Does Anyone Ever Get to the Point of Saying...
- Thread starter lfigueroa
- Start date
This brings to mind my conversation with a friend (Dave) from Washington. We met at the Vegas CSI event. He had just won the ratings handicap event. He weighed in around 650. I said, "The good news is my Fargo is 550. The bad news is I have earned it." 
Hey sometimes I can get inspired and play to a higher elevation. Playing for recreation is the goal. Our high school football coach taught, "We play to have fun. It's easier to have fun when we win."
Anyway the conversation with Dave was while waiting for the draw for the Mini tournament. Shure enough I drew Dave. He had to go to 5 and I needed only 3. I felt honor bound to get to 3 first and did. Dave knew me when my Fargo was 630.
Hey sometimes I can get inspired and play to a higher elevation. Playing for recreation is the goal. Our high school football coach taught, "We play to have fun. It's easier to have fun when we win."
Anyway the conversation with Dave was while waiting for the draw for the Mini tournament. Shure enough I drew Dave. He had to go to 5 and I needed only 3. I felt honor bound to get to 3 first and did.
Dave knew me when my Fargo was 630. And that is why we keep playing. Chasing the feeling of playing our best again and again.
Excellent question!!
Happens very rarely and it never lasts, especially the older you get. When you get to my age (67) the best you can hope for when it happens (once in a while), is to enjoy it and feel the satisfaction that sometimes you still have it in you to play like the old days, even though you know it’s very short-lived.
Yes. Every week. Then once every 6 months or so I’ll convince myself I can get better, give it a real go, and end up where I started.
I asked my Father once, "when I would get better?"
He said "when you get tired of racking." Apparently my ability was surpassed by my stamina.
About six months ago I was in a room with around 20 friends and family around. There was a Valley 7 ftr that I had recently rebuilt with Penguin rails and Simonis cloth. Two on the rail were wanting to bet who was the better player between myself and my son. We play about even, he is improving quickly and I am on the slide.
The bet was $600. I fell into dead stroke for the first time in years. Ran five games in a row at 9 ball in a race to 7.
It’s those times that keep me going. Everyone was impressed including myself.
Such a cool feeling when you don’t hear, see or feel anything around you but the table.
The bet was $600. I fell into dead stroke for the first time in years. Ran five games in a row at 9 ball in a race to 7.
It’s those times that keep me going. Everyone was impressed including myself.
Such a cool feeling when you don’t hear, see or feel anything around you but the table.
I'm 71-1/2 years old. Having had two shoulder surgeries, back surgery, and after all that, I had a stroke (brain clot) three months before my 69th birthday. I am currently wolfing down ten prescription pills a day. I was pretty much playing some of the best pool of my life until the stroke happened.
I can now confidently say that my best pool is behind me. Because of my poor stamina, I fully expect it to get worse before it gets better
I can now confidently say that my best pool is behind me. Because of my poor stamina, I fully expect it to get worse before it gets better
g0ds gReeN
Active member
Ultimately, that's the day I stop playing.
Flakeandrun
Well-known member
I’ve beaten some of the best players I’ve faced while not playing my ‘best’ game. Played my ‘best’ game and lost to lesser players.
I find it a tough question to answer. But I have definitely walked away and said to myself ‘couldn’t do much more than that’ - walked off saying ‘what the F was that?’ Plenty often too.
I find it a tough question to answer. But I have definitely walked away and said to myself ‘couldn’t do much more than that’ - walked off saying ‘what the F was that?’ Plenty often too.
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During Covid I played every day. Easily can say I am another 50 points higher from it. Might have been close to a 600 for a minute. But once life resumed. Completion resumed. Playing maybe a few times a week resumed, I can easily say I’m not where I was then. I expect a roller coaster ahead of me with some peaks and troughs. But I don’t know if I expect to get back to that level. Especially with where my professional and family life are right now. Maybe later on when my daughter is older and maybe I retire. I want to hit balls but I am finding other priorities in life and I’m okay with that.
Biloxi Boy
Man With A Golden Arm
Don't matter. Everyone I run into plays better.
I was playing against the 1 guy in my area who I felt if he played his best game I couldn’t beat him in apa. We were playing apa 9 ball. Both are 9’s and had to goto 75 . Our match took less than 20 mins . He beat me 75 to 68 . I missed 1 ball. The only thing that was stopping either of us was an empty break where the other would run a rack or 2 then the other would do the same. We were playing so fast and Smooth that the score keepers were complaining we needed to slow down but we were both in dead stroke. I walked away from that match not even the slightest bit upset I lost. I said to my wife that’s the best I can play lol I still look at it as 1 of my favorite apa matches.