Am I too hard on myself?

Tommy-D

Tommy-D

World's best B player...
Silver Member
> Even though I haven't been playing much for an extended period of time,I've been playing a little more lately. I hate the pool room here,but have no other choice unless I want to drive to the next town to play on something other than a bar table,so I've been in there several times recently. When I play there,if I don't have an opponent,I play the 10-ball ghost. As much as it hurts me to admit it,I can't beat it,and a couple times recently,I left the place not only sweaty from the rainforest-like conditions,but down on myself because even though ran out several times in each session,I still lost. I feel like a player that does it consistently is a threat to beat pretty much anyone a set here and there in tournament play,which is fine with me. The problem is that I haven't beat it yet in 11 tries,playing 8 aheads,and it gets to me deep down,that even though I might be killing everyone within a 20 minute drive in any direction,that my speed might get laughed at in some places. I'm sure there are known pros that will flat out tell you that if you can't beat the 10 ball ghost,you can't beat anyone that can really play,and I hate the sound of that. Am I taking it to personal,or trying to hold myself to too high of a standard without putting in the time it demands to play that well? Tommy D.
 
"I'm sure there are known pros that will flat out tell you that if you can't beat the 10 ball ghost,you can't beat anyone that can really play,and I hate the sound of that."

"it gets to me deep down,that even though I might be killing everyone within a 20 minute drive in any direction,that my speed might get laughed at in some places."

Those are some serious paranoid delusions, pal. Put away your cue and seek professional help.
 
I do the same thing. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with holding yourself to very high standards, I think its the only real way to improve. You can break it up into smaller chunks and deal with your ultimate goal in stages though. Figure out what you can do consistantly, and go from there. If you can beat the ghost in a 3 ahead game..... work on beating him in a 4 ahead. When you can do that 5.... etc.
The biggest issue people face in improving at anything are plateaus. You hit a level of play, and you feel like you are stuck there. To move past it, you have to take an introspective look at why you are sticking. Is it lack of desire, is it lack of competition that can put pressure on you, lack of practice time etc etc etc. Then you make up your mind, and fix what is causing the plateau. Your game goes up a notch, you learn something you didnt know about yourself, and you are better prepared to handle the next plateau.
When I was playing hot and heavy, I didnt play the ghost... for me, the ghost was Earl Strickland. Same thing, but for me putting a name and a face to the concept pushed me farther. In my mind an imaginary Earl would run out if I missed the same way the ghost does, but there was the added pressure of not wanting to piss Earl off with bad play on my part...... :D .
No matter what you are feeling now though, you have to constantly reevaluate what you are doing right, and what you are doing wrong..... you already know you are not putting in enough practice time..... so start there. :)
Chuck
 
Too hard? How about not hard enough!@# Get back out there and work.:rolleyes:
 
Its tough to do comparsions of your own game in an area where you dont get a lot of competition. Also, I would hate to measure my game against the 10 ball ghost. The best way for you to get better and have a real comparison is to get to those real pool rooms as often as possible and play these people. I have played against competitors who cant beat the 10 ball ghost but can really play well because of jam up safeties or knowledge of the table. Playing the ghost is a decent measure but not always accurate. If I was you I would invest the time and the resources to get to the "next town" if you want to improve and assess your game. Sounds like you have the heart and desire...hell, i probably need weight!
 
so you can't win a pure aggresive game of ten ball . . .

So you can't win a purely aggressive game of ten ball more often than not. Ever watch the "Legends of Pool" shows on TV. I would bet that few if any of those guys could beat the ten ball ghost by the time that the were shooting there. I'd also bet that most of them could still beat most players like a rented mule if they got on a table with them.

Shot making is great but it surely isn't the whole game. Even Efren acknowledges that he isn't as good today as he once was. He may not be the shot maker he once was. What he is now is a hell of a lot smarter and craftier. I suspect that the Efren of today would beat the Efren that was the best shotmaker over the long haul. There is a lot of room for defensive play and craft playing another player, none when playing the ghost.

Trying to beat the ghost is fine but I wouldn't obsess over that one thing.

Hu


Tommy-D said:
> Even though I haven't been playing much for an extended period of time,I've been playing a little more lately. I hate the pool room here,but have no other choice unless I want to drive to the next town to play on something other than a bar table,so I've been in there several times recently. When I play there,if I don't have an opponent,I play the 10-ball ghost. As much as it hurts me to admit it,I can't beat it,and a couple times recently,I left the place not only sweaty from the rainforest-like conditions,but down on myself because even though ran out several times in each session,I still lost. I feel like a player that does it consistently is a threat to beat pretty much anyone a set here and there in tournament play,which is fine with me. The problem is that I haven't beat it yet in 11 tries,playing 8 aheads,and it gets to me deep down,that even though I might be killing everyone within a 20 minute drive in any direction,that my speed might get laughed at in some places. I'm sure there are known pros that will flat out tell you that if you can't beat the 10 ball ghost,you can't beat anyone that can really play,and I hate the sound of that. Am I taking it to personal,or trying to hold myself to too high of a standard without putting in the time it demands to play that well? Tommy D.
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Yes, you're too hard on yourself.

