Put a tack on the spectator chair
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How to combat slow players?
- Thread starter shooter_Hans
- Start date
Many times slow play is a move and if they know it's bothering you, they get slower.
When a dude starts to look at a straight in shot of short distance from all angles, it can drive you crazy.
There are those players that want to get under your skin and make you mad.
Slow play is one of things that can do that.
Talking while you're shooting and moving around in your shot line is another.
Another move is when a guy sells out, he immediately walks away from the table in your line of vision and keeps looking back as your running balls.
I've played really fine players in one pocket who when they finally sell out suddenly get a phone call and are talking and walking around in front of your pocket.
Some guys will do anything to win.
In an uneven contest sharking is no big deal but in a tight match it can be the margin of victory.
There are legitimately slow players and many of them have the slow- prefix before their names.
I got into a thing with a dude who had the slow moniker and he told me he doesn't play slow.
Blew my mind..................
When a dude starts to look at a straight in shot of short distance from all angles, it can drive you crazy.
There are those players that want to get under your skin and make you mad.
Slow play is one of things that can do that.
Talking while you're shooting and moving around in your shot line is another.
Another move is when a guy sells out, he immediately walks away from the table in your line of vision and keeps looking back as your running balls.
I've played really fine players in one pocket who when they finally sell out suddenly get a phone call and are talking and walking around in front of your pocket.
Some guys will do anything to win.
In an uneven contest sharking is no big deal but in a tight match it can be the margin of victory.
There are legitimately slow players and many of them have the slow- prefix before their names.
I got into a thing with a dude who had the slow moniker and he told me he doesn't play slow.
Blew my mind..................
Nice perspective Stu.
When I first did this in Denver here's the funny/fun moment.
Henry Granis then complained to the TD about my actions.
The TD blurted out ''there's NO rule your opponent has to watch you.
Once Henry said this I knew he couldn't win.
TD and I laughed at and during that moment.
When I first did this in Denver here's the funny/fun moment.
Henry Granis then complained to the TD about my actions.
The TD blurted out ''there's NO rule your opponent has to watch you.
Once Henry said this I knew he couldn't win.
TD and I laughed at and during that moment.
snookered_again
Well-known member
how about just ask him if there is a time limit on taking a shot.. fair enough to come to a resolution, right?
if the time limit is 3 minutes and that's what he's taking then you have to suck it up because he's playing by the rules, you just dot like the set rule and feel it should be shorter then,
If you are just playing one on one you might say Ill only play you in you reduce the time to 1 minute, or similar..
If that's a rule set by the league or tournament or "house" then it's that "power" you should argue with, as it's not his fault, It's yours and you are just frustrated by the rules.
If he doesn't know then its a chance to come to a realistic number. ask him what the penalty is if he runs over.. ball in hand? end of game?
I think the issue is you aren't being direct enough and that's the way out, to come to an understanding.. This doesn't need to mean an argument, so I'd try to not phrase it as one.. Tell him directly, say "the wait time between shots is frustrating me"..
If you want use sarcasm wait 1 minute , or whatever is reasonable then say "would you like more time? " continue that until you have a proper discussion.
That tactic will be distracting.
I think the direct approach is likely to actually solve the issue.. Once you bring the issue to light in a clear way, he may help you find common ground rather than arguing the point.
If you can get his buy-in on a resolution, that's more helpful than a polarized or defensive type of discussion.
The direct approach is how I'd handle it if it bothered me enough. fair enough to say you don't want to leave it unsaid until you are in melt down mode about it all, so you decided youd like to have a respectful and direct conversation..
any gentleman with dignity or respect will reply that they were not aware their slowness was bothiering you in that way or to that extent, and then look for common ground.. if the guy is a jerk and gives you childish feedback like bickering,, then you tried and then you can then just be rude back and at least you cna say you actually tried to take the high road as a first step.
one way that can be both polite and kind is to say you need to talk to him about something you feel is important , and go sit down with him. treat him to a beverage or whatever.. what that does is takes the other distractions away and allows a logical eye to eye conversation to happen rather than the subject being deferred by continuing play. the fact that you took him aside to talk means it bothered you enough to take the time for a decent and non- insulting gentleman's discussion.. If it blows up and you need to talk to some "manager" then at least you cna say with clarity, I tried to sit him down and have a clear and proper dicussion before thinigs got so out of hand.. That would generally be respected and thats why I wouldn't have the conversation at the pool table..
i remember watching a snooker pro on youtube, hes somewhat of a snooker authority. He pointed out that if you have a conflict, stop game play, have that discussion , find a resolution , then continue the game, I think that's sound advice. It beats playing with a grudge on your shoulders.
if the time limit is 3 minutes and that's what he's taking then you have to suck it up because he's playing by the rules, you just dot like the set rule and feel it should be shorter then,
If you are just playing one on one you might say Ill only play you in you reduce the time to 1 minute, or similar..
