Preparing for DP problems involves understanding fundamental concepts, practicing common patterns, and solving problems in increasing difficulty.

To prepare for dynamic programming (DP) in competitive programming, start with the basics of recursion, memoization, and tabulation. Understanding how DP saves computation by breaking down problems into overlapping subproblems is essential. Practice common DP patterns like knapsack, Fibonacci sequences, longest common subsequence, and coin change. Gradually tackle problems with increasing complexity to build confidence and intuition for identifying DP-friendly problems. Focus on recognizing the 'optimal substructure' and 'overlapping subproblems' properties, as they are fundamental to DP. Reviewing solutions and analyzing various DP approaches helps you understand different ways to optimize memory and processing time. With consistent practice, you’ll develop the ability to identify and solve DP problems effectively in contests.