lost my cool tonight, maybe its time for a break?

Maniac said:
In leagues/tournaments where slop is allowed, there comes situations at times where the shooter has no decent shot so he/she takes a flyer at a ball (or cluster of balls) in the hopes of SOMETHING of theirs going in.
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I know, but I don't want to encourage him to continue with this victim mentality.
Slamming 'em can be done intentionally, but it's almost always gonna bite you in the ass.
Only 10% of the rails are pocket, the odds are against any ball finding that 10%.
Even if he does slop one in, he may have absolutely nothing to shoot at.

lorider should be considering himself lucky that his opponent has a stupid habit that makes him more beatable. If this guy played even a halfassed safety instead of hit'n'hope, he'd win more.
Despite this weakness, the guy won, which tells me lorider was outclassed.

He'll have an even harder time next time because the dude has an EZ Button to put rider on tilt... all he has to do is grin.
 
I was playing a 7 in 8 ball last night. In the second game, I had one severe cluster problem right at a side pocket with the 8 ball located a few inches in front of the pocket. I had to play very carefully and defensively to get these balls separated. I got that accomplished while putting my opponent in a rather difficult spot. He tried a high risk shot, went 3 extra rails and slid in the side pocket with CB and 8 ending up for an easy straight in shot. I should point out that for a 7, this particular players tends to hit the ball harder than I believe is necessary. Excellent shot maker, not as good with CB control.

He's up 3 to 2 and without going into all the details, loses the next two games to hand me the match by scratching on the 8. In one case, I had safed him, the other was when he got out of position after hitting a very difficult shot that gave him little chance of getting on the 8 ball. He tried what I thought were much higher risk shots on the 8 ball than he should have and scratched both times.

I share this because the same guy that benefits from slop seems to suffer 2x as often from sloppy play. It's just that you feel the pain more when that slop shot is the shot that beats you and forget all the screw ups your opponent makes, from their sloppy play, that result in wins for you. I also try to play a lot more safes when I'm matched with this type of player. Obviously, their style doesn't dictate a lot of thinking and precision. The safety play tends to drive them crazy. Nothing like getting the ball in hand and running out on one of the slop wizards.
 
CreeDo said:
lorider should be considering himself lucky that his opponent has a stupid habit that makes him more beatable. .
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Wait a minute, didn't you say [there is no such thing as a "lucky player"] at the top of this very page?!?

Just wanted to bust your balls a bit!:wink:
 
Maniac said:
In leagues/tournaments where slop is allowed, there comes situations at times where the shooter has no decent shot so he/she takes a flyer at a ball (or cluster of balls) in the hopes of SOMETHING of theirs going in. There is no intention of putting any ball into any intended pocket. The only result they are after is that they "get lucky" and get to remain at the table. So, the purpose is to slop a ball in (or, get lucky). This is where the terms of endearment such as "Spray-and-Pray", "Poke-and-Hope", and "Grip-and-Rip" come from.

IMO, slopping in a ball isn't done "on purpose", but the act of attempting to slop in a ball IS.

Maniac
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^^^ this

This sort of stuff can be infuriating. It has happened to me before, as well. There is one guy in our 9-ball league who will do this, and I admit that it annoys the crap out of me.

I know that I need to maintain my composure when playing him. Doesn't make it easy.

I'm thinking that next time I play him, I will take every opportunity to safe the shit out of him, if possible. :D

Hang in there, lorider. You are not alone. Fortunately, those sorts of players are few.
 
justadub said:
^^^ this

This sort of stuff can be infuriating. It has happened to me before, as well. There is one guy in our 9-ball league who will do this, and I admit that it annoys the crap out of me.

I know that I need to maintain my composure when playing him. Doesn't make it easy.

I'm thinking that next time I play him, I will take every opportunity to safe the shit out of him, if possible. :D

Hang in there, lorider. You are not alone. Fortunately, those sorts of players are few.
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Dub,

There was a guy who used to frequent a pool room in Rochester before he "retired" to slot machines. His favorite saying while playing was "where's the nine ball". He'd take off angle caroms. Ridiculous billiards. Four ball combo's. Once in a very great while, the nine would drop. He'd strut around the table with this grin on his face. He actually thought it was a perfectly well thought out shot. My neighbor played him for years. Rarely lost a set to him. Did me a favor though. Warned me not to play the guy. Might win a bunch of money but I'd wind up needing professional mental health care. Pretty sure my neighbor was correct!

Sad part was the guy could actually play some. He just chose to play in the manor I described.

Lyn
 
lorider said:
hill- hill match and my opponent just made his last ball and started walking around the table to pocket the 8 hanging in the corner, i slammed my stick on the table at the 8 ball before he had a chance to shoot at it. i have never done that before in my life, i think the shit eating grin on his face after he pocketed his last ball to get on the 8 is what really set me off.

now before all you start to bash me and telling me what you would have done if i had been playing you let me explain what led up to this incident.

this guy is a 5 the same as me. we are pretty even at playing pool. we both are about the same in pocketing balls, cue ball control, pattern play, even in all aspects except one " SLOP ".