If that's a rule set by the league or tournament or "house" then it's that "power" you should argue with, as it's not his fault, It's yours and you are just frustrated by the rules.
If he doesn't know then its a chance to come to a realistic number. ask him what the penalty is if he runs over.. ball in hand? end of game?
I think the issue is you aren't being direct enough and that's the way out, to come to an understanding.. This doesn't need to mean an argument, so I'd try to not phrase it as one.. Tell him directly, say "the wait time between shots is frustrating me"..
If you want use sarcasm wait 1 minute , or whatever is reasonable then say "would you like more time? " continue that until you have a proper discussion.
That tactic will be distracting.
I think the direct approach is likely to actually solve the issue.. Once you bring the issue to light in a clear way, he may help you find common ground rather than arguing the point.
If you can get his buy-in on a resolution, that's more helpful than a polarized or defensive type of discussion.
The direct approach is how I'd handle it if it bothered me enough. fair enough to say you don't want to leave it unsaid until you are in melt down mode about it all, so you decided youd like to have a respectful and direct conversation..
any gentleman with dignity or respect will reply that they were not aware their slowness was bothiering you in that way or to that extent, and then look for common ground.. if the guy is a jerk and gives you childish feedback like bickering,, then you tried and then you can then just be rude back and at least you cna say you actually tried to take the high road as a first step.
one way that can be both polite and kind is to say you need to talk to him about something you feel is important , and go sit down with him. treat him to a beverage or whatever.. what that does is takes the other distractions away and allows a logical eye to eye conversation to happen rather than the subject being deferred by continuing play. the fact that you took him aside to talk means it bothered you enough to take the time for a decent and non- insulting gentleman's discussion.. If it blows up and you need to talk to some "manager" then at least you cna say with clarity, I tried to sit him down and have a clear and proper dicussion before thinigs got so out of hand.. That would generally be respected and thats why I wouldn't have the conversation at the pool table..
i remember watching a snooker pro on youtube, hes somewhat of a snooker authority. He pointed out that if you have a conflict, stop game play, have that discussion , find a resolution , then continue the game, I think that's sound advice. It beats playing with a grudge on your shoulders.
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get one of those fidgit things for each hand, try to wear them out while he is messing around.
Local events with amateurs is NOT pro snooker ....
Are you asking how to speed the slow player up, or how to cope with his slow play?
The former is likely impossible, depending on circumstances--such as in a tournament or league playoff, with a time rule. For the latter, I recommend the same as a couple of other already have--play at your opponent's pace, or even a little slower. Less about giving him his own medicine, and more about sharpening your own focus (more difficult of course, the faster your normal pace).
As for when someone takes a long time to look a a hanger, just tell them, "It ain't the Grand Canyon, man...." (or the Mona Lisa, if you prefer)
snookered_again
Well-known member
Of course , and I agree with that..
Actually there is just one set of snooker rules, so long as you are not playing by some modified rule book like "Chinese snooker" or "American snooker.'. my reference was to a Barry Stark video.
Yes playing in a smaller club or one on one is different as you wouldn't have any official monitoring the game.
if you watch this video, and go to 5mins 30 sec, its explained quite well in his words.. he also acknowledges that in a private club one may choose to knowingly alter the ( in this case snooker) rules to be more suitable..
The example that comes to mind is you are playing in an environment of elderly people and they make a rule that overrides the "touched ball" being a fault,, so as an example normally if your shirt were to make contact with a ball ,even though the ball did not move it would be a 4 point fault ( in snooker) and the other players shot..
In 9 ball , i believe it would be a ball in hand right? I'm not sure if 9 ball straight pool, 8 ball or bar rules may differ, yes possibly there are variations..
In order to relax the rules to fit the environment, the organization may then say " in this environment touching a ball is only a fault if you move the ball an inch or more.." - so that can become a "house rule" If the resident players like the fact that they have a bit more relaxed rules, they may enjoy the game more.
