Who Is Our Real Opponent?
- Thread starter Biloxi Boy
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Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
Deja cue all over again , , , I was just thinking this. If we are to consider the effect of psychology on pool competition, then what an opponent brings to bear is de minimus compared to our own mental machinations.
What I enjoy in match play (not bar bangers, Good players) is when my opponent feels his lead is comfortable and it probably is, BUT when matters reverse and I start taking control and come back, their body language changes, it's Different in each animal.
And when you're in close quarters with another 2-legged animal for an hour or so in a 16x20 area, you begin to understand that person pretty well, like poker players.
Their actions are very visible to me, even tho they are subtle.... opponents never like to show weakness, if they do it improves their opponents' game.
And when you're in close quarters with another 2-legged animal for an hour or so in a 16x20 area, you begin to understand that person pretty well, like poker players.
Their actions are very visible to me, even tho they are subtle.... opponents never like to show weakness, if they do it improves their opponents' game.
Stroke-play golf maybe but not match-play. In match play what your opponent does has a huge effect on how you play. whether to lay-up safe or go for it totally depends both the tally on each hole as well the overall score. Match-play is as much a mind-game as a physical one. Short,straight hitters that putt good often beat players that are much longer hitters. Putting is everything in match play. You hole a 50ftr for par can make the other guy's knees weak.
How about darts? This would be particularly true of the countdown games such as 301 but the tactics in cricket are more or less analogous to safety play in pool.
At golf, I think even if you are playing Tiger, how you play each shot isn't going to change much. Your goals remains the same: to finish the round in the fewest strokes you can and to finish the current hole in the fewest strokes possible.
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
Happened to me this weekend. Learning a lot more about sitting in the chair as each day goes by hahaLose the lag and watch your opponent run out the set, and you might think they were a pretty huge part of the equation.
Couldn't it be said that the opponent is the scoreboard along with any inner demons floating in the skull?
Match play in golf is a completely different animal than stroke play. If in a match play tournament and you're one up headed to the last hole, which is a long par 5 with water everywhere, you'll definitely be playing that hole differently if your opponent is Tiger or an 18-handicapper.
I have to nit pick a bit, but I actually disagree with this premise...even in stroke play. The ultimate goal in a golf tournament should be to finish the tournament with the fewest strokes compared to everyone else...not in the "fewest strokes you can".
Jean Van de Velde's famous collapse at the 1999 Open Championship is a prime example that the main goal is NOT to finish the round in the fewest strokes as possible...
i feel this, im never worried about the other player just can i keep my mind from going all over the place with insecurities and getting upset thinking im better than them
when i play new people i play well and with a sense of "mindlessness", as in idgaf about anything thats going on never focusing on anything or one and just kind of like oh ok its my turn at the table. as opposed to playing people im familiar with and not being able to function mentally as well.
Pro golfers play to optimize their own score and ignore the field, for the most part, with two big exceptions:
1. On Friday towards the end of their round, if they’re near the cut line, they will optimize to make the cut. This could mean either more aggressive or more conservative play than normal.
2. On Sunday, they will optimize to place as high as possible, which again could mean either more aggressive or more conservative play than normal. For example, a player standing on the tee box of a par-5 18th in the last group with a 2-stroke lead will typically play more conservatively than his fellow competitor who needs an eagle to tie him. Another example: a player on the same hole currently in a 5-way tie for 11th will play aggressively for birdie.
You’ll hear a few players say they never look at the leaderboard, but it’s rare, and if they don’t chances are their caddy does and it informs their advice.
snookered_again
Well-known member
I'm not at a high level but I feel that playing almost anyone is practice and enjoyable and practicing alone is very helpful to improve skills but boring . I think it's similar to exercise. Something like weights or a stationary bike.. That would bore me instantly, and I'd just walk away from it.
a construction project would not be boring, even digging a hole, so long as it's something productive. Sure , if you are pro level and all "serious" then you may only want to play other players of similar skills.. I'm honored to play others who are better, but even if they are so terrible that they are just basically rearranging the balls for me, then I can still try my best, Maybe not put emphasis on the score.. For me , I find it's less mundane practice by playing anyone, than some sort of "drill"
a construction project would not be boring, even digging a hole, so long as it's something productive. Sure , if you are pro level and all "serious" then you may only want to play other players of similar skills.. I'm honored to play others who are better, but even if they are so terrible that they are just basically rearranging the balls for me, then I can still try my best, Maybe not put emphasis on the score.. For me , I find it's less mundane practice by playing anyone, than some sort of "drill"
It can vary who or what we are playing against. I had been working in a dry county, not even beer nearby for a week. I liked beer, Tom T Hall level liked beer. I was downing a six pack or two after each stop headed back to my home 125 miles away. I decided I wanted to hit a ball. There were some bars on a side highway I had never stopped at but with three or four of them they were bound to have a table in there somewhere.
I stopped and got in a game with the local god. Not just pool, you knew this younger man had been the high school football and baseball star, basketball too. He was IT in this small town. Friday evening early, the place had maybe thirty or forty people in it. The people tending bar, the people stocking, every set of eyeballs in the place locked on the pool table. They cheered every shot my opponent made. They jeered and laughed anytime things weren't perfect for me.
There were plenty of times I could have faded that kind of heat and did. That wasn't the time and place though and I got back on the road to more laughter!
If a stranger was playing me in a place that had a few gaffs like a dark room and huge entrance door that swung open into bright sunlight, whatever, you could be pretty sure I would bring the environment into the game when I got a chance. No more than had been done to me on more than one occasion. Knowing your battlefield doesn't mean just knowing the table.
