Would you help your opponent??

[justadub]

We should use our judgement. Do you believe you should spit on your opponent? If you truly believe this, then by all means spit.

Surely you realize that I was taking your argument to the extreme, for the sake of the discussion that you yourself started.

Just helping you stir the pot. Since that seems to be your motivation with this thread.

Me, I'll keep "helping" my opponent, if it suits me. And I will still be "competing", despite you believing that I'm not.

 

[ChrisBanks]

Surely you realize that I was taking your argument to the extreme, for the sake of the discussion that you yourself started.

Just helping you stir the pot. Since that seems to be your motivation with this thread.

Me, I'll keep "helping" my opponent, if it suits me. And I will still be "competing", despite you believing that I'm not.

What if you had a backer, and he saw you assisting your opponent? What do you think his reaction would be?

 

[justadub]

What if you had a backer, and he saw you assisting your opponent? What do you think his reaction would be?

Don't know, don't care.

(Not a gambler.)

I play league, and I play tournaments (very small ones). So of course, I probably am not qualified to have an opinion. But when I play, in the environment that I play in, with the people that I play with....I would rather win on my own accord.

 

[ChrisBanks]

Don't know, don't care.

(Not a gambler.)

I play league, and I play tournaments (very small ones). So of course, I probably am not qualified to have an opinion. But when I play, in the environment that I play in, with the people that I play with....I would rather win on my own accord.

There are no prerequisites to having an opinion on anything! A human is able to opine on anything he wishes!

 

[ENGLISH!]

If I am playing Earl Strickland in a tournament, part of his advantage is that I am feeling somewhat nervous being on the same stage as one of the all-time greats.

If Earl then offers me the use of his break cue, offers to buy me a coffee, allows me to take additional break periods, then he is working to eliminate my nervousness. Would Earl ever do this? No. This behavior is not in accordance with someone who is competing.

You've never seen a football player hit an opponent so hard that the snot is knocked out of their head & then immediately help him up.

No I guess that would not be competing. That must be some staged sportmanship demonstration for the Boy Scotts of America.

 

[Zhero]

Well, I wouldn't do anything if I wasn't at the table playing.

 

[JB Cases]

So, by your rationale you should let your opponent use your break cue, your jump cue, your hand towel, your Magic chalk, and your talcum powder?

What's next, when he has a tough shot when he has to load up on the "juice", I let him shoot with my cue with LD shaft so he has the best chance to make the shot ?

Unless he is a personal friend of mine, I'm not letting someone use my equipment..... I paid for it, I lugged it with me, it's mine, all mine

I think it's a judgement call. The other night I was playing a guy and we are only playing $20 sets and I had brought my Lomax break cue. Well from game one he picks up my break cue and asks if he can use it. I say sure and he hammers the break and runs out. He is breaking at least a ball or two better than with a house cue. I lose two sets and decided that I am putting my cue away. Petulantly I thought screw this I am not letting the guy beat me with my own cue. I felt a little weird about it but in the end I didn't see any point to giving him a weapon that IS highly effective.

But it depends on the situation and how I am feeling. I generally lean towards sharing my equipment. If I am playing in a league match then no I am not offering my equipment to the other guy because the outcome affects more than just me. Same if I am being backed.

But when I play just for myself then it's my call.

Basically I mostly fall on the side of being nice and offering my equipment if the game is friendly. I have also had my opponents offer theirs to me so it goes both ways.

 

[DelaWho???]

You walk into a bar and a couple of guy are playing a match. One guy plays a safety. Do you break out your jump cue and offer it to the guy who is hooked?

 

[JB Cases]

You walk into a bar and a couple of guy are playing a match. One guy plays a safety. Do you break out your jump cue and offer it to the guy who is hooked?

No. But if he asks me then I will loan it to him.

www.jbcases.com

 

[Maniac]

You walk into a bar and a couple of guy are playing a match. One guy plays a safety. Do you break out your jump cue and offer it to the guy who is hooked?

With no dog in the fight, I have learned over the years to never interfere with two people playing against one another. Period.

If they both were my friends and one of them asked for a piece of my equipment and the other one didn't care, then yes, I WOULD loan it to him/her.

Maniac

 

[KRJ]

I think it's a judgement call. The other night I was playing a guy and we are only playing $20 sets and I had brought my Lomax break cue. Well from game one he picks up my break cue and asks if he can use it. I say sure and he hammers the break and runs out. He is breaking at least a ball or two better than with a house cue. I lose two sets and decided that I am putting my cue away. Petulantly I thought screw this I am not letting the guy beat me with my own cue. I felt a little weird about it but in the end I didn't see any point to giving him a weapon that IS highly effective.