It might be practical as the touched ball fault may seem to extreme considering the environment. So the rule can be knowingly and agreeably modified to better fit the environment.
Where I play, we don't normally "replace balls" as they do in a pro atmosphere because it would lead to too much contention as to where they were originally. - we would call a touched ball though. often it is not seen by the opponent and honesty comes into play.
the consensus where I play is that we try to play by the rules ( desoite which game) because if one wants to go and play at a higher level , or if a pro level player were to come and play, we don't want to be playing by some completely separate rule-book.
now , if you have a look at this video, that's what I was referred to. if you don't want to watch the whole video just go to 5 mins. he talks about resolving conflicts.
one suggestion made is that if there is a conflict, you do not continue playing if you are at ( his word) loggerheads.. ( interesting english expression for being in disagreement)
all I was saying is that this seems to be decent advice. I'm not comparing snooker rules to that of a different game, or stating what rules you should play by. Just pointing out how his take on conflict resolution can be handled in a reasonable manor. If you set aside the fact that this is talk of snooker and not 8 or 9 ball etc. I feel that his comments are also reasonable for other games.
in a private room where you are playing one on one 9 ball, and having difficulty with the length of time , you might agree to resolve the conflict by agreeing upon a length of time to take your shot.. example, if you agreed that the player has 1 minute to shoot otherwise it is a ball in hand , then that's fair play, and with that sort of agreement you aren't sitting there waiting 3 minutes for every shot as seems to be the case. I think we all understand the reason for the related frustration.
While they're taking their sweet time, hypnotize 'em.
snookered_again
Well-known member
Its your choice how to handle things. int he header you used the word "combat" you got suggestions of taking longer than him, insulting him in different ways, using sarcasm, calling him names.. going for a dump and leaving him alone. hypnotizing him lol..
maybe it comes down to whether you are looking to "combat" or find resolution. my opinion is that schoolyard tactics don't often work so well, and may just cause friction, bad feelings, maybe include others.. he might start mud slinging too if that is the chosen methodology. Of course you get to make your own choices. we are all presumably adults who have our own personalities and different approaches.
maybe it comes down to whether you are looking to "combat" or find resolution. my opinion is that schoolyard tactics don't often work so well, and may just cause friction, bad feelings, maybe include others.. he might start mud slinging too if that is the chosen methodology. Of course you get to make your own choices. we are all presumably adults who have our own personalities and different approaches.
George the Greek
Well-known member
I'm new to the province we moved to and I don't know anybody here and nobody knows me. It's the perfect situation for me as I pop into the tournaments and watch for 4-5 hours. I look at the results on FB as well to familiarize names to the faces. Gotta get the lay of the land before I jump into the pond with these guys and plan some kind of strategy .
Not a book...a newspaper. I've done that with a certain player.
snookered_again
Well-known member
if you take your knitting you can say you have to finish a row, else you'll loose track of the number of stitches.. ;-)
If I am totally honest , if I played better when I played slowly, I would take as long as I needed on every shot, that is why most of us are playing the game.
Nick Varner played slow, still does, but he plays extremely well at that pace, he may play a ball weaker playing fast, who knows. Another excellent player lived in Phoenix , He approached each shot like it was for the world championship, and he very seldom missed. How can you knock that?
It isn't fun for the opponent, but then , it's not supposed to be. Also, everyone knew how he played , so if you challenged him, you knew the routine. He played so good , there were not many challengers.
My big regret is that instead of thinking like the crowd, that it was a hustle, that I didn't at least try it seriously and see if it elevated my game enough to incorporate it. I will never know, but I certainly don't think it would have hurt anything.
My pool game was a lot like my chess game , I make what I think is a very good move, and then I immediately see the best move. It is very frustrating. But I am a creature of habit , and change comes very hard to me, like most people.
shooter_Hans
Well-known member
The comments. ROFL
How does turning yourself into a slow player address the problem of slow players?
you have to do what you need to do. in this order;
1.dont play him-- that is best
2. tell t.d. to correct
3. tell him he has 20 or 30 seconds to shoot or you are going to make a noise just as he strokes it
4. just sit there and dont shoot until someone complains and then say he can take all the time he wants with no clock or reprimand so i will also.
1.dont play him-- that is best
2. tell t.d. to correct
3. tell him he has 20 or 30 seconds to shoot or you are going to make a noise just as he strokes it
4. just sit there and dont shoot until someone complains and then say he can take all the time he wants with no clock or reprimand so i will also.