The nice thing about mafia is that your opponents tend to adapt with you. Since people work out your strategy and read your meta, there isn't really an optimal one to stay on.
For the record, I think the reason I'm often hard to read is moodswings. You're more likely to be reading my current hormone levels than my alignment, in most cases.
Oddly enough, pretty much no one tries to use meta on me (though I can't fully understand why). Accusations tend to run into the "you're being less irritable than usual" category =/ I also don't understand why so few serious lynch attempts are run on me, but that's just how it is.
For me, I believe it's a combination of 1. moodswings and 2. a giant mental program-thing I made to stabilize said moodswings. Thus I vary erratically between being able to control my moods almost perfectly and not keeping them clamped down. Often, a difference is visible between simultaneously-running games >_>
Your town and mafia play pretty much match to my eyes. I havn't seen you do anything that I can honestly say "that's scum Vector talking."
Although I try not to rely on meta in any case. It's too easy to manipulate and you really have to analyze multiple games just to get a real readout. Perhaps the heavy attempts to use meta on me helped to spoil things.
Instead I go traditional: look for normal scumtells regardless on who it is. It's been highly effective.
As for the 1 year curse, I get that "can't go much farther" issue as well, especially if the next step in mastery is just repetition (ok, you know all the tricks, now just play it out 5000 times to work it into instinct). Perfect example is in an MMO: once you get past the point where you're learning how to fight and deal with new situations and you have to just grind through the same monsters over and over and over using the same techniques I'm basically done.
The BIGGEST cause though is time. I loved most of the Muds I played and was able to bypass the 'grind' by getting into RP and guildwork (I swear, if I could put my experience in Aetolia and Lusternia in a resume I'd be set for a management career). However, work and life made the commitment impossible. A good few other games hit the same problem. %*)@ I can only find dedicated time to read while walking my dog (NOT easy to carry a hardcover WOT book while holding an umbrella and a dog that sees another dog and thinks she MUSTMEETTHATDOGANDPLAYWITHITRIGHTNOWOMGNOWNOWNOWIGOGOGOGOGOGOGO!!!!!!!!!!!!111).
So the problem here? I'm unemployed right now but waiting on 3 government temp jobs to kick in this and next month, 2 full time and 1.. no clue since it's the first time I've done Census work. If things work out, I'll be, at at least one point, doing 2 shifts.