poor sportsmanship/etiquette

jalapus logan

jalapus logan

be all. and supports it to
Silver Member
Well, I played in the BCA bar box 8 ball league again last night. Here is what happened. In one of my games, I had a table length stop shot on the eight ball. The eight ball was about 3 inches from the corner pocket. Now, I pretty much play exclusively on a 9 foot table with aramith balls. Here, I was using a much heavier (perhaps magnetic?) cueball. I shot what I thought was a stop shot and it ended up being a stun shot, with the cueball slowly gravitating toward and ultimately in the corner pocket - a srcatch.

Now, here is where things got off course. Prior to my stepping to the table, my opponent said "good game", congratulating me on the win. Obviously, I went on and shot anyway. My team was obviously hoping for a win and made an issue about the BCA rule that states that my opponent had conceded the game before I shot. One of my team mates was pretty vocal about this rule, irritating the other team and me as well.

I ultimately told my captain that if he marked down my game as a win for me, then I would never play in the league again. To me, this rule is against the spirit of the game. The day that I allow myself to win on a technicality is the day I stop playing pool. I mean, seriously, if one does not legally pocket the game winning ball, what is there to feel good about. Why can't people just play the damn game respectfully and just go about their business?
 
rules...usualy nothing to discuss about-

but i m here on your side from that you ve written. Think i would have a bad feeling, too.



But: if someone grats me before I shoot-i stop and say thx-always ^^

lg
Ingo
 
jalapus logan said:
Why can't people just play the damn game respectfully and just go about their business?
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Only the "Oracle" knows the answer to this question :sorry:. The concession of a game causes gray areas that we don't need in pool. I'm all for shootin' the last ball in. I mean, what does it take, another 10-15 seconds (if it's easy enough to conceed, it can't be a very difficult shot, right?)? I see enough arguments on this situation that we need to just finish the darn game, for cryin' out loud.

That said, I too have conceded games. But.....when I do it there is no question the game has been conceded. I may shoot my opponents game-winning ball in myself, or rake it into the pocket either with my hand or stick. Either way, the game winning ball is no longer on the table. No questions, no doubts. If you are going to concede, make it so obvious that it eliminates any doubt from ANYONE.

In your situation, I think it's always best to ask if they are conceding, and do it in earshot of more than one person. You are a good sport I must say. The kind of person I would probably enjoy shooting against in a tourney or league match, or even just "for fun" games.

Maniac
 
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You are a disappointment and a failure.:wink:

Once your opponent concedes the game is done. No more shooting or debating the outcome..both of which you are guilty.

Let yourself win, if not for you then for the team!
 
Nicely done.

The only person you have to answer to is the guy you see in the mirror.

If the guy wants to concede, he can sweep the eight into the pocket himself. Unless or until that happens, it's gotta go in.

You are a class act. Too few of you in our world, sadly. Bravo.
 
To the OP: there's an aspect to this that you may be overlooking. If someone congratulates you, puts his hand into a pocket to retrieve balls, breaks down his stick, or any other behavior that suggests he is treating the game as over, then your attitude and focus will almost certainly change on that final shot. I myself have made the mistake of shooting the last ball after similar behavior, and on at least one occasion missed one of these. You are likely not bearing down properly on that last shot if your opponent has conceded. For that reason, if I had been your captain I would have insisted on scoring that game as a win, too.
 
This is a team event; part romper room, part pool.

Seems you got sharked by both teams (standard fare for many leagues) and perhaps that affected your shot and/or your judgment.

Regardless, it's not an individual event and a sure win seems to have been squandered by you. That being the case, I'm not inclined to pat you on the back for your moral stance (not that you're looking for pats). :sorry:
 
If you want the win, go over, shake his hand a say thank you. If you were going to shoot it sounds like you did get a little distracted by his comment and did not give the shot the proper focus.
 
Truth be told, if I was your opponent and I had already conceded the game, I would have told you myself to mark it as a win......this actually happens a lot more often than you think......the other guy concedes, you let your guard down, bang the ball in, and scratch.....and then the arguement begins :D

Because of this, if someone concedes the game in a competetive environment, I accept, shake their hand, and do not pocket the last ball.....reason being, once they do, my focus eases until the next game....no reason to shoot......if they then ask you to shoot, it's a shark move and they go on the list :wink:
 
I agree with the posters that said, once the guy concedes the game I would not shoot the ball. I'd then go over and shake his/her hand.

With that being said, if I did choose to shoot it and missed or scratched, I'd accept that as a loss as you did. You are a gentleman and I'd handle your situation exactly as you did if I chose to shoot it.

Rep for you for having the balls to tell your captain what you did. It's not about a win, it's about the competition to me.
 
The last time someone said "good game" to me before the game was over, it was a shark move. I said "so you're conceding the game?", he said "hell no, you have to earn it". I said "then wait until the game's over before you say 'good game'", and proceeded to make the last two balls for the win. I said "nice try" on my way back to my team.
:p
 
Something similar happened to me before where the guy was breaking down his stick when I was shooting the 8. Normally, we wouldn't make a stink about it. But earlier this game, the captain picked one something very small which really pssd off our captain. So, she made a point about the breakdown and led on to a 20m argument between the captains. We two players waited and shrugged, then played the breaking match. At least I won straight on that one.

I think the previous argument was about a masse shot. Not supposed to go above 45deg in APA. "Oh who cares!" Here we go.
 
KoolKat9Lives said:
This is a team event; part romper room, part pool.

Seems you got sharked by both teams (standard fare for many leagues) and perhaps that affected your shot and/or your judgment.

