Slow play

[maha]

a good tournament director will tell the slow players to speed up or they cant enter anymore. simple as that.

if he wont take charge then get a bunch of the players to tell him they are going to boycott it and see if he wants to lose his tournament .
or do what will certainly work but will ruin it for that day. have all those against slow play take 5 full minutes a shot until the director steps up to the plate.

 

[JC]

Slow players should be rounded up and sent to FEMA camps on boxcars. They are a pox on the game.

JC

 

[tashworth19191]

I shoot pretty fast most of the time and I played someone that would chalk there stick at least 10 times, walk around the table three times, stop and line the shot with their cue stick and before they would shot an easy shot. Then most of the time they would stand up and get a sip of their beer and start It over again.

What I did was time them and then I would take twice as long. Eventually the guy complained and I told him if he were to shoot based on a 45 second shot clock, I would agree to that, but if he wanted to take his time then I would also.

He then complained that he was trying to play me slow, because I was a better player and he thought it would throw me off my game. What a jerk...

 

[acesinc1999]

Just now watching the World Snooker Championship. Through 4 frames Ronnie O'Sullivan is averaging 15 seconds a shot. 4 frames completed in 45 minutes.

http://www.stream2watch.co/live-now...hampionship-snooker-2016-live-stream-april-17

My personal belief that this is the main reason why snooker is a successful spectator sport and pool........is not. Ronnie is faster than most but not by all that much. About twenty seconds per shot is probably about average. Re-watching many videos, I have pinned my own average at about 18 seconds. In my years playing snooker (and very,very little pool), I can say that when my opponent is a regular pool player and just the occasional snooker player, shot times are regularly 40 seconds or more and can often go over a minute.

Snoozefest.

 

[bes]

I quit golfing years ago when rounds went from 4 to 4.5 hours max to "often 6 hours". If I made the turn over 2.5 hours after tee time, I'd head to the parking lot. Once this happened way more than not, I quit playing. I liked golf, but waiting on morons was rough on my blood pressure.

I haven't played league in about forever (80's) due to shenanigans and slow play. The "known slow" teams and players were the worst - I'd dread even showing up.

A super slow player used to ALWAYS want to play me. Not sure why. He chased me for over a year wanting to gamble (cheap - and asking for weight). I avoided him for a long time, but got sick of dealing with him. I finally told him I'd agree to play, but only under the following conditions: a) he'd have to agree to pay 90% of the table time (probably still not quite "his share"), b) I'd pull up (regardless of the score) if I got too bored waiting on him, and c) he could only have the weight if he played with a shot clock (I think it was a minute - wasn't super fast). He declined and didn't bother me after that...

bes

 

[ctyhntr]

For those who are splitting table time, how about a chess clock app to keep track? At the end of your session, you each pay for your portion.

 

[KissedOut]

For those who are splitting table time, how about a chess clock app to keep track? At the end of your session, you each pay for your portion.

In some 3-cushion events in Europe they have used a chess clock type of timing. The nice thing about this, as opposed to a straight shot clock, is that a player can take the time he needs on a particularly tough shot because he is essentially "credited" with the time he did NOT spend on easier shots.

 

[GideonF]

My personal belief that this is the main reason why snooker is a successful spectator sport and pool........is not. Ronnie is faster than most but not by all that much. About twenty seconds per shot is probably about average. Re-watching many videos, I have pinned my own average at about 18 seconds. In my years playing snooker (and very,very little pool), I can say that when my opponent is a regular pool player and just the occasional snooker player, shot times are regularly 40 seconds or more and can often go over a minute.

Snoozefest.

Are these very occasional snooker players that slow playing pool or snooker? If it is snooker, it could in fairness be that they don't instinctively know the patterns and need to think it out (i.e., they could be quite fast if playing pool).

As to slow players, Peter Ebdon could certainly give Mike Wong a run for his money. Here is a funny video with a split screen of O'Sullivan's fastest 147 and Ebdon running twelve points!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aIeYootIKo

Gideon

 

[fastone371]

Slow players are time hogs --- whether they're doing it intentionally or just plain insecure, it's wrong --- particularly if they're doing it in organized competition.

In any organized event, there's an expected time frame. Depending on the event, the time frame could be very specific or just a range, but regardless, people who are known slow players should not compete in organized events until they learn how to pick up the pace.

I could not agree more. Its one thing walking around the table looking at a shot, its another thing when you see someone standing there holding the table up and not moving for 2 full minutes.

 

[acesinc1999]

Are these very occasional snooker players that slow playing pool or snooker? If it is snooker, it could in fairness be that they don't instinctively know the patterns and need to think it out (i.e., they could be quite fast if playing pool).

As to slow players, Peter Ebdon could certainly give Mike Wong a run for his money. Here is a funny video with a split screen of O'Sullivan's fastest 147 and Ebdon running twelve points!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aIeYootIKo

Gideon

Can't answer that honestly, only have seen the snooker not pool. To me, it does appear to be the common style among all of them so I would think it is the same for the pool. Very deliberate play. For corroborating evidence, I could watch professional snooker for days on end, but about ten minutes of any pool tournament and I am finished. I am better off to watch it on YouTube in the fast speed mode.

