Can you be too smart to play good pool?

hang-the-9 said:
Yes, likely that too. But on the other hand, the lower level league players, low Bs, Cs, tend to be less educated / less smarter (yes the two may not be the same, but you can tell when someone is dense or not LOL). The less educated may play as much as the more educated but they don't get to that same level of knowledge and/or skill and it will likely take them longer to reach that same level.

I think there is a innate curiosity in those that go after more education and are smarter, which causes them to grab all the information and technique that they can from anything, not just pool. And if those players get into pool, they can get to a decent level, only stopped by their ability to line up the shot properly due to eyes, whatever, and how long they can spend playing.
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I would have to agree with all of this... except for the use of "less smarter." ;)

People of higher intellect can grasp ideas, strategies and concepts more easily. This is a huge advantage in billiards, and it can allow a highly intelligent person to get to a higher level more quickly than someone who has a harder time with learning those things.

You then get to a point where knowledge isn't so much the problem, and executing those strategies and concepts becomes the key. When it comes to execution, repetition is your teacher. Someone who is mentally gifted will be less likely to put in the table time needed to hone their execution simply because they have so many other options. If you are able to do many things at an above-average level, it's hard to concentrate on just one of them... especially if the other things bring you joy, as well.
 
John Brumback said:
I think so. I also think that it pays to be dumb,or at least act like it.

I even came up with a saying for it,that I tell some people when I'm trying to help them.

" your too smart to learn " and the other one..." your too smart to ever play good pool"

I have never in my life seen or heard that you even have to know how to read or write to play high level pool.

I've seen it my whole life. People that can't read or people that can't walk and chew gum at the same time can play world class pool. ( yeah I know,they just practiced more than you did,well duh!! is what I say to that)

I have come to the conclusion that being or acting too smart will KEEP YOU from ever getting good at this simple game of knocking balls into a hole with a wooden stick.

This game is not complicated unless you want to make it complicated.
It's so simple.....a caveman could do it.;) John B.

PS: I've just been reading so much hogwash on here that I just can't help myself from trying to save some pool players from alot of the Bull shit that will keep them from ever getting good at this ever so simple game.
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I haven't read any of the answers but probably, yes. You can try to be so perfect in a game that has so much freedom you can play yourself into a corner. Pool can be a very loose game, always evolving with many ways to accomplish the same thing. I also agree, pool is not at all a hard game.

Until my junior year in high school I was always on the honor roll. Not because I was so smart, although I am not dumb. I discovered early on that the demands of public school was quite low. Basically just doing what was asked of you was about all it took and they think you are a genius. I noticed that was the case with all honor students, they just did the work. I should mention I went from honor student to drop out in my senior year. You want to guess why? I did get a GED though.
 
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John Brumback said:
I think so. I also think that it pays to be dumb,or at least act like it.

I even came up with a saying for it,that I tell some people when I'm trying to help them.

" your too smart to learn " and the other one..." your too smart to ever play good pool"

I have never in my life seen or heard that you even have to know how to read or write to play high level pool.

I've seen it my whole life. People that can't read or people that can't walk and chew gum at the same time can play world class pool. ( yeah I know,they just practiced more than you did,well duh!! is what I say to that)

I have come to the conclusion that being or acting too smart will KEEP YOU from ever getting good at this simple game of knocking balls into a hole with a wooden stick.

This game is not complicated unless you want to make it complicated.
It's so simple.....a caveman could do it.;) John B.

PS: I've just been reading so much hogwash on here that I just can't help myself from trying to save some pool players from alot of the Bull shit that will keep them from ever getting good at this ever so simple game.
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So that's my excuse:)

Dale
 
John Brumback said:
I think so. I also think that it pays to be dumb,or at least act like it.

I even came up with a saying for it,that I tell some people when I'm trying to help them.

" your too smart to learn " and the other one..." your too smart to ever play good pool"

I have never in my life seen or heard that you even have to know how to read or write to play high level pool.

I've seen it my whole life. People that can't read or people that can't walk and chew gum at the same time can play world class pool. ( yeah I know,they just practiced more than you did,well duh!! is what I say to that)

I have come to the conclusion that being or acting too smart will KEEP YOU from ever getting good at this simple game of knocking balls into a hole with a wooden stick.

This game is not complicated unless you want to make it complicated.
It's so simple.....a caveman could do it.;) John B.

