Sheldon said:

Gambling has always given me way more time on the table, which in the end is what we all need.
Tournaments are great for extra pressure, and let you work on how well you can handle it.

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Improvement in skill always comes down to two things, time on the table and knowledge.

All the time on the table in the world without knowledge typically will lead to plateau and all the knowledge in the world without table time will result in nothing although stroke practice without a table and visualization will make a difference when table time is limited.

When I was stuck at GTMO with no usable table to speak of , I played with tennis balls on my bed. Lol. It was more to test aiming theories than anything.

SSP said:

Golf hasn't changed no reason to change pool, if you want to create a new game similar to pool do it, see who follows your game, best of luck to you

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Didn't golf Tiger proof courses (i.e make all the holes longer) when Tiger started posting ridiculous scores and making the sport look ridiculously easy (I don't actually think its easy, but if you'd never played and you watched prime Tiger you'd think it was very easy)?

straightline said:

Chinese pool sells fine I heard. Regardless, snooker jaws - and not their apertures, are what trigger the mindless defensive mode. I happen to like the challenge of tight pool pockets but I weather the BS about it because pool needs to evolve.

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The pocket shape makes 4 pockets harder and 2 pockets easier. Really surprised me when I started playing 9 ball that the American tables that I thought had buckets were actually quite tough to pot into the middle pockets compared to a UK table.

Island Drive said:

Fillers recent Quote....
....try not to get frustrated by mistakes in a match. I just learn from them and move on.

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This is a main point of both The Inner Game of Tennis and The Pleasures of Small Motions. Observe, don't judge.

loggerhead12 said:

Slippery cloth trumps tight pockets any day.

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Yeah, I think Gorst's "miss" had enough follow left off the point to curve forward to hit just enough of the opposite facing to go in. Faster and it doesn't fall. Usually the slide in shots are hit to the other rail.

One factor may be that the pocket facings are more parallel to get the point-to-point size smaller. Parallel facings play a lot easier than the usual facing angle.

For those with WNTTV, the shot is at 40:40 on day 3.

A missed easy shot is a wake up call. It gets a quick ass says mint without emotion. Then sit with my game face on and hope for another chance. Showing disappointment or anger at a missed easy shot gives an opponent confidence. Laughing when I want to cry can leave an opponent confused.
Just yesterday playing APA 9 ball, I missed the rack on my first break. The cueball went straight into the corner at 90 mph. Well I was a little too tight. I recovered and won the match but still amazed that I could miss the entire rack And scratch dead in the corner. Shrug
Being APA rules ignorant I wasn't sure if I got another swing at the break shot as nothing was disturbed. A mild chuckle as I handed over the break to an equal rated opponent was my solution. While he broke them I had time to think about what I had done. The technical term for it is, Ready ...Shoot ...Aim!