But it depends on the situation and how I am feeling. I generally lean towards sharing my equipment. If I am playing in a league match then no I am not offering my equipment to the other guy because the outcome affects more than just me. Same if I am being backed.

But when I play just for myself then it's my call.

Basically I mostly fall on the side of being nice and offering my equipment if the game is friendly. I have also had my opponents offer theirs to me so it goes both ways.

So, you learned the hard way I play baseball in a woodbat league, and would never let my opponent to use my bat, and my teammates can use it, but if they break it, they bought it....so they usually ask how much it cost before they swing it... some wood bats are from $30 to $125....I mean, for $30 they will risk it, but not for a hundo !!

 

[ChrisBanks]

So, you learned the hard way I play baseball in a woodbat league, and would never let my opponent to use my bat, and my teammates can use it, but if they break it, they bought it....so they usually ask how much it cost before they swing it... some wood bats are from $30 to $125....I mean, for $30 they will risk it, but not for a hundo !!

I never hit a homerun with a wooden bat. Metal yes. This was the metal bats of 15 years ago. I know it is even easier now.

I've only had about 20-30 at bats with a wooden bat in my life.

 

[Maniac]

So, you learned the hard way I play baseball in a woodbat league, and would never let my opponent to use my bat, and my teammates can use it, but if they break it, they bought it....so they usually ask how much it cost before they swing it... some wood bats are from $30 to $125....I mean, for $30 they will risk it, but not for a hundo !!

I hear your points and understand where you're coming from, but as far as I'm concerned, letting my opponent use my bridge head is not the same as letting one use one of my cues. I would NEVER let someone playing against me use a cue of mine.

You may not let an opponent use a bat of yours, but you might (or might not) let them use your pine-tar rag, right?

This is the way I see it on the bridge head: I had rather let my opponent just use my bridge head than wait for him/her to spend two minutes digging theirs out of their bag and looking for a decent house cue to slip it onto, or wait for them to browse every table in the place looking for a particular bridge that they like.

Bridge heads, chalk, I have no problem with sharing. Break cues, shooting cues, jump cues, no way I'm loaning one of these to an opponent.

Maniac

 

[Spider1]

Leagues are hilarious. People take it so frigging serious...like they are playing in the US open instead of a faceless, meaningless league match in a pool hall somewhere. Even funnier,the ones who take it deadly serious almost never gamble.

It's just a league match. Not being a douche, or not flipping out over trivial things is a good way to live life. I'd let him use the bridge no problem. Hell, I'd let him use my break cue if he's a nice enough guy. It's just league.


All that said though: if we're gambling*...f no. No way nuh uh. Also if he's a jerk then he is on his own even if it's a dumb league match.

*no, a cash return league is not the same as gambling, sorry.

 

[KRJ]

I hear your points and understand where you're coming from, but as far as I'm concerned, letting my opponent use my bridge head is not the same as letting one use one of my cues. I would NEVER let someone playing against me use a cue of mine.

You may not let an opponent use a bat of yours, but you might (or might not) let them use your pine-tar rag, right?

This is the way I see it on the bridge head: I had rather let my opponent just use my bridge head than wait for him/her to spend two minutes digging theirs out of their bag and looking for a decent house cue to slip it onto, or wait for them to browse every table in the place looking for a particular bridge that they like.

Bridge heads, chalk, I have no problem with sharing. Break cues, shooting cues, jump cues, no way I'm loaning one of these to an opponent.

Maniac

Ummm, my bridge cost $60.... ain't gonna let opponenet ever use it. Not exactly as a pine tar rag.... but the point was it was my teammate who offered the bridge, not I, and that ain't cool

 

[Maniac]

Ummm, my bridge cost $60.... ain't gonna let opponenet ever use it. Not exactly as a pine tar rag.... but the point was it was my teammate who offered the bridge, not I, and that ain't cool

My bridge cost me $1.75 (if you buy 5 or more). I've been known to give them away to people (along with cubes of chalk, gloves).

I hear what your saying. My stance is that when two players are going at it, all outside parties should stay out of it. Now, in a team enviroment, a teammate (the coach/captain) should be able to alert you that your opponent just commited a foul, if you didn't spot it.

As far as your OP is concerned, I agree, the loaning of the bridge (especially one that YOU spent that much money on) should have been a choice that was yours and yours only.

Maniac

 

[KRJ]

Leagues are hilarious. People take it so frigging serious...like they are playing in the US open instead of a faceless, meaningless league match in a pool hall somewhere. Even funnier,the ones who take it deadly serious almost never gamble.