PS: I've just been reading so much hogwash on here that I just can't help myself from trying to save some pool players from alot of the Bull shit that will keep them from ever getting good at this ever so simple game.
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That's pretty spot on John
<~~~~~~~~ never had a problem with being too smart :cool:
 
pdcue said:
So that's my excuse:)

Dale
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I know you are being funny but seriously, I haven't seen anyone who could not raise their game to a level where they are one of the best where they play. Or one of the best in their area and even state. Playing well is very attainable for the person with an interest.

Most who don't play well year after year don't really care. Or at least not enough to put in the extra effort it requires. But with that effort, anyone can play well.
 
This game is not complicated unless you want to make it complicated.
It's so simple.....a caveman could do it.;) John B.

I am a whole lot better at pool just reading this!!!:smile:
 
John Brumback in the thread title said:
Can you be too smart to play good pool?
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John Brumback said:
I have never in my life seen or heard that you even have to know how to read or write to play high level pool.
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No. Smart people can play good pool.

Correct, you do not have to know how to read or write to play high level pool.

Hopefully you can start to understand that both smart people and not-so-smart people can play good pool.

BTW, I also agree that many make the game too complex for themselves.

Dave
 
also

not sure how it fits into "smarts", but being able to visualize in three dimensions and having a keen spatial relativity are also key to upper-level play... it is something that some people have and others don't, but I don't know that one "learns" how to see into the future.... it is hard-wired. There are plenty of smart people out there with no ability to visualize.... but I think all of the really good pool players have this capacity, smart or dumb.
 
John Brumback said:
I think so. I also think that it pays to be dumb,or at least act like it.

I even came up with a saying for it,that I tell some people when I'm trying to help them.

" your too smart to learn " and the other one..." your too smart to ever play good pool"

I have never in my life seen or heard that you even have to know how to read or write to play high level pool.

I've seen it my whole life. People that can't read or people that can't walk and chew gum at the same time can play world class pool. ( yeah I know,they just practiced more than you did,well duh!! is what I say to that)

I have come to the conclusion that being or acting too smart will KEEP YOU from ever getting good at this simple game of knocking balls into a hole with a wooden stick.

This game is not complicated unless you want to make it complicated.
It's so simple.....a caveman could do it.;) John B.

PS: I've just been reading so much hogwash on here that I just can't help myself from trying to save some pool players from alot of the Bull shit that will keep them from ever getting good at this ever so simple game.
Click to expand...


No, I don't think so, John.

Being smart never hurts and some pool players are wicked smart, others not so much. The things is, for some guys the game comes to them very naturally and very easily. For other guys it takes work. For the rest, they'll never get it no matter how hard they try.

I believe it is very hard for the guys for whom the game comes naturally to understand just how crushingly difficult it is for the rest of us.

Lou Figueroa
 
I've always like the quote (variously attributed to both Will Rogers and Mark Twain):

"We're all ignorant. Just in different areas."

Arnaldo
 
Cameron Smith said:
It's not about being too smart, it has more to do with certain personality types struggle more than others. Someone who is stubborn and overly analytical will have a rough time of it regardless of intelligence. Being trainable is aptitude like any other.
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^^This^^

Being Street Smart or Book Wise is not a prerequisite to being a good player.

The drive to learn is most important. A good mind with a good memory is a huge asset.

I always marvel at the Professional players that talk about a past game, "Back in 1987 I was playing so and so and he left me with this. So I did that and he did this and I had to do this other thing to get out.

That kind of mind I wish I had.
 
Swighey said:
Depends what you mean by smart. Some guys with PhDs in mathematics can't put a tent up. Are they smart? Some guys are superb at pool but can't explain how they do it. Are they smart? Really, who cares if someone is smart or not. If their advice sounds good then take it on, listen to it and try it out. If it turns out to be a crock of sh1te then you were wrong to trust it. And weren't very smart.

Anyway, Ronnie O'Sullivan is never going to be able to teach anyone how to play any form of billiards. Must be a real thickie!
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I think what John is trying to say is you just gotta put the time in and learn the way that works for you,NOT someone else.Smart has nothing to do with it,just a lot of practice
 
arnaldo said:
I've always like the quote (variously attributed to both Will Rogers and Mark Twain):

"We're all ignorant. Just in different areas."

Arnaldo
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Kinda like the internet-popular motivational quote attributed to Einstein:

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”

pj <- could climb a tree a few years ago (OK, more than a few)
chgo
 
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