Many confusing statements are made on a regular basis about the value of various sequence analysis algorithms. It would be great if there were a single method that provided the best results for all users at all times, but such a thing does not exist. This talk takes an overview approach to the methods, shows by example different situations that call for different algorithms. HMM methods, Smith/Waterman and BLAST, Gene Finders and assemblers will all get a fair hearing during this talk.