Is it time to play one pocket??
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yes you can be a good player without gambling. but you wont progress well as you will never have the competition and knowledge shoved down your throat. with gambling and pressure and its fun you do get better quicker.
if you want to stay home and work hours on end getting to shoot better 9 ball thats one thing. you can do that.
if you want to stay home and work hours on end getting to shoot better 9 ball thats one thing. you can do that.
Dang, and you’ve been ducking me for yearsI do not go to pool rooms. I have a table. The rooms that I was going to had guys that would play cheap sets and I be would ok with that. Would be fun for a few hours with a small wager. I'm not looking to make money ..just something to make it interesting. Would gladly pay for time and maybe a snack. That's just me. To be honest I have reasons for not playing for cash. I'm 100% content doing what I have been doing and will say again and again to newbies that gambling is not required to become a good 1player.
I did play set with Karen Corr and game or 2 with Joanne Parker... I was doing great for 3 innings
Duck? Did you mean Submarine. Duck you? I changed my identity. Hey seriously you would be taking advantage of a senile 1p impersonator. Plus you would have to play me 5 pockets to 1 and pockets on the table next us….Dang, and you’ve been ducking me for years
The only 1p I’m playing you is bumper pool… and you can break
I have seen you play...I'm staying away from you...and if you knock on my door I'll have a restraining order issued.
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Problem is, my knowledge of the game is lacking. Not my skills. You let me out, I'll get out. I want to learn the nuances to the shots. All the defensive shots one hole is known for, that at present I lack.
The higher level players all think I'm trying to hustle them bcuz they see my stroke in other games I enjoy.
Betting more won't get me the game I need. Convincing these guys I'm sincere when I say my one pocket game needs work will.
I don't mind paying for the lesson. If you get me.
I'm lacking in some of those areas. Especially the patience part.
I was hoping to hear from you lou.
I believe my skill level will carry over. What I need is the mindset, the strategy part of one pocket is what I'm lacking. I have to ability to go 3 rails and leave someone behind a ball, straight pool has giving me the ability to read a rack, but is that shot at that time, the right choice?? If that makes sense??
The few times I've played one pocket, I tried to get out from the get go. I quickly found that was foolish. I tried to force the rack to comply rather than profit from my opponents mistakes. Every time I went for what I thot was a good shot, I left the other guy open if I missed. I need to apply the double position I've learned playing over the years to this game. Easier said than done, I'm afraid. In 14:1 many of the shots you make have the thot built in that if you miss, you leave the other guy tough. Locked up or long or over a rail, something. I found this difficult in one pocket, don't ask me why. Diff game I guess. I know there's a standard set of shots in one pocket that all good players know and make. This I need.
This is what I lack.
Patience is a virtue in One Pocket. You have to be willing to bunt the balls around for many innings before the right opportunity arises. Duck, duck, and duck some more!
There are certain basics that many players don't know. I worked with several Pinoy players to help them improve their game.
I even taught Efren a shot, which delighted him.
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Come visit me and you'll learn a few tricks of the trade.
ok but why?
I also came to 1pocket from a 14.1 background and trust me: you do not, yet, have the skill set for 1pocket.
It's just a different kettle of fish. I've been playing it now for about 30 years and am still learning the skill set, lol. But you are correct about having the right mind set -- it's something that shifts based on the table, opponent, and vagaries of your own game. It's the hardest skill to arrive at. BTW, something you said about the higher skill players seeing your stroke and being concerned about being hustled reminded me of what the local 1pocket guys said to me when I first moved to STL and began to learn 1pocket: "I can't give you more than a ball or two because you shoot so straight." lol. Then every 1pocket player in the room proceeded to rob me for about the next two years.
Lou Figueroa
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Just a comment about gambling and 1pocket: every shot you need to weigh the potential benefits and penalties of how well you execute.
IOWs, it's not just about getting safe or making the shot -- it's about how deeply you put your opponent in the doo-doo and whether you make the ball and put yourself in position for another or a killer safety. AND, you need to prove to yourself you can do it in a live fire situation.
Just as at poker, the game loses it's worth if you can go all to an inside straight because you're playing for match sticks or pennies.
Lou Figueroa
IOWs, it's not just about getting safe or making the shot -- it's about how deeply you put your opponent in the doo-doo and whether you make the ball and put yourself in position for another or a killer safety. AND, you need to prove to yourself you can do it in a live fire situation.
Just as at poker, the game loses it's worth if you can go all to an inside straight because you're playing for match sticks or pennies.
Lou Figueroa
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That's the exact scenario I'd like to avoid, if possible!!!
Thank you Lou for pointing it out. You said it in a consise and more eloquent manner than I ever could.
Matchsticks break easily and pennies aren't copper anymore. Going the way of the dinosaurs, so that's out
Banks...
I can bank.
I avoid them whenever possible. I don't use them as a crutch when faced with an extreme cut angle. I'll cut the paint off a ball, as evidenced by anyone who's seen me play. That being said, how much will using banks that often change how I play other games?? Or my game in general. I've seen players win at one pocket by getting close. Approximations. Then waiting for the inevitable mistake by their opponent.
I'm hesitant.
I'm afraid I'll get sloppy. Those precise cuts will vanish, only to be replaced by banks I will have learned by playing one pocket all the time. Has anyone else noticed something like this in their game??
I didn't phrase this very well.
Let me rephrase...
One pocket involves banks and safeties predominantly.
The very things I've tried to avoid while playing. My ball selection over the years has developed a sort of double position requiring me to rarely make safeties. I don't like them and don't play many. It's not a part of my game as such. I'm happy with how I play. I'm concerned that one pocket will change my outlook and alter how I approach playing. Perhaps I've matured as a player and this is the next step in my development.
Idk.
Just not sure if I want to change my philosophy on playing to that extent. I want to keep the fire, that drop and fire attitude that served me so well in the past.
Perhaps I'm just not well suited for one pocket.
qolbrand
Well-known member
You need time on the table staring at situations and finding solutions. You need a fairly good player as an opponent to put you in those situations and to show you why your solutions are no good at first.
If only there was a patient one pocket player there in St. Louis who could spar with you.
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qolbrand
Well-known member
if you don’t find the game attractive but still want to find a reason to play it, think about all the skills that it will force you to develop that can help your other games.
its like a never ending two way shot drill, with a lot of touchy finesse shots. this is helpful for a 9ball player that likes to stroke the cue and run out.
you kick a lot. you bank a lot. you learn multiple rail banks. you are forced to use your noodle.
play a couple hours of 1p and then come back and tell us if your banks are feeling more “on”