It's just a league match. Not being a douche, or not flipping out over trivial things is a good way to live life. I'd let him use the bridge no problem. Hell, I'd let him use my break cue if he's a nice enough guy. It's just league.


All that said though: if we're gambling*...f no. No way nuh uh. Also if he's a jerk then he is on his own even if it's a dumb league match.

*no, a cash return league is not the same as gambling, sorry.

It's funny, but if it was an NFL game, you guy would go ballistic if someone was "dogging" it, and "your" team didn't win the big game....

I mean, you care about it when you are gambling when it is only money... I mean, really, is losing a few hundo gonna change your life much ?

It's a highly competitive pool league, just like in a baseball league I play in... where we still take break up double plays... I'm not really sure how you can compete without trying to win..... Heck, we WIN nothing in the baseball league, and pay $350 per person to play in it each summer.....

Cause If I didn't want to compete, and I didn't want to win, I could just stay home and shoot with my neighbors, right?

 

[CreeDo]

Actually, as I think about this... I've changed my mind a little about it.
I don't mind helping them in most cases. For fun or in league.

But if I were playing for a lifechanging amount of money, I probably wouldn't lend them anything.
I don't want someone to win or lose based on equipment, but I also believe in the power of intimidation.

That intimidation factor is an aura you can cultivate. It makes the atmosphere more tense, less fun, a bit unfriendly... but it can help you win. So I'm going to politely decline to lend the other guy my bridge or jump cue.

It actually hits them twice - they may be forced to use substandard equipment, and a little unfriendliness may rattle them a little. That kind of edge is too much to pass up.

I don't believe in getting an edge at all costs, and I wouldn't do anything I felt guilty about (such as spitting on them, haha). But I don't feel any guilt about not lending equipment. It's strictly optional and there's nothing wrong with either choice.

 

[Spider1]

It's funny, but if it was an NFL game, you guy would go ballistic if someone was "dogging" it, and "your" team didn't win the big game....

I mean, you care about it when you are gambling when it is only money... I mean, really, is losing a few hundo gonna change your life much ?

It's a highly competitive pool league, just like in a baseball league I play in... where we still take break up double plays... I'm not really sure how you can compete without trying to win..... Heck, we WIN nothing in the baseball league, and pay $350 per person to play in it each summer.....

Cause If I didn't want to compete, and I didn't want to win, I could just stay home and shoot with my neighbors, right?

Did you really just equate your league game to an nfl game?

That's the exact mindset I was talking about.

If you were at nationals with thousands of dollars on the line, it would be understandable...but an in-house league? Please. It isn't hard to just not be a jackass. The guy used a bridge...oh horrors of horrors. If you lost that match, hell, if your team lost that week entirely, what are you out? Nothing. What would you gain? Self respect and the respect of others for not being a jerk. This really isn't so hard to grasp.

Leagues are supposed to be fun nights out with friends...just like bowling darts and the rest. It isn't your livelihood, it isn't your kid's lunch money...who gives a shit? It literally costs you nothing to be a nice guy. Trust me on one thing: everyone, Everyone hates those league guys who think every match is a war and every opponent their worst enemy. It takes all the fun out of FRIENDLY competition. Relax, have a good time...maybe make some friends. a meaningless pool match is nothing to get so worked up over you're angry about a teammate lending someone a bridge of all things.


Gambling is completely different. You're playing for cash out of pocket, not meaningless little two dollar trophies and bragging rights. Gambling is understood to be serious, and people take it seriously. In no way shape or form are the two comparable. One is a Recreational activity, one is for cash. If you want to compete so deadly seriously, start playing for money. Walk in there and start throwing cash out and you will get all the serious cutthroat competition you want.

 

[dougster26]

I've always been one to be prepared in anything I do. That said, if I was playing in a pool hall that didn't have a good bridge, I would buy a slip on head and keep it in my bag.

If my opponent asked me if he could use a piece of equipment that I had, I'd have to say I would. If the team that I play on had a problem with it then the team captain could address it with me. If the team, due to this action, did not want this to happen, then I would imagine it would be voted on and then the team would institute a rule on whether you could or could not lend equipment in the future. I would hope that they would vote in a positive light. The only negative that creeps into my thinking as to whether I would or wouldn't, is the "mooch" that never has anything and expects everyone to give him what he needs. However, the bridge is suppose to be available in a pool room and should be in good condition. Address the issue with the owner. Spend some money on some essentials or we'll take our business somewhere else.