I was doing so well and then...

Of course there is hope.

The more you play the better you get. The more league matches you play the more your nerves will calm.

I have played league for 13 years and remember my first match like it was yesterday. I was shaking like a leaf. It was 9 ball and I had zero idea about the scoring. I played a 6 and I was a 4 being new. I just barely beat him apparently. I was just shooting my game not knowing what was going on. I was hooked and eventually my nerves settled...

Keep playing if you like it. You tend to get better with time at competing. In the end it's all about having fun

You don't need hope, Juicy. What you need is a new Miracle cue from Steamer Cue Sports Ltd.
Why with a new Miracle cue in your arsenal you'll be an SL3 and one half in no time, be the envy of all your friends, and piss off your husband by beating him.
Remember: If you want to shoot straight, you need a Miracle. :smile:

P.S. Spend some time alone at the table doing some of the things we all talk about here at AZB. Run racks, play a ghost, put out a ball and make it and add a ball.
Practice makes perfect, dear. You'll get there.
Your friend Tramp.

There's always hope, just keep playing and having fun. :thumbup:

If I recall correctly from my brief sojourn into APA 8-ball, it is not coaching to yell "Mark your pocket!" Check the rulebook and if that's the case, you and your teammates should get the habit of doing that for each other.

Tramp Steamer said:

Run racks, play a ghost, put out a ball and make it and add a ball.

Click to expand...

Can't, I'm busy tonight.

I'm assuming by the tone of your post that you made the 8 where you ran out in the intended pocket. If so, I'd be ashamed to be the 7 that denied you the run-out based on not marking the pocket. In regular weekly play, we often disregard marking the pocket, especially when the intended pocket is obvious. I've had low ranked players run out on me against expectations several times, so I know it happens. The classy thing to do is try to hide your astonishment, congratulate them, and rack the balls, not argue technicalities.

Matt said:

I'm assuming by the tone of your post that you made the 8 where you ran out in the intended pocket. If so, I'd be ashamed to be the 7 that denied you the run-out based on not marking the pocket. In regular weekly play, we often disregard marking the pocket, especially when the intended pocket is obvious. I've had low ranked players run out on me against expectations several times, so I know it happens. The classy thing to do is try to hide your astonishment, congratulate them, and rack the balls, not argue technicalities.

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^

I only know a couple of people that would not give you the game on an obvious 8 shot if you forgot to mark in a regular league match.

Weren't you on here a month ago complaining about your league operator whose spouse had recently died following a long bout with cancer?

My advice to you is to quit pool.

Tramp Steamer said:

You don't need hope, Juicy. What you need is a new Miracle cue from Steamer Cue Sports Ltd.
Why with a new Miracle cue in your arsenal you'll be an SL3 and one half in no time, be the envy of all your friends, and piss off your husband by beating him.
Remember: If you want to shoot straight, you need a Miracle. :smile:

P.S. Spend some time alone at the table doing some of the things we all talk about here at AZB. Run racks, play a ghost, put out a ball and make it and add a ball.
Practice makes perfect, dear. You'll get there.
Your friend Tramp.

Click to expand...

I need to return my Miracle cue from Steamer Cue Sports Ltd. It has a huge sugar mark on the shaft!

If you're anxious while playing, it at least shows you're still interested. You can just cross one more sub-species of douchebag pool-player off your scavenger hunt list now.

Keep having fun, and if/when league ceases to be fun, take a break or quit.

JuicyGirl said:

A few weeks back we joined an APA Double Jeopardy team they play 9 ball and 8 Ball on Tuesday nights. All was well, I play as my mediocre SL 3 in 9 ball and as a SL 2 in 8 Ball.

My team chooses to put me up against a SL 7 in 8 ball. My lag is perfect, I break dry, he runs a couple of balls. Next I proceed to clear the table including the 8.....

Which I never marked!

He was furious (IDK why)! I just brushed it off and I tried again (almost did twice) but to no avail he played his safeties flawlessly. I put up a good fight and safeties, but eventually I succumbed to my anxieties. I lost 7-0 All the same it was my first time running out. It was NOT my first time failing to mark the f'kin pocket.

So even if my skills are just above bad, why do I even bother being in the stupid league, if: a. I let the anxieties get the best of me or b. I'm just going to slop the balls around the table like some Idiot!

Last summer I played 8 ball for a few weeks, it was terrible I won 1 match of the 8 I played and quit for 9 ball instead. This session I've played 3 times including this one. The first one I won 2-0 and rackless, the second I won 2-0. This was my third match in 8 ball but in all honesty it never crossed my mind that I would come close to wining against a 7... and I was sort of right.... okay and sort of wrong too.

Is there any hope for me here?

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Marking the pocket is such a bull shit rule it's not even funny. Just a way to lose, and technically still win a game. Only a coward would call that.

Hang in there girly! If your anxious that's a good thing. Playing league and getting nervous is good practice for when it really matters, like in action games, and tournaments. Being able to deal with your anxiety is HUGE in this game. I wish I got nervous in league play, then I would be able to practice controlling it. Now I have to gamble to get anxious, even then it's not always there. Just remember to try to learn every time you're at the table.

