I am addicted to concerts. There, I said it. I only discovered the immense pleasure of seeing your favorite artist perform live a little over a year and a half ago at the late age of 19, but I’ve made up for the many teen years I’ve missed out on attending concerts by getting my hands on tickets to any and every show that caught my eye–or more like ear.

From One Direction to The Maine to Demi Lovato to the Warped Tour, I went, I screamed, I sang my heart out, I spent all my money on merch, and I suffered from post-concert depression. And because of that I have the most amazing memories.

And here’s the thing, I don’t just go to a concert, I LIVE that concert. Almost always have I had amazing seats where I could see the performer’s sweat dripping from their forehead. And always do my friends say I’m so lucky. But it’s not luck. Okay, well it’s a bit of luck. But it’s also timelines and determination that got me those amazing seats.

Below I’ve put together a list of tips and tricks to help you get the best seats in the house, and for those of you who prefer watching/listening I also made a video!

1. Always try for the pre-sale
Most tickets go on sale around three days before the general sale, and this is your best bet to getting tickets to a show that’s bound to sell out. Even though you need a password, you can find it online the day before or morning of on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. Most of the time it’s the artist, the venue or Ticketmaster/Live Nation who post the password. There are also the fan presales that go on sale around the same time and for this, you usually have to be a part of an artist’s fan club (meaning you have to pay $30 for a yearly membership of nonsense) but don’t let this stop you! Search up “xxx presale password” on twitter or Facebook, there’s bound to be one kind superfan who’s willing to share the password. Also, if you or your parents or a really good friend have an American Express card, you get access to special tickets and a presale.

2. Buy on time
Think of it like a job interview, be ready and there fifteen minutes early. There’s nothing worse than getting to your computer at 9:59 and having to power it up and wait for your browser to load. Have your computer on, your internet connection double checked and Ticketmaster open to the page. Then as soon as your clock hits 10 am (You could even set up a stopwatch or get a to-the-second clock ready a minute or two before) hit refresh to purchase your tickets. Also be prepared with not just one but two credit cards on hand (just in case the first one doesn’t work). Though the timer gives you ten minutes to make a purchase, the longer you wait, the more likely the tickets will disappear and become unavailable. And regret sucks.

3. Enlist the help of your friends
Seriously, two hands can only do so much. Get your parents, siblings, friends, anyone who is up and available at 10 am to help you out, whether it’s on a computer or on their phone. It’s simple math: the more people who are trying to get tickets for you, the greater chances you have of getting A) seats and B) greater seats. If two or more people are lucky enough to find tickets in their basket, you can take your pick at the better section.

4. Don’t settle for the first
You may have gotten tickets with your first click at 10 am, but do you really wanna sit up in section 300 in the 24th row? I (along with Drake) am just saying, you could do better. Tickets come and go as people loose them because they run out of time or empty their basket. Keep searching until you find tickets that agree with your budget and your standards. Because who wants to see an artist look like a tiny ant on stage?

If all this fails or you simply aren’t available when the tickets go on sale there are other ways to snatch tickets to a highly anticipated contest. The most obvious and equally torturous method is contests, whether through radio stations, TV networks or online publications. They almost always exist for every show though the chances of you actually winning are seemingly none. But hey, it doesn’t hurt to try! (Just maybe hurts a bit to lose).

Also even though a show may be sold out, start checking Ticketmaster on a daily basis one to two weeks before the date of the actual show, because more than likely they’ll release more tickets. I’ve gotten the best seats to shows this way (Pit tickets for Taylor Swift hollah!). If you live close to the venue, it doesn’t hurt to check the day of at the box office, because I’ve also gotten pretty awesome seats to shows this way too (sold out One Direction show awwyeah!). There are also other options, though I don’t recommend them because of evil people called scammers, but you can always search up StubHub, or even better Kijiji or Craigslist (because you deal directly with the seller).