"Beer window" fact or fiction, some interestting evidence

poolguppy

poolguppy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I didnt come across any posts about this while browsing but im sure its been discussed. Personally, I am a 100% believer in it. Have a few cases as evidence, first being me, I always seem to get in the zone after some beers, and coincidentally one of my best competitors and I were going at it and he only drinks black coffee while playing at the bar. I lost a couple games early on after only a pint or two from scratching, but the table was mostly cleared for both of us. Then soon he would be left with a couple balls on the table, and by the end of the night he and anyone else playing had average of 5-6 left, ( playing 8 ball, and im not to the point where I often get a table run) this was around 8 pints down for me, and against 5 different guys I held the table 12 games in the window of 7-9 pints, and walked home when everyone else quit playing, and I definitely had more to drink than anyone else playing that night, I was there about 5-6 hours. this has happened everytime I stick around for more than a couple pints there. Even shooting with my second to oldest brother who has his own table and has some tournament wins, I was around 6 buds (wich btw, Is not my choice in beer) and shooting great, he was on 16 buds and still kicking my butt until 3 am when he started falling asleep while playing haha

Now second story, my older brother dosent shoot pool much, but he is surprisingly good, he also dosent drink. The first night I got him too have a couple rum and cokes (hes an absolute lightweight 135lbs and never drinks) he was shooting like he's never shot before, or ever since. He never bought the beer window concept, but now he admits there might be something to it. Ive seen a LOT of people saying alcohol numbs the mind and will only make you shoot worse but you'll be too "drunk" to realize it, so your guys' turn. Any good evidence for or against? Or in the end is it just a person to person case? im tempted to even do my own tests between me and a worthy opponent taking turns drinking on different evenings leaving the other sober to see if there's an obvious trend after a dozen evenings over a month
 
Depends on the person

I think this is all about how you usually play. If you only ever play pool while drinking, you will probably play better while drinking than sober.

If anxiety or tension are issues for you, a few drinks may help to loosen up your stroke and possibly play better.

I do feel that the positive effects are short lived, which is why you don't see any top players drinking alcohol during long tournaments.

I am currently trying to get accustomed to playing sober. It is tough because I almost always played while drinking before. Some days do not go very well, but some days while sober I start 'feeling' it and I think I play at a slightly higher level than I did when I was in the 'beer window'. I'm hoping these days will come around more often as I get more and more used to this thing people call sobriety.
 
Alcohol doesn't make you any better at pool. While we are at it, it doesn't make you any better at darts, bowling or golf, either.

While it may hinder your thinking enough that you think you are playing better, it doesn't actually help you play better.

Anyone who truly believes that alcohol helps them play better pool has action from me anytime!
 
shipper said:
I think this is all about how you usually play. If you only ever play pool while drinking, you will probably play better while drinking than sober.
QUOTE]

On this note, I started playing when I was 17, and was a good boy and didn't really drink until I was 21, and I felt the first time I played pool with some beer was an incredible experience, but on your other point, It could also be that I am an anxious person with a lot of stress and social phobias and beer just helps me think less and therefore focus better, wich also, I have my own welding shop and I had to work really late one night so was having some beers while working, came back in the morning, all my welds from that night were better than an average day for me without, wich could just back up the idea that its a personal basis type thing
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I think the point about anxiety and relaxing has some merit. Of course, every individual is different, so a blanket "it helps" or "it hinders" cant be correct.

I like to have one beer when i get to the room for league, since I've just come from work with no wind down, and work is stressful these days. After that, I hold off until I play, and then I nurse one throughout my match. It's taken some time to discover that balance for me. Others won't figure it out, or won't care to.

I have seen players that couldn't stand up, they were so drunk, and they shot the lights out. Not prescribed for most, but again, everyone is different.
 
Drinking doesn't make you better at anything. It only makes you think you're better at everything. :)
 
Mikey Town said:
Alcohol doesn't make you any better at pool. While we are at it, it doesn't make you any better at darts, bowling or golf, either.

While it may hinder your thinking enough that you think you are playing better, it doesn't actually help you play better.

