I think it got easier for me over time, I guess thats just learning by heart.
For new players I'd recommend picking one of the easy rated civs (romans, macedonians) and stick to them for a number of games with side A civ card. Focus on really learning your cards and what they're about, what ar the key words, what's your civs card bonus (focus on it for your first games), then switch to the B side, only switch to higher rated civs if you really understand what's the game about.