Seriously, does that work??
Yup. Been doing it for years. When you click a video you want to watch, it will usually start with some stupid car insurance add or other nonsense you have no interest in. Just hit the page refresh button and it'll go right to the video you wanted to watch but you have to tap the player because it often starts muted.
I'm guessing YouTubes algorithm can't differentiate between whether you have or haven't watched the entire ad, all it knows is that it loaded it ,and it began to play it ,and since you allowed it to load ,and start (for even a half a second) it counts as watched ,at least as far as they're concerned. All I know is it works every time 100%
oddly enough, after doing this for a long time (years) its seems almost hard to find a YT video with an ad....i just browsed YT for a minute, clicking random "trending" videos for 5 or 6 different uploads, and i didnt even run into a Ad. its like the site gives up on trying to advertise to me. im sure its just coincedence, but its funny.