The GM has lots of tools on hand before and during a game. All those books burning a hole in their bank account. The screen. The odd prop. Complete maps. And dice, too, when you consider "fudging". The GM can SHARE some of those tools, but they're still GM tools. So what does the player have. Dice, tokens, cards (depending on the game), which they may not fudge with. Maybe a miniature, for what it's worth. Oh, and a character sheet!
And you'd think the statistical representation of your character would be an obvious tool for the player, but in my experience, a lot of players don't optimize its use whatsoever! A quick glance to reference the numbers required for skill checks, maybe running through an equipment list when one gets stuck, but that's about it. But what else might the sheet be used for, Siskoid?
Reminders
A lesson more experienced players should take from less experienced ones - or, indeed, their younger selves - is that it pays to reread your character sheet before and during sessions. High-level characters have a lot of abilities, but it's easy to fall into a certain pattern and forget all about the things you don't often use. The GameMaster may well be more aware of your abilities than you are, and write scenarios they know you can get through... if only you remembered you had the appropriate tools (whether gear or skills). Since most gamers play on a weekly, biweekly or monthly basis, there's plenty of time to forget about that magical doodad you picked up, or that spell you haven't really used since the early days when it was one of very few options.
And don't limit yourself to what's traditionally on the sheet. Most of them have a section for Notes, and if they don't, use the back or add a blank crib sheet. In fact, I'd say there are two types of notes. Some are scenario specific and won't be useful forever, so perhaps use the crib sheet for that. Who gave you the mission and what the end goal is supposed to be (players really need recaps after a couple weeks of not gaming, which means this is more easily forgotten than you'd think). More long-term notes would include your character's motivations, ideas for subplots, idea for perks you want to buy on level-up, NPCs you want to revisit, but also game mechanics you don't want to forget. For example, you might have succeeded at some stunt once, and want to be able to repeat it (or improve stats so that you might). Complicated powers that could be used for multiple effects, but that the character sheet, as structured, doesn't really represent in detail. All of this needs to be revised prior to a game, or during the session when the group gets stuck. What can you do? What do you own? Who can you call? What can you flashback to for help? How does the GM's latest info relate to things learned in the past? And where should you spend your XP at the end? You never need to be caught on the back foot.
Speaking of XP, it's the most basic element of what I would call Extrapolation of one's character sheet. Knowing your sheet will help you make decisions for improving the character. One of the things players SHOULD be taking down in their notes is where they were weakest during a session. What DIDN'T work out that you wish had? Always failing your Perception Checks? Wha did you miss as a result? After a few little checkmarks next to that stat/skill, you really should put points into it. I'm not saying you should erase disadvantages that make the character interesting to play for you. If you love playing an idiot with low IQ, and it's part of the role-play that he always fails his intelligence-related skill checks, by all means, don't touch that. But if you're disappointed or frustrated with failed attempts, give yourself reminders so that you can fix it. You might not have realized Perception or Persuasion or First Aid would be so important in the campaign when you made the character, but that's why we have improvement. You'd be surprised at how certain players forget all about this when spending XP and prolongs the pain from session to session.
But otherwise, your character sheet should also INSPIRE interesting ways to use available skills, abilities, powers and equipment. While reading and re-reading one's sheet, one should be thinking in terms not just of "what can I do?", but also "what haven't I done, that I could POSSIBLY do?". How do your abilities connect to one another? How can they be combined? How could this spell interact with this 100-foot rope? Can I use telekinesis and lockpicking to open doors without tools? Given that my character is THIS, is it so crazy to think they can do THIS with their abilities? Players should be able to debate what exactly they can do with the GM. They can't win every time, but they can give themselves the best possible chance by having thought about this beforehand. For example, if they grew up on a farm, the GM might accept that they're allowed an intelligence roll to see if they know a certain plant, or help a unicorn give birth, or use his great axe as a makeshift plow (or alternatively, use plowing tools as weapons). Players should be able to use their sheets to bargain for bonuses, or to use an unwritten ability, perhaps with a penalty. But you're not going to get these ideas if you never read through your character sheet.
Obviously, different games have differently-structured sheets, focusing on different information. The flexibility of the game will also vary - for example, superhero powers have more stunt potential than granular skills - but if I have advice for GameMasters here, it's that the GM should remain open to players' ideas as per the above. These aren't coming from nowhere, they're extrapolations of the character sheet. Anything that creates immersion into the character should be encouraged. And if you tend to keep character sheets in your GM stash (I hardly ever trust players not to lose their sheets if they bring them home), make them take pictures of them for consultation or make them available online. This might just encourage them to start paying attention...
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