As for Peter Ebdon, he does that on occasion as a tactic to annoy his opponent. If you look at his record compared to which style of play he adopts, the tactic doesn't usually get him very far and he plays a much better game when he plays at a standard pace. And because of those shenanigans, he doesn't have the biggest fan base. If all professional snooker players adopted Ebdon's tactics, snooker as a spectator sport would be about as popular as pool.

 

[Poolhall60561]

I hate slow play, 75 min to play 5 games of 8 Ball is killing me.
I like a faster pace.

 

[HoustonInt]

I am always curious why is it ok to ask a slow player to shoot faster but it is not ok to ask a fast player to play slower. Each player is comfortable with their own pace and changing that pace results in more misses. Everyone says slow play is sharking but isn't it sharking the slower player by making them shoot faster?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Poolhall60561]

Slow play is not usually about shooting slow, it is about the time spent thinking about stategey or the position of the cue for every shot left on the table. I know players after every shot need to rethink the path of the cue ball for every remaining balls on the table, since they rarely get there intended position.

If you take time lining up your body or want to saw your fingers off that’s fine, just keep the time between your turn and getting down on the ball to a minimum.

 

[Swighey]

I hate slow play, 75 min to play 5 games of 8 Ball is killing me.
I like a faster pace.

I've had great sessions of 8 ball of well over an hour for 5 games. Also had great sessions of 12-15 games an hour. If I was so keen to get it over with quickly, I just wouldn't play - then I'd be free to carry on doing whatever else it was I was going to do.

 

[garczar]

You have to learn to fade it

WHY??? I'll play a slow player once and that's it. ALL fun ceases when playing a snail. Only time i MIGHT "fade it" as you say is if he's a complete sucker and i'm robbing him blind. Slow play is the main reason i quit league play years ago. Watching someone take ten minutes to run a 4 ball out is not my idea of fun.

 

[Brookeland Bill]

I have a player on my team that at times can be a very slow player. We were playing a team and one of the players on the other team we were playing blew up and made a fuss of his slow play. He was playing fairly slow that night, but he also ran 3 of his 4 tables so I feel it was justified.

I can sit and watch a guy play and stare at the table all night for all I care. I just hope to get a turn back on the table.

Does slow play get under your skin?

I don’t play league for that reason. It’s slow. I loose my momentum. It’s more about drinking beer than pool.

 

[ChrisinNC]

I have a player on my team that at times can be a very slow player. We were playing a team and one of the players on the other team we were playing blew up and made a fuss of his slow play. He was playing fairly slow that night, but he also ran 3 of his 4 tables so I feel it was justified.

I can sit and watch a guy play and stare at the table all night for all I care. I just hope to get a turn back on the table.

Does slow play get under your skin?

Slow play to the extreme, for leagues or for weekly tournament play is a very selfish act, which, particularly if that player remains alive in the tournament for a number of rounds will unnecessarily extend the night and the tournament for all players, the tournament director, employees, etc.

A tournament director, league director or league team captain needs to privately and confidentially speak to the player regarding their problem, explaining how it affects everyone and dampers the enjoyment of the night for everyone. Hopefully the person will try to make the effort to speed up some.

The two types of slow play are the player that takes too long to make a decision on what they plan to do before they start in to their pre-shot routine, and the player that has the extremely long pre-shot routine over the ball. A player that suffers from both these problems is the worst example.

It obviously seems worse if the slow player is a player who is not very good, but it really is less acceptable when it's a good player who is slow, because they are likely a more experienced player and really should know better than to be so slow, and could likely still play very well, maybe even better, if they picked up their pace.

Everybody has their own pace when they play this game, but just as in golf, slow beyond a point is a serious problem that must be addressed, for the benefit of everyone.

 

[Swighey]

I don’t play league for that reason. It’s slow. I loose my momentum. It’s more about drinking beer than pool.

That's fine. Don't play league and don't drink beer. Play only when you can keep your momentum and find your gear. Play in tournaments with shot clocks or in amateur tournaments with " shot clocks". But also please be honest. Nobody gives up league because their opponent (well one, or two, of them) plays slow.

 

[Rico]

Ask the owners of poolrooms ,slow play is encouraged .Those damm coin-ops are bad for pool.Watched Buddy play Dick Lane for 2hrs race to 9 . left at 5-4 .

 

[lorider]

I don’t play league for that reason. It’s slow. I loose my momentum. It’s more about drinking beer than pool.

This post is another case of painting with a broad brush an entire demographic set of pool players.

I will say I know about a half dozen players who I never see without a beer in their hand when they are not at the table. They are in the minority though.

I play on 4 teams and 3 of those teams has no drinkers at all on them. 1 team has 2 people that drink but I have never seen them drink more than 2 or 3 during the night.

I will admit that i drink a few during higher level league tournaments and my record in those tournaments attest to the fact that it does help my game. You can debate all you want about whether drinking helps ...in moderation... someone play better or not but the fact is some people do play better with a few drinks in them.