Anyone who truly believes that alcohol helps them play better pool has action from me anytime!
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I hear that a lot, but that's all I hear, I never hear personal experiences to go along with it like how well they play after alcohol, do you actually tend to lose more? or do you just think alcohol makes you stupid so you don't try. whether you "think" you are doing better or not, winning and losing isn't in your mind, when I drink, I win. I have played friends who I often play when they were the designated driver and stuck with one pint, and getting there butt whooped by me after my 3 pints in an hour, when we most always go back and forth. and then vice versa when im the driver. You can accredit that to "on and off" days, but to me there's and obvious pattern when looking back, and that's not just my imagination. Im not talking slobbering drunk here, obviously your game will go downhill if you have too much. I don't play darts, but I do throw knives, my furthest target hit (twice in a row in fact), around 30ft, was after about 3 pints. been trying ever since, can hardly get it to stick at that distance, and never on target. I find that interesting
 
justadub said:
I have seen players that couldn't stand up, they were so drunk, and they shot the lights out. Not prescribed for most, but again, everyone is different.
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that's the type of experiences for or against I was looking for :) and im not saying its the alcohol that "makes you better" your being able to focus makes you better, and I think the majority of people out there can benefit from a beer or two to focus on one thing at a time, obviously this dosent include driving, because pool and some other games don't require reaction time, wich has no uphill when drinking lol
 
Yeah

I get it that you guys that don't drink play well when you are sober. Or maybe you do drink sometimes, whatever. Just saying drinking does not make you better at anything is silly. If drinking makes you feel better, then it probably will make you play/perform better- especially when doing things that might give you anxiety when sober.

Do you think an alcoholic who drinks every day would suddenly play better pool if he was forced to be sober for a couple days? I think he would play like sh*t while his body is having withdrawals. So in that situation, how can you say alcohol wouldn't make him play better?

Alcohol is a drug. Some people use it instead of regular prescription medications for a variety of issues. If someone just stops taking their anti-depressant medication after months or years of regular use, do you think they would be able to do anything better while their body is trying to get used to living without their meds?
 
i can state several cases where i do shoot better when i drink.

ist example. i quit drinking a year ago . last summer when i was drinking i was an apa 6 with a 67% win record. since i quit drinking i have went back down to a 5 and only have a 46% win record for last session.

every one that knows me says i play better when i drink.

take the last 9 ball tri cup for example. i was playing a 7 in the last match. after 2 racks i was down 18-2. while racking the 3rd rack i heard my name called. i looked up and saw a teamate walking to our table with a beer in her hand and said it for you buddy. i started laughing. i downed that one and by the 3rd one i won 38-33.

i did not drink any more till we went to vegas. i was on my 2nd jack and coke when i played my 1st match. i won 38-4 against another 5.

my 2nd match the next day the same thing. i won 38-10.

my 3rd match i played a 7 and was down 18-0 before i ever got to the table. after i started shooting i scored 36 to his 37, i lost by 2 points after being down 18-0.

i dont care who you are , thats darn good shooting in my book against supposedly the best in the nation when you go to vegas.

my last match i was not drinking . i lost to a friggin 3 25-9. it was one of those matches where he did not miss anything a 3 should make and when he did n miss he left me shit. i just could not make banks and kicks sober like i did when i was drinking in my earlier matches.

i played the best i have ever played in my life in those 1st 3 matches. i honestly dont think i would have played at that level had i not been drinking.

in retrospect i dont think drinking makes you play better, i think it helps quell negative thinking . at least in my case it seems so.

when i drink i dont think ... if i miss this shot, or if i dont leave the cueball where i should my opponent will probably win. when i drink i am thinking... i am going to make this shot like i have a 1,000 times before.

disclaimer. you gotta know when to say when. drinking too much will make you look like a fool.:wink:
 
poolguppy said:
Have a few cases as evidence
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I bet you have! Seriously though...

Saying drinking doesn't make you play better I absolutely understand and agree with. Here is my opinion however... Some people have performance anxiety which negatively affects their play and drinking overcomes their psychological negative handicap by lowering their inhibitions.

While saying drinking makes you play better is untrue (in my opinion), saying that drinking can take away a factor that makes you play worse is completely reasonable (once again, in my opinion).

Unfortunately, you are walking a razor tight wire in this situation, as the drug that lowers your inhibitions to make you play "less worse" will eventually impede your ability and make you play much worse. If you can walk that wire, congrats to you ... Fast Eddie sure had issues with it. :)
 
You want another case?

I didn't start drinking much until I started playing pool in a bar that serves a damn good drink for cheap. Sure, I could shoot real well here and there, but there were plenty of times I could say the opposite.

I had an idea that I could play well sober. After losing most of my $700 from a tournament last year, I gave myself a month off of drinking. Boy, do I have much more consistency stone cold sober. I play on average better, can grind out a game playing smart without the alcohol making me shoot and I find a higher gear more often and for longer periods of time. I'm no monster, but I can tell the difference.