You'll get there. First run out is HUGE confidence booster. I remember mine. I ran my first rack playing 9 ball, and didn't even realize it until after I pulled the trigger on the nine ball. It felt so rewarding!!! That seems like decades ago, even though it was only just a few years.

You'll get there Loren, I know it!!!

best of rolls girly!

Justin

JuicyGirl said:

A few weeks back we joined an APA Double Jeopardy team they play 9 ball and 8 Ball on Tuesday nights. All was well, I play as my mediocre SL 3 in 9 ball and as a SL 2 in 8 Ball.

My team chooses to put me up against a SL 7 in 8 ball. My lag is perfect, I break dry, he runs a couple of balls. Next I proceed to clear the table including the 8.....

Which I never marked!

He was furious (IDK why)! I just brushed it off and I tried again (almost did twice) but to no avail he played his safeties flawlessly. I put up a good fight and safeties, but eventually I succumbed to my anxieties. I lost 7-0 All the same it was my first time running out. It was NOT my first time failing to mark the f'kin pocket.

So even if my skills are just above bad, why do I even bother being in the stupid league, if: a. I let the anxieties get the best of me or b. I'm just going to slop the balls around the table like some Idiot!

Last summer I played 8 ball for a few weeks, it was terrible I won 1 match of the 8 I played and quit for 9 ball instead. This session I've played 3 times including this one. The first one I won 2-0 and rackless, the second I won 2-0. This was my third match in 8 ball but in all honesty it never crossed my mind that I would come close to wining against a 7... and I was sort of right.... okay and sort of wrong too.

Is there any hope for me here?

Click to expand...

Just designate someone on your team to yell "mark the pocket!" at the appropriate time. That is not considered a coach.

JuicyGirl said:

YUP! click here for link
I've also been contacted by the APA and the LO. The LO was a few tables away from me last night. Also, the LO had nothing to do with the game last night. I screwed up a game of 8 ball, it doesn't matter what league or tourney it's on.

It's been said before this is an open forum regarding the games of billiards. Please feel free to block my user account if I upset you.
Regards,
Loren

ps. click on JuicyGirl, from the user profile page click "User Lists", then click "Add to ignore list"

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for the most part I have always enjoyed reading your posts because of the obvious enthusiasm you have for pool.

i remember posting in the thread you linked to and went back and re read the entire thread. t think i understand alstis post a little and not putting words in his mouth your posts in that thread showed a lil callous attitude regarding your lo's situation and probably struck a nerve with him.

your reply to his posts shows you have thin skin and are easily upset when some one does not agree with you. you could have just as easily ignored his post as you took the time to make your snide response.

as i said i have enjoyed your posts till now, don't turn into another jam where i have to use the advise you gave to alsti.

getting this post to the thread related topic i also have been a victim of not marking a pocket. it was a hanger in a side pocket and i was called on it by a captain who i thought i was friendly with. i got over it and you should too. yea i was a lil peeved at the time but its not a life altering situation.

OMG why would you give up pool!!!... and what would you do instead - not many games you can hang out, drink, engage in competition all indoors / year round. Your obviously too bright to join a bowling league unless you want to slum a bit *joking - don't come at me with those over sized bowling arms*

Marking the pocket is stupid.. lots of APA rules are stupid.. if the league norm is to enforce the rule then you enforce it and move on. Not my preference but I'd rather have an open table after I make a ball on the break and no one is giving me that either.

Oh and I love your post on how to ignore someone *classic* - great way to deal with someone wielding a flame thrower

As for Hope - maybe you should watch ShawShank redemption? Hope is deadly.. just give up and find peace with what you have. --ok actually screw that, kick and scream and fight and yes eventually you will get better. If you really want to advance take a few lessons and put in some minimal practice time. It is VERY hard to improve at pool when every single shot you hit is different from the last one. Your mental feedback loop of what went wrong tends to get overloaded and by the end of a rack you can't remember what you did wrong at the beginning. It makes the learning process very slow. Shooting the same shot 2, 3, 4 times helps you close that feedback loop and improve but if your basic mechanics are flawed it can still be a slow process (was it my aim that was wrong or my stroke). A good instructor can greatly speed up the process but even with that it all comes down to time and effort.

Your a 2 - you play like a 2 - your team needs a mix of skill levels - being happy at a 2 and just having fun is fine as well. If you look at it from the perspective of what you bring to the team and not at how you play in an individual match you may be able to enjoy playing more (unless you are just driven to compete - in which case see above).

Good Luck,
Craig

I mentioned taking a lesson but reading a book helps. My wife did this when we were dating in college and improved her game over a week without touching a table - it was immediately obvious and surprising.

As for drills - if you can only shoot one drill shoot a straight in shot where after each make you move the cue ball and object ball further apart (if you miss you make the next shot easier). Shoot the shot as a stop shot where you have to use a bit of low english to make the cue ball stop in place. I've read this is good for beginners but I'm a 7, an A player and an instructor and I still do this all the time. You get a ton of information when you shoot a simple, straight, stop shot. Is the cue ball spinning after the shot? - you must have hit some left or right english unintentionally. Did the object ball go into the pocket or to the left or to the right - possible aiming issue. After the shot while you are still down in shooting position - is your cue stick pointed straight at the pocket - if not you have a stroke / stance issue. 10 minutes done each week will help you improve.