The one person in the place that isn't my opponent is me. Like coddling a girl that doesn't play pool playing scotch doubles, I am choosing the shots I am playing well that day. If cross side banks are falling like rain I don't hesitate to include them in a run. Jaw a couple of them and only the very easiest will be included. That might actually be long fine cut shots or whatever I am weak on that day. I'm taking the best care I can of myself.
Hu
I stopped and got in a game with the local god. Not just pool, you knew this younger man had been the high school football and baseball star, basketball too. He was IT in this small town. Friday evening early, the place had maybe thirty or forty people in it. The people tending bar, the people stocking, every set of eyeballs in the place locked on the pool table. They cheered every shot my opponent made. They jeered and laughed anytime things weren't perfect for me.
There were plenty of times I could have faded that kind of heat and did. That wasn't the time and place though and I got back on the road to more laughter!
If a stranger was playing me in a place that had a few gaffs like a dark room and huge entrance door that swung open into bright sunlight, whatever, you could be pretty sure I would bring the environment into the game when I got a chance. No more than had been done to me on more than one occasion. Knowing your battlefield doesn't mean just knowing the table.
The one person in the place that isn't my opponent is me. Like coddling a girl that doesn't play pool playing scotch doubles, I am choosing the shots I am playing well that day. If cross side banks are falling like rain I don't hesitate to include them in a run. Jaw a couple of them and only the very easiest will be included. That might actually be long fine cut shots or whatever I am weak on that day. I'm taking the best care I can of myself.
Hu
You can make big coin off that guy, if you make him bet his ego. Hurt his pride so the only way to save face is w money. As I'm sure you're aware Hu, be careful how far you take this tactic. Guys like that have a short fuse when their 'Kingship' is placed in jeopardy in front of the crowd. Fortunately, I'm huge and this has always worked in my favor.
Less intimidating folks might reconsider this action. From an old worn roadie who's been there, done that. If I reply or post on here, rest assured I'll be straight and won't exaggerate things just to make myself appear better. Or something. Lol.
You can make big coin off that guy, if you make him bet his ego. Hurt his pride so the only way to save face is w money. As I'm sure you're aware Hu, be careful how far you take this tactic. Guys like that have a short fuse when their 'Kingship' is placed in jeopardy in front of the crowd. Fortunately, I'm huge and this has always worked in my favor.
From an old worn roadie who's been there, done that. If I reply or post on here, rest assured I'll be straight and won't exaggerate things just to make myself appear better. Or something. Lol.
On top of everything else the old nine footer in this place was in horrible shape. Huge rips in the cloth and broken cushions, bare cushions and bed in places, normally a table I wouldn't play on and he knew every gaff there. As for fighting, I would have hated to. He topped me maybe four inches and was very athletic looking. I was alone he had about forty backers that might join in when convenient, grabbing an ankle or just a cheap shot from the side. I usually cleared out the person or people closing in from the side before starting with the main guy after having someone I knew well get sucker punched from the side. He ate through a straw for months. Worked perfectly crossing a punch over a few times, somebody closing from my right, I came across my body with a left that decked them then my body and right hand were cocked to hit my main opponent with one of those shots that come from the toes up. Thing was, I had worked all week, I just wanted to relax and go home and I still had a long drive home.
I did try him again a week or two later. In anything like normal circumstances I should have beaten him. Things went much the same. OK, this is getting ridiculous. I am just going to buy one six pack and sip it on my way to that bar. What is more, I had learned a good bit about conditions on the table and in the bar. I laid my plans, I think the third time would have been the charm. Then I thought about it. Not considering the crowd, he had defended his kingdom fairly twice. Did I keep coming back until I beat him then disappear? My day project was almost over and I would rarely if ever have passed by that bar again. It seemed a little no class to beat him a time or two and then he never get a chance to even the score. He had successfully defended his kingdom twice if not by much. It seemed like enough.
Hu
My compliments to the chef Hu!!
Not many have the common sense or humility to let sleeping dogs lie, etc...
I like how you say he 'Defended his kingdom - twice - successfully'.
By reading the condition of table, general conception of the establishment, etc... sounds to me like his kingdom left much to be desired!! More like King Turd of Crap Mountain!!
Classy walk away Hu!!
Respect!!
My compliments to the chef Hu!!
Not many have the common sense or humility to let sleeping dogs lie, etc...
I like how you say he 'Defended his kingdom - twice - successfully'.
By reading the condition of table, general conception of the establishment, etc... sounds to me like his kingdom left much to be desired!! More like King Turd of Crap Mountain!!
Classy walk away Hu!!
Respect!!
He was definitely the king of a small kingdom. My cousin was the same in a small town less than fifty miles from there when I think about it. The high school basketball star of a small town of maybe a few thousand or less. It was cause for excitement for a few years when the caution light in the middle of town was changed to a redlight, the only one for miles around! Then the highway department took the redlight away for some reason.
Chris was the real deal, NBA teams scouting him in high school. Unfortunately trying out a friend's motorbike with his girlfriend on back got one leg shortened several inches and among a lot of other things ended any NBA dreams. Fortunately the girl wasn't hurt and they are still married over fifty years later. The whole town knew my cousin and he was treated like a celebrity everywhere he went by people of all ages.
This guy was obviously the same. Had I beaten him it would have been like mighty Casey striking out in Mudville. We were playing for the usual few dollars a game, maybe five, I really don't remember but almost certainly three or five and I was very highly paid on this project. Had I lost real cash the king would have had to die, figuratively of course.
Hu