to you. You are much more likely to win if you can get a couple hits in on your enemy before he even turns to counter attack. You should critical slam every hit while you have the chance. However, this is a tactic employed by others too-- so watch your back!

Instant X-Ray Hack:

One way to take advantage of minecraft is to use F5 often. Having a 3rd person view will allow you to see around corners without being seen. If successful in employing this tactic in a way where your enemy notices, he might think you are hacking. This could stunt his morale when dealing with you in the future. After all, hackers are commonly thought to be extremely hard to kill or even completely unkillable.

Flanking Maneuver:

This is a ploy used that emphasis strafing. By pressing the A and D keys you can change movement direction and dodge an oncoming blow, while attacking your foe and knocking him back in a direction he does not expect. If you keep it up you might become victorious without the slightest scratch!



Items:

Speed Potions:

Using the Flanking Maneuver while under the effects of a Speed Potion will greatly enhance you chance of success.
The Speed Potion's effect is felt even more while Charging. It will result in even more knock-back. When targeting a target that does not know he is about to be rekt, the Speed Boost will get you there faster, decreasing the amount of time that you could be detected.

Jump Boost:

The Jump Boost potion is superb when paired with an invisibility potion. If you are discovered and attacked, your skin will light up red, revealing your location. When you turn invisible again, and your nemesis comes to attack again, hop up, up and away! This will confuse your enemy, giving you a chance to either get away, or crit your enemy in the back. When applied to hand to hand combat, it will make your Critical Smashing easier to execute.

Bow and Arrows:

Bows are powerful weapons. They can be used to knock some health out of a player charging towards you, increasing your survival chance. They can also be used to skill-shot an unlucky bystander off of a ledge. Most of the time, you will not hit an enemy just by aiming at his body (unless he is close), you will need to aim above his head in just the right degree. This takes skill.
Another, more cowardly use of the bow is spamming it. If some tank is approaching you, you can spam arrows into him causing knock-back and a tiny amount of damage. After a bit of this, your attacker will flee if he is smart. If he is dumb, he will just keep trying to strafe around your arrows. If you are lucky, you will stop him before he ever reaches you.