Dude, there's no place other than a professional tournament where your speed as you described it would be "laughed at". If you can't beat the 10-ball ghost, then you probably shouldn't turn pro. But if you can run out a rack of 10-ball multiple times in a set, then you're a good player. If you want to know you can beat players near and far, then you have to get out and try them some, instead of holding yourself up against exaggerated claims about who can and can't beat the 10-ball ghost.

-Andrew
 
Dhakala said:
"I'm sure there are known pros that will flat out tell you that if you can't beat the 10 ball ghost,you can't beat anyone that can really play,and I hate the sound of that."

"it gets to me deep down,that even though I might be killing everyone within a 20 minute drive in any direction,that my speed might get laughed at in some places."

Those are some serious paranoid delusions, pal. Put away your cue and seek professional help.
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Do you enjoy insulting people?

Do you get off by annoying people?

Do you play pool or have you spent your entire life getting your degree in wordoligy?

Is your DADDY's name LARRY?

Can you run 3 fookin balls?

If you think the person who started this thread has " problems " don't bother sending him contact info for your shrink....it looks like your not getting your money's worth. Best to ya and have a zen day
 
TOMMY,

Still workin your day job in addition to your cue manufacturing endeaver?

Have you had a chance to play 8 to 10hrs p/day for at least 5yrs since we talked? Keep in mind that the majority of "champions" have had at LEAST one such period in their development.

IMO your skill level is off the chart in view of how much you play. Hang in, Adam
 
ribdoner said:
Do you enjoy insulting people?
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I've never insulted anyone. Some have taken their own insults. Some even take insult on behalf of others.

Do you get off by annoying people?
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No, I prefer to get off by having sexual intercourse.

Do you play pool or have you spent your entire life getting your degree in wordoligy?
Click to expand...

I practice Zen Cueism, which has as much in common with "playing pool" as theology does with Sunday school.

Is your DADDY's name LARRY?
Click to expand...

Close... Leonard.

Can you run 3 fookin balls?
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Not while they're fookin. The feng shui of fookin balls is inappropriate to running.

If you think the person who started this thread has " problems " ...
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I believe that's what he told us in his original post. They're just not the problems that he imagines he has.

Best to ya and have a zen day
Click to expand...

Why, thank you! PM your mailing address and I'll send you one of these!
 
Dhakala said:
"I'm sure there are known pros that will flat out tell you that if you can't beat the 10 ball ghost,you can't beat anyone that can really play,and I hate the sound of that."

"it gets to me deep down,that even though I might be killing everyone within a 20 minute drive in any direction,that my speed might get laughed at in some places."

Those are some serious paranoid delusions, pal. Put away your cue and seek professional help.
Click to expand...
That is just piss-poor irresponsible advice. Who are you to advise profesional help when you are so troubled by your own behavior?
 
ironman said:
That is just piss-poor irresponsible advice. Who are you to advise profesional help when you are so troubled by your own behavior?
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I believe it's you who is troubled by my behavior. I am in Nirvana! :D

It's funny how a clinically accurate diagnosis like, "paranoid delusion" is "irresponsible," while common vulgarisms such as, "You're nuts!" are not.
 
Tommy-D said:
> Even though I haven't been playing much for an extended period of time,I've been playing a little more lately. I hate the pool room here,but have no other choice unless I want to drive to the next town to play on something other than a bar table,so I've been in there several times recently. When I play there,if I don't have an opponent,I play the 10-ball ghost. As much as it hurts me to admit it,I can't beat it,and a couple times recently,I left the place not only sweaty from the rainforest-like conditions,but down on myself because even though ran out several times in each session,I still lost. I feel like a player that does it consistently is a threat to beat pretty much anyone a set here and there in tournament play,which is fine with me. The problem is that I haven't beat it yet in 11 tries,playing 8 aheads,and it gets to me deep down,that even though I might be killing everyone within a 20 minute drive in any direction,that my speed might get laughed at in some places. I'm sure there are known pros that will flat out tell you that if you can't beat the 10 ball ghost,you can't beat anyone that can really play,and I hate the sound of that. Am I taking it to personal,or trying to hold myself to too high of a standard without putting in the time it demands to play that well? Tommy D.
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Don't feel too bad, 8 ahead is pretty tough especially with 10 ball. Everybody gets those days where nothing seems to drop. I've seen pros have those days.