Regardless, it's not an individual event and a sure win seems to have been squandered by you. That being the case, I'm not inclined to pat you on the back for your moral stance (not that you're looking for pats). :sorry:
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Well, I didn't feel "sharked". In fact, by and large, I rarely let folks get to me. You pretty much have to physically assault me while shooting to bother me. I just flat out misjudged the heavy cue ball, end of story. That was the only shot I missed all night, so I wasn't playing bad or anything (I did misjudge shape a couple of times and had to play safe though).

In other news, I see that you are in NC. I regularly visit a pool buddy of mine in Ashville. We play pool all weekend on his home table, but have not yet ventured into the local pool rooms. Do you have a suggestion as to where to play? He has been in Ashville for about a year, but has not yet explored to pool scene there due to work.
 
I guess that I should also clarify that I was unaware of the concession rule before I shot, so I really did think that the game was still going on. The fiasco started afterwards.

It is all silly really, I am friendly with the other team as well, so I don't understand why such a stink had to be raised.
 
brechbt said:
To the OP: there's an aspect to this that you may be overlooking. If someone congratulates you, puts his hand into a pocket to retrieve balls, breaks down his stick, or any other behavior that suggests he is treating the game as over, then your attitude and focus will almost certainly change on that final shot. I myself have made the mistake of shooting the last ball after similar behavior, and on at least one occasion missed one of these. You are likely not bearing down properly on that last shot if your opponent has conceded. For that reason, if I had been your captain I would have insisted on scoring that game as a win, too.
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This - if someone congratulates you on a win then the game is over, don't shoot the ball. If they congratulate you but expect you to still shoot, it's sharking and it will affect your shot. You may still make it, but that little comment will affect your thought process even if you are able to shut it out and shoot normally. It's still there, it's still at least a momentary distraction.

"Congratulations" "you can run that out" "it's your game" etc. are all inappropriate and would be better left unsaid. I try to ignore it when it happens to me, but it happens.
 
If my opponent ever says......"That's good" "Good game" "Nice out" etc...

when I am shooting the $ ball, game over. I walk away and say Thanks!!
 
jalapus logan said:
Well, I didn't feel "sharked". In fact, by and large, I rarely let folks get to me. You pretty much have to physically assault me while shooting to bother me. I just flat out misjudged the heavy cue ball, end of story. That was the only shot I missed all night, so I wasn't playing bad or anything (I did misjudge shape a couple of times and had to play safe though).

In other news, I see that you are in NC. I regularly visit a pool buddy of mine in Ashville. We play pool all weekend on his home table, but have not yet ventured into the local pool rooms. Do you have a suggestion as to where to play? He has been in Ashville for about a year, but has not yet explored to pool scene there due to work.
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Gotta run out the door. Quickie: I'm not familiar with Asheville's pool scene, I'm 2.5 hours east. A long standing reputable member here, Tigerseye, Kenneth, could surely point you in the right direction. I'd suggest PM'g him in event he misses this thread. Look me up if you get out my way, I've never met up with an AZer that hadn't been an enjoyable new friend. :thumbup:

BTW, thanks for elaborating, you do sound like a stand up guy. Learning the league ropes is a treat, eh? ;)

Take care,

Matt
 
PocketPoint said:
Here's a helpful hint:

When somebody says that to you, quickly swipe the 8ball and cueball with your stick. and put the rack on the table.

This way they can't try and make you take the shot still. You gain the upper hand if an argument breaks out because you can't take the shot anymore.
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I guess that the bottom line to me is that I like to play pool. In fact, I like to play pool well. It is the journey to play well that keeps me interested in the game. I figure that If I play well, wins will follow. But if they never do, then that is fine too. If I spend the rest of my life playing and losing to players who remain too good for me to catch, but I improve my skills in the process, then it is a worthwhile pursuit to me. I will never do as you say above because I have no interest in winning like that. I meant what I said to my captain, and he knows it. I will shoot every shot to the bitter (and sometimes sweet) end and that is that. If that means that I am unsuited to league play, so be it.
 
That's a pretty poor 'helpful hint' PocketPoint.

Here's the reality, to the OP. You stroked POORLY on the game ball. It doesn't matter whether you "had" to shoot it or not. Your mistake was not shooting well. BTW, a stun shot is a stop shot with an angle. It sounds, from your description, that you basically had a straight in shot, and the CB lost it's 'slide/skid' prior to striking the OB...causing the CB to be rolling when it hit the 8, and naturally rolling into the pocket afterwards.

Moral: ALWAYS give every shot 100% of your attention, whether you believe you have to shoot it, or not.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

PocketPoint said:
Here's a helpful hint:

When somebody says that to you, quickly swipe the 8ball and cueball with your stick. and put the rack on the table.

This way they can't try and make you take the shot still. You gain the upper hand if an argument breaks out because you can't take the shot anymore.
Click to expand...
 
Scott Lee said:
That's a pretty poor 'helpful hint' PocketPoint.

Here's the reality, to the OP. You stroked POORLY on the game ball. It doesn't matter whether you "had" to shoot it or not. Your mistake was not shooting well. BTW, a stun shot is a stop shot with an angle. It sounds, from your description, that you basically had a straight in shot, and the CB lost it's 'slide/skid' prior to striking the OB...causing the CB to be rolling when it hit the 8, and naturally rolling into the pocket afterwards.

Moral: ALWAYS give every shot 100% of your attention, whether you believe you have to shoot it, or not.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
Click to expand...

Your description is exactly what occured. Improper stroke to execute the stop shot. Like I said, I am unused to playing on bar tables with a heavy cue ball. I had no warm up games and this was my second game of the night. No excuses, I missed and I lost that game. I quickly learned my lesson about the CB though, and parked it properly thereafter. However, I did overrun shape once in the night. I know that practice on those tables would let me get the feel of it more, but I just don't want to be a bar box player. It's fun for what it is though. I am content to play on them as needed though. Currently, that is about 10 games per month.
 
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