Seasoning

lfigueroa

lfigueroa

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
In another thread a poster wrote

"...I won a $1000 8ball event 3/4 times I played in it. None of that matters. Countless other wins. Big deal. Your past doesn't help you win tomorrow's set - ever."

Do any of you agree with the part about your past not helping you?

Personally I believe exactly the opposite and think your past experiences, wins and loses, are what constitute seasoning and the maturation of your mental game. I've always felt that repeated competition and exposure to pressure situations make you a better player. IOW, your past does help you win tomorrow's set.

If you've played (winning and losing) under a wide variety of circumstances, hopefully you've learned what responses different circumstance elicit in you and you learn how to overcome undesirable internal responses and maximize the positive ones. Basically, the player has learned how to win. If ahead, he twists the knife. If behind, he digs deeper. If it's close, he's learned how to exploit his opponent's weakness and whatever advantages he may have to ensure the win. Seasoning means you know when to keep playing, when to quit, and when to jack the bet up. Put another way: you may get outplayed, but the seasoned player doesn't beat himself.

What say you? Is it true that "your past doesn't help you win tomorrow's set - ever."

Lou Figueroa
 
Let me be the first to AGREE with Lou. :p (I know, doesn't happen often enough.)

To the topic, of course your past performance matters. Experience is the best teacher, both from wins and from losses.
 
lfigueroa said:
In another thread a poster wrote

"...I won a $1000 8ball event 3/4 times I played in it. None of that matters. Countless other wins. Big deal. Your past doesn't help you win tomorrow's set - ever."

Do any of you agree with the part about your past not helping you?

Personally I believe exactly the opposite and think your past experiences, wins and loses, are what constitute seasoning and the maturation of your mental game. I've always felt that repeated competition and exposure to pressure situations make you a better player. IOW, your past does help you win tomorrow's set.

If you've played (winning and losing) under a wide variety of circumstances, hopefully you've learned what responses different circumstance elicit in you and you learn how to overcome undesirable internal responses and maximize the positive ones. Basically, the player has learned how to win. If ahead, he twists the knife. If behind, he digs deeper. If it's close, he's learned how to exploit his opponent's weakness and whatever advantages he may have to ensure the win. Seasoning means you know when to keep playing, when to quit, and when to jack the bet up. Put another way: you may get outplayed, but the seasoned player doesn't beat himself.

What say you? Is it true that "your past doesn't help you win tomorrow's set - ever."

Lou Figueroa
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You misread my quote, genius. I was trying to tell you that you can't ride the coat-tails of yesterday. You always have to perform today.

"Your past" doesn't mean "experience." It means if you win a tournament that doesn't mean you're SEASONED, as you put it. If you play well yesterday, you're not guaranteed to play well tomorrow. That's all dependent on what you do today.

If you don't get that--- you're denser than I thought.
 
SpiderWebComm said:
You misread my quote, genius. I was trying to tell you that you can't ride the coat-tails of yesterday. You always have to perform today.

"Your past" doesn't mean "experience." It means if you win a tournament that doesn't mean you're SEASONED, as you put it. If you play well yesterday, you're not guaranteed to play well tomorrow. That's all dependent on what you do today.
Click to expand...

OK, I'll bite! :cool:

What you said, "Your past doesn't help you win tomorrow's set - ever." has a completely different meaning than what you meant to say: "you can't ride the coat-tails of yesterday. You always have to perform today."

Ben Franklin once said that "Experience is the best of school masters." Right now, you're just a young puppy (foaming at the mouth :grin:) but someday you'll learn the truth of what Franklin said.

A case in point would be what you said: "If you play well yesterday, you're not guaranteed to play well tomorrow." That's where your experience comes into play as you change your strategy and tactics to overcome your weaknesses.
 
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I think the other poster may have been alluding to the fact that you have to perform TODAY to win TODAY. Living on yesterday's laurels is a sure way to come up a loser tomorrow or even today.

That being said, I agree with you both. Reid Pierce playing a ferocious match at Rackateer's in New Orleans with one of our local players came from behind with a win and bellowed, "How you like it New Orleans? That's what you call seasoning!"

Another match just an hour later he was playing Joe V (Little Joe Villalpondo of www.pooliq.net) and Reid was leading by a large margin, when Joe put on a show and came back from a major deficit and I couldn't hold back when Joe pocketed the final 9 ball for the win and bellowed back, "HOW YOU LIKE IT MISSISSIPPI? I didn't get a chance to say anything about seasoning before Reid was all over me, wanting to bet high as the sky and skin me alive to boot. :D:D:D It was all good. He only stayed steamed at me for a couple of years. I still want to visit Reid's restaurant in Jackson, MS. Actually it's outside of Jackson, maybe Brandon, MS. I'm sure he has forgiven me for my little tit for tat comment.

Seasoning can go stale and it can be forgotten in the cupboard so they next time you're cooking, make sure your seasoning stays fresh.
JoeyA
 
I can see both sides: If Earl beat Efren out of $20K playing 9-Ball, his neighbors all around him probably wouldn't even know or care - so it would mean nothing (pool players are nothing special in the real world). But if I was to play Earl in a $20K winner-take-all 9-Ball match, Ear's experience would mean everything...to him, and to ME (even if he hadn't picked up a cue in a year)!

Roger
 
Eric. said:
Old Bay or Mrs. Dash is the best.

Eric
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I agree. Love those Baltimore harbor crabs encrusted with Old Bay, that they literally pour directly onto your serving table (outdoors, of course).

Goya's Sazon is great as well!

product0032.jpg

:D
-Sean
 
You definitely can't make a living on your reputation but it might help you come with a winning shot and possibly effect your opponent when they are faced with a critical shot or decision.

The experience I hate the most is, walking out of a pool room with a sick feeling in my stomach knowing I had plenty of chances to win my match. That's the experience that drove me to become a consistent winner.

_________________________________

http://tommcgonaglerightoncue
 
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Winston846 said:
Geez, I only live about 2 hours north of Spidey and I haven't heard of any $1,000 8-ball tournaments, either.
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I've won the Frederick, MD Allstar billiards 8ball tournament 3 times. When you win that with a full field -- that's what you bring home (including calcutta).
 
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