Just keep working at it. Try to forget about your past attempts, they don't matter. The more you think about failiure the tougher the game gets.
 
DHAKALA,

Don't bother sending links----forums are full of wordoligists and people incapable of original thought who specialize in forwarding the thoughts of others.

Has zen cuism allowed you to develop enough flexability to have intercoarse with yourself? Have you tried? Think about it...then all you would need would be your delusions, substanance and keyboard. Again, have a zen day

We R done---no more food from the doner
 
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ribdoner said:
DHAKALA,

Don't bother sending links----forums are full of wordoligists and people incapable of original thought who specialize in forwarding the thoughts of others.
Click to expand...

I'll have to try "wordoligist" on my Scrabble partners. :rolleyes: The thoughts of others are routinely forwarded in "books". Look up that noun yourself, sometime.
 
Tommy-D said:
> Even though I haven't been playing much for an extended period of time,I've been playing a little more lately. I hate the pool room here,but have no other choice unless I want to drive to the next town to play on something other than a bar table,so I've been in there several times recently. When I play there,if I don't have an opponent,I play the 10-ball ghost. As much as it hurts me to admit it,I can't beat it,and a couple times recently,I left the place not only sweaty from the rainforest-like conditions,but down on myself because even though ran out several times in each session,I still lost. I feel like a player that does it consistently is a threat to beat pretty much anyone a set here and there in tournament play,which is fine with me. The problem is that I haven't beat it yet in 11 tries,playing 8 aheads,and it gets to me deep down,that even though I might be killing everyone within a 20 minute drive in any direction,that my speed might get laughed at in some places. I'm sure there are known pros that will flat out tell you that if you can't beat the 10 ball ghost,you can't beat anyone that can really play,and I hate the sound of that. Am I taking it to personal,or trying to hold myself to too high of a standard without putting in the time it demands to play that well? Tommy D.
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Eleven tries? ROTFLMAO!!!!! When I'm in dead stroke now the ten ball ghost is easy for me, twelve is possible. But I was seeded in pro tournaments before I could beat the 10-ball ghost consistently and it took me way, way more than 11 tries to get 8 ahead.

Didn't Shawn Putnam say after winning a big tournament a while back that he had just started practicing 10-ball? The top guys will kill the 10-ball ghost, but that doesn't mean it's easy. It's hard to get good information. The top guys don't want to tell you how good they are and no one wants to say how bad they are. Lot's of people can win a short set when they're on. Eight ahead is no joke. You're trying to play above a 909 accustats for a long period of time, with more than 9 balls on the table. It's hard. Easily good enough to win 9-ball matches against top players.

You will be a threat to do more than win a match or two when you master 10-ball, even in easy conditions. You still might not want to gamble with Corey or Alex, so if that's what you mean by someone that can really play, you might need to find a closer table, lol!

unknownpro
 
Dhakala said:
I believe it's you who is troubled by my behavior. I am in Nirvana! :D

It's funny how a clinically accurate diagnosis like, "paranoid delusion" is "irresponsible," while common vulgarisms such as, "You're nuts!" are not.
Click to expand...

Nirvana? Good for you?!
Who are you to diagnose someone as "paranoid Delusional". This is a clinical term. You're nuts, as you should be well aware, is a slang term.
 
> For those that had something to offer in a positive manner,thank you. Rib is the only one here pretty much that has seen me play on more than one occasion,he'll probably tell you he would back me in that game if it was based on effort alone.

Here are my thoughts on the other guy. I'm not going to argue with you over this,you can think what you want and offer unsolicited,worthless advice about whatever you think my "problems" are. I have two really simple questions. One,can you beat that game? With you being a Zen Master,you probably can,and that also means you only sleep when you're tired and eat when you are hungry,right? My other question is are you hungry? If so,eat a d*ck,if not wait until you are,then partake. Tommy D.
 
Tommy-D said:
> For those that had something to offer in a positive manner,thank you. Rib is the only one here pretty much that has seen me play on more than one occasion,he'll probably tell you he would back me in that game if it was based on effort alone.

Here are my thoughts on the other guy. I'm not going to argue with you over this,you can think what you want and offer unsolicited,worthless advice about whatever you think my "problems" are. I have two really simple questions. One,can you beat that game? With you being a Zen Master,you probably can,and that also means you only sleep when you're tired and eat when you are hungry,right? My other question is are you hungry? If so,eat a d*ck,if not wait until you are,then partake. Tommy D.
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Good Job!!!!!
 
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