If you want to learn this, just find somebody you begin to beat when in this drunken zone and then keep playing them when you've had as much to drink.
 
For sure Alcohol will blow away a few nerves. However;
What you gonna do when you have a match that starts at 9am?

Face your fears directly and sober - mho

Ultimately, as long as you enjoy losing as much as you enjoy winning, whats the problem? :thumbup:
 
For the early matches for APA nationals in Vegas, I was waiting at the beer counter when they opened. That's what you do for a 9 am match, silly!

I wanted to be more consistent, so I stopped drinking while playing when it mattered to me. If I'm at a club or bar with friends, I see how much I can drink before I can't beat the bangers. Most times it doesn't happen simply because the skill difference is too large to gap, even at my mediocre level of play.

I buy into the theory that it blocks out some of the conscious decisions we try to make while we should be shooting. Self-doubt and second-guessing shot selection or position routes is my biggest issue, so if I drink enough to take that away I feel like it helps. Like I said though, I stopped drinking while competing so I could gain that confidence through consistency. That, and I woke up on the ground in a park after a league night.
 
IMHO the only thing that drinking helps with is with the women...you have heard of a "12-pack" girl haven't you? :eek:
 
For me beer gets me to step away from the table and to slow down. When I'm down I get wound up and shoot worse knowing that I need x amount of matches or points more then them. If I walk away and take a drink it slows my mind down. This works for me with any drink though as I'll get my first beer when I play.
 
Bella Don't Cry said:
For sure Alcohol will blow away a few nerves. However;
What you gonna do when you have a match that starts at 9am?

Face your fears directly and sober - mho

Ultimately, as long as you enjoy losing as much as you enjoy winning, whats the problem? :thumbup:
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That's why God invented coolers.
 
decent dennis said:
That's why God invented coolers.
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They were actually invented by Dale Cooler III, people always assumed it had something to do with
the word "cool" but they originally were intended as hatboxes for large gatherings. Eventually people noticed
that their snowy head coverings stayed snowy throughout the party, and someone thought
it might be a good idea to chill a drink in there, and thus the modern cooler was born.

As far as the beer window... pool is hugely affected by mood and psychology (probably like
anything else). If you think you need something to shoot well, and you worry that you're
gonna play like crap without it... then that's probably what will happen.
Your brain will subconsciously sabotage your shooting as long as you're worrying about it.

People get superstitious about a lot of things, not just their "warmup beer"
- some people swear they can't shoot with a different/new cue,
or a long practice period, or without their lucky socks.

IMO the fewer crutches a player has, the better. Maybe one guy in a thousand has a legitimate
anxiety disorder that beer helps. The other 999, there's no reason you can't shoot great sober.
 
its a misnomer to say beer makes you play better i guess, a crappy player isnt gonna be a good player after drinking, obviously, but i absolutely know the difference in playing after some drinks, and thats not even close to enough to "only think your playing better", and ive only been past my window once, and i realized my shot was done for very quickly. But, as i start playing better players more often and get my confidence solid, it will be interesting to see if beer makes no difference if i come to a table already confident i will win, but like Creedo mentioned about the anxiety's, i happened to be one of those in a thousand, seriously i cant do big crowds, concerts, crowded movie theaters , cant do em, so maybe thats the only reason im a beer window believer
 
CreeDo said:
They were actually invented by Dale Cooler III, people always assumed it had something to do with
the word "cool" but they originally were intended as hatboxes for large gatherings. Eventually people noticed
that their snowy head coverings stayed snowy throughout the party, and someone thought
it might be a good idea to chill a drink in there, and thus the modern cooler was born.

As far as the beer window... pool is hugely affected by mood and psychology (probably like
anything else). If you think you need something to shoot well, and you worry that you're
gonna play like crap without it... then that's probably what will happen.
Your brain will subconsciously sabotage your shooting as long as you're worrying about it.

People get superstitious about a lot of things, not just their "warmup beer"
- some people swear they can't shoot with a different/new cue,
or a long practice period, or without their lucky socks.

IMO the fewer crutches a player has, the better. Maybe one guy in a thousand has a legitimate
anxiety disorder that beer helps. The other 999, there's no reason you can't shoot great sober.
Click to expand...

Didn't know that about Cooler, lol, I thought it kept beer cooler. About the rest of what you said....perfect.
 
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