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Bigshot

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Is it possible to improve significantly (25 Fargo points or more) once you get a little older and have had the same game for a long time?
I’m in my upper 50s and have been playing competitively for 35 plus years. Im about a 650 fargo which is very competitive but lately have been working hard to improve but not having much success. Not sure it is possible to improve a lot once you hit a certain stage of life. Thoughts?
 
Thanks for the input-
Eye sight hasnt changed much in past decade
Try to be a student of game so I put a good amount of practice in.
always respectful no matter if I lose or win.
 
Bigshot said:
Is it possible to improve significantly (25 Fargo points or more) once you get a little older and have had the same game for a long time?
I’m in my upper 50s and have been playing competitively for 35 plus years. Im about a 650 fargo which is very competitive but lately have been working hard to improve but not having much success. Not sure it is possible to improve a lot once you hit a certain stage of life. Thoughts?
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There's always time... dips in form... purple patches... I talked with Dennis Orcullo about this once in a long taxi ride. He mentioned his 'pulse' felt different sometimes, and that as you get older it needs more training.

I second the eyesight test... we often don't notice, or we accommodate our vision without noticing its deterioration. Actually, even at a younger age we can accommodate poor eyesight into our game, and blame everything else, or make technique adjustment to further accommodate and ignore it, instead of solving the problem.

I am considering laser eye surgery, but a little scared of it. I don't have really bad prescription, but wear glasses. I play without them (hate frames in the way, or eyesight going in and out of focus). Cannot wear contacts. I am still unsure, but am still improving my game and can visibly see my improvements. If it were not the case, I would perhaps pull the eyesight thread a little more myself.

I never considered eyesight a problem when I was knocking in 50+ breaks on the snooker table, but as I get older, I do feel like I could have played and enjoyed snooker to a higher standard if I wasn't such a pig-headed idiot about my vision, and considered it a factor as to why I was not progressing further. My father is still knocking in 100+ breaks in his mid-50s. So, I had the resource of playing with someone on that higher level, but do feel I could have capitalised and not limited myself if I considered the factor of eyesight earlier. Age isn't a limiting factor until your body starts to do things it shouldn't...

But even then, I used to play with a guy who had 'trembles' (I think it developed into Parkinson's), but he would shake fiercely until the moment before his shot. He was making 50+ breaks well into his 70s, even with the shakes.
 
Fargo has a problem because ratings never go down.

I've cited how players had outdated ratings.

Fargorate is better as a skill progression tool, not a general rating assessment.

Imagine someone plays 600, why would they drop to a 400?

The decay of pool skill is real, but does not show in the fargo system, because that math was not designed for it back then.

How long it takes to achieve a high fargo, will sound like selling an addiction to upgrade to a black belt at the McDojo.

Absolute measures, did they make the nineball are more important. Or did they choke?
 
Bigshot said:
Is it possible to improve significantly (25 Fargo points or more) once you get a little older and have had the same game for a long time?
I’m in my upper 50s and have been playing competitively for 35 plus years. Im about a 650 fargo which is very competitive but lately have been working hard to improve but not having much success. Not sure it is possible to improve a lot once you hit a certain stage of life. Thoughts?
Click to expand...

Can you improve another 25-50?

Short answer: yes.

Lou Figueroa
70 and still improving
 
iusedtoberich said:
No, not possible IMO.
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Curious on your thoughts as to why?
It may be difficult, with hurdles that maybe didn't exist to the younger self. I would say the biggest one being self-doubt.
But I see progress possible at all ages in a sport like pool. It's not like sprinting 100m :)
 
Bigshot said:
Is it possible to improve significantly (25 Fargo points or more) once you get a little older and have had the same game for a long time?
I’m in my upper 50s and have been playing competitively for 35 plus years. Im about a 650 fargo which is very competitive but lately have been working hard to improve but not having much success. Not sure it is possible to improve a lot once you hit a certain stage of life. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
A series of lessons from a reputable instructor combined with puting in a lot of hours, hard work and meaningful practice, would give you your best shot.
 
ChrisinNC said:
A series of lessons from a reputable instructor combined with puting in a lot of hours, hard work and meaningful practice, would give you your best shot.
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agree, anything where you can see where you start, and easily measure progress (however small).
 
What we lose from aging is often compensated by what we gain, The issue, in this case, is how these losses and gains translate into one's pool game. Much pool ability is simply talent -- a gift from the gods which cannot be attained or acquired. Experience, another essential asset, can be acquired, but requires sacrifice in other aspects of one's life. What you are seeking is never as simple as a change in your glasses rx. Pool, like everything, begins with innate ability and ends with the discipline required to hone and properly apply your talent. Ultimately, the answer to your question is the same as the answer to many of the great questions. What do you have, what do you want, what will you give to get it?

If it is really what you want, find an epicenter of pool and take a deep long plunge.
 
Biloxi Boy said:
What we lose from aging is often compensated by what we gain, The issue, in this case, is how these losses and gains translate into one's pool game. Much pool ability is simply talent -- a gift from the gods which cannot be attained or acquired. Experience, another essential asset, can be acquired, but requires sacrifice in other aspects of one's life. What you are seeking is never as simple as a change in your glasses rx. Pool, like everything, begins with innate ability and ends with the discipline required to hone and properly apply your talent. Ultimately, the answer to your question is the same as the answer to many of the great questions. What do you have, what do you want, what will you give to get it?

If it is really what you want, find an epicenter of pool and take a deep long plunge.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more. Very well put.
 
He's a 650 fargo, which is a top local player, he's been competing for decades. He's probably seen and done everything there is to do in pool. Pool is 90% hand eye coordination. 90% mental is a big BS. You can tell how good a player will be quickly when they start out. In very rare cases do experienced players noticeably improve. A 50 point fargo difference is at least the 7 ball spot. Can anyone here give the 7 to a guy they played even with 10 years ago?
 
iusedtoberich said:
He's a 650 fargo, which is a top local player, he's been competing for decades. He's probably seen and done everything there is to do in pool. Pool is 90% hand eye coordination. 90% mental is a big BS. You can tell how good a player will be quickly when they start out. In very rare cases do experienced players noticeably improve. A 50 point fargo difference is at least the 7 ball spot. Can anyone here give the 7 to a guy they played even with 10 years ago?
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Maybe I am having too much of a 'dream big' mentality?
Hand eye co-ordination is important, as is functional muscle memory and how this operates under pressure. I was speaking with Martin Kempter about missing sitters when he was in Shanghai. Seems it happens to everyone in the right mental contexts.

I agree with you to some extent, yes I think that natural talent exists, it's plain to see in many sporting contexts. But I feel both of these things you discussed (co-ordination and mentality) and more can be improved upon. It's all relative. It all comes down to how we limit ourselves, how our environment limits us, how are equipment limits us, how our opposition can limit us, and how our mindset approaches all of these variables.

Don't think there's a one size fits all, but I agree with you that the likelihood of making that kind of improvement is reduced compared to players in other contexts. Wish OP best of luck at working on his game :)
 
lfigueroa said:
Can you improve another 25-50?

Short answer: yes.

Lou Figueroa
70 and still improving
Click to expand...
Lou you and I have met a few times. Even played a little 3C.
I am also still improving, in my mid 60's. The art of pool just makes more sense to me now.
We need to play sometime for $hits and giggles and get it streamed!
Maybe Ray Hanson? Or Black-Balled, I don't think he streams but it would be a hoot.
 
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