HE IS THE LUCKIEST MF'ER I EVER SEEN WHEN IT COMES TO RESORTING TO SLOP SHOTS !! now i aint saying i have never made a slop shot in my life , heck we all have at one time or another but this guy is something else when it comes to slop.

please dont turn this into another apa bashing thread. i have stated on here many times that i really dont see much slop in my league from s/l 5's and up .....except for this guy and one other 5 in my league who is about as bad as him.

as i stated earlier he is a damn good shooter but he resorts to slop when he gets into trouble. he is capable of running out anytime with an open table without resorting to slop.

he made several slop shots tonight but 2 of them really got to me. then the shit eating grin after he made the last slop shot to get on the 8 when it was hill-hill really set me off. i did manage to shake his hand after i retrieved my cue but i did tell him he was too good a player to resort to slop while shaking it , and i managed to smile while saying it.:)

tonight was very uncharastic of me , like i said earlier i have never acted like that in my life over a game of pool, not even when gambling in bars in my younger years.
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You're not supposed to win all the time. Sure it hurts to loose. You also "get lucky"/slop balls in once in awhile, we all do whether it' s making a ball we hit bad or getting shape when we hit a shot incorrectly but still manage to pocket the ball.

The rules do not dictate that your opponent can only win the match by never slopping a ball in nor getting lucky on position.

You both play by the same rules.

Here's the tough love part. "You lost. Get Over IT. Use that frustration as fuel to practice harder and beat him next time. Don't let it get to hill hill." Ok the tough love segment is over.


Losing sucks if you're one of the people that is outcome driven when you're playing a game of pool. It comes and goes just like winning.

Good Luck to you and please report back when you beat this guy next. :)
 
The best thing you guys can do for your game (and your attitude) is stop calling it "slop" and recognize it for what it is. Random probabilities. Do you pitch a fit when a puff of wind blows you hat off or it decided to rain on you today? On the other hand do you assume that poker player just slopped everyones chips away? Pool is not a game of absolutes.

Buddy Hall did a video on safety play. Somewhere in the middle of it, he tells you sometimes you just blast at the balls and try to get lucky. Watch Efren, Earl or any of the pros. Sometimes they will kick at a ball and just smash it sending the object ball bouncing around all over the table. They don't know where it is going to end up. They are aware of the probabilities of something happening in their favor as a result.

Getting upset over a random event is a waste of energy. Not smacking a cluster when it is a free shot because that would be slop, is just plain foolish. I could go on about this but I think you get the picture.
 
when i got home from work i pulled up this forum and read all your replys. i thought it best to think about things before i replied.

so i went and took a shower and ate then just relaxed awhile and did some soulsearching.

my 1st thought was wow !

the replys ran from understanding, been there done that to some serious critisisim. i did not realize some of my posts come across the way they do. for that i apologize.

as i stated in my op i had never acted like that before and it really bothered me. there have been numerous times opponents have made slop shots and i just laughed about it, but this time i lost my cool and yea like some of you said i threw a tantrum.

next time i see last nights opponent i have to apologize to him also.

i want to give every one a you a heartfelt thank you for taking the effort and time to help set me straight.
 
lorider said:
next time i see last nights opponent i have to apologize to him also.

i want to give every one a you a heartfelt thank you for taking the effort and time to help set me straight.
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I have had a few people apologize to me that have acted similarly to what you did the other night and I just tell 'em "Hey, don't worry about it. I certainly ain't. Hell, it was in the heat of battle. It happens. Forget about it."

Makes us both feel better!!!

Maniac
 
Yo rider

the more you miss the greater probability of slop, so; shoot hard, miss a lot, work on your handicap n' let the good times roll:smile:
 
lorider said:
thanks dub. :smile:

yea we all have our days. just frustrated when i play one of my best games for naught.

what can you do when you face a guy that you play a good safe and he hits the cue ball 2 rails about 90 miles an hour , hits his ball that is behind three of mine and it goes back and forth across the table 3 times before falling in a corner pocket and he is straight in on a hanging 8 ?

another shot that got me , he is trying a long bank on his last ball and again hits the cue ball 90 miles an hour , his ball goes up and down the table 2 times then hits my last ball and his falls in the side pocket and again is perfect on the 8. this time his grin really got under my skin and i lost it.

now that i am calmed down a little i guess i can look on the bright side knowing i had him on the ropes and he was resorting to desperation shots. :grin:
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And his whole team starts hoopin an hollering clapping sayin "nice shot"


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. **roo$t@r**
 
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