School and math have nothing to do with it.You can read books till your blue in the faceI recently took up pool again after a long hiatus and find myself not only much worse than I ever was, but also unable to improve, even marginally, despite hours of practice.
I joined an APA league, but am getting annihilated every week and by guys whose stance, bridge, fundamentals, etc, look god-awful, but who NEVER miss. Meanwhile, I'm OCS about that stuff, but can't make a shot.
I practice drills, I read books, I take lessons. Nothing seems to help. Only seems to further my overall sense of mass confusion. For example, I understand the basic concepts of Stun, Follow, Draw, Tangent Lines, 30-degree Rule, etc, but when I come up to the table that all goes right out the window and I only see a morass of unbelievable complexity and soul-crushing chaos. (Excuse the hyperbolic lingo). For example, my estimation of the tangent line is often off by 40-50 degrees!
And when I try to practice the diagrammed drills in books, I can't recreate the shots. For example, there's a "simple" draw cut shot in 99 Critical Shots, but every time I do it, the cue ball NEVER follows the path as shown in the book, but diverges in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT path. This is despite trying up to a 100 times! :angry:
So are there people who simply should not be playing pool? Just as there are midgets who shouldn't be playing basketball? Am I too geometrically-challenged?
I did flunk geometry in high school, btw.
I just want an honest appraisal. That way I won't expect anything more of myself, and try to accept that I'm genetically handicapped in regards to this game.
Wow, did not expect to get so much feedback so quickly. I don't feel so alone now.
To answer briefly some things that were brought up.
I am 44. My optometrist did mention biofocals might be necessary down the road.
Yeah, back when I used to play frequently I could run 4,5,6 balls. Funny thing though was I knew nothing about "tangent lines" or "Set-Pause-Finish" or other "esoterica" back then; I just played by instinct.
Someone mentioned playing in tourneys and gambling helped his game the most. I like the idea of tourneys. Maybe I should try. Don't gamble though. I couldn't afford to lose. I'm poor.
I do wear glasses. Have noticed that sometimes the top of my frames will impede my vision of the object ball when sighting. But really, I don't think it's a major issue. I see plenty of guys shooting pretty awesomely with glasses.
I'm based in San Francisco. I know there's a number of famous teachers here, like Bob Jewett. I opted for lessons with my local house pro, who's also well-known and a nice guy.
Lee, are you coming to the West Coast?
Honestly, though, I was thinking more like a group clinic or weekend thing might benefit me more. That way there's an opportunity to converse and practice with my fellow classmates. (It's so boring to practice alone!) Right now, I don't have any opportunity to talk shop with people. The good players don't want to be bothered and everyone else doesn't seem interested in Tangent Lines or why low-left would've been better on a certain shot.
I recently took up pool again after a long hiatus and find myself not only much worse than I ever was, but also unable to improve, even marginally, despite hours of practice.
I joined an APA league, but am getting annihilated every week and by guys whose stance, bridge, fundamentals, etc, look god-awful, but who NEVER miss. Meanwhile, I'm OCS about that stuff, but can't make a shot.
I practice drills, I read books, I take lessons. Nothing seems to help. Only seems to further my overall sense of mass confusion. For example, I understand the basic concepts of Stun, Follow, Draw, Tangent Lines, 30-degree Rule, etc, but when I come up to the table that all goes right out the window and I only see a morass of unbelievable complexity and soul-crushing chaos. (Excuse the hyperbolic lingo). For example, my estimation of the tangent line is often off by 40-50 degrees!
And when I try to practice the diagrammed drills in books, I can't recreate the shots. For example, there's a "simple" draw cut shot in 99 Critical Shots, but every time I do it, the cue ball NEVER follows the path as shown in the book, but diverges in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT path. This is despite trying up to a 100 times! :angry:
So are there people who simply should not be playing pool? Just as there are midgets who shouldn't be playing basketball? Am I too geometrically-challenged?
I did flunk geometry in high school, btw.
I just want an honest appraisal. That way I won't expect anything more of myself, and try to accept that I'm genetically handicapped in regards to this game.
I recently took up pool again after a long hiatus and find myself not only much worse than I ever was, but also unable to improve, even marginally, despite hours of practice.
I joined an APA league, but am getting annihilated every week and by guys whose stance, bridge, fundamentals, etc, look god-awful, but who NEVER miss. Meanwhile, I'm OCS about that stuff, but can't make a shot.
I practice drills, I read books, I take lessons. Nothing seems to help. Only seems to further my overall sense of mass confusion. For example, I understand the basic concepts of Stun, Follow, Draw, Tangent Lines, 30-degree Rule, etc, but when I come up to the table that all goes right out the window and I only see a morass of unbelievable complexity and soul-crushing chaos. (Excuse the hyperbolic lingo). For example, my estimation of the tangent line is often off by 40-50 degrees!
And when I try to practice the diagrammed drills in books, I can't recreate the shots. For example, there's a "simple" draw cut shot in 99 Critical Shots, but every time I do it, the cue ball NEVER follows the path as shown in the book, but diverges in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT path. This is despite trying up to a 100 times! :angry:
So are there people who simply should not be playing pool? Just as there are midgets who shouldn't be playing basketball? Am I too geometrically-challenged?
I did flunk geometry in high school, btw.
I just want an honest appraisal. That way I won't expect anything more of myself, and try to accept that I'm genetically handicapped in regards to this game.
Wow, did not expect to get so much feedback so quickly. I don't feel so alone now.
To answer briefly some things that were brought up.
I am 44. My optometrist did mention biofocals might be necessary down the road.
Yeah, back when I used to play frequently I could run 4,5,6 balls. Funny thing though was I knew nothing about "tangent lines" or "Set-Pause-Finish" or other "esoterica" back then; I just played by instinct.
Someone mentioned playing in tourneys and gambling helped his game the most. I like the idea of tourneys. Maybe I should try. Don't gamble though. I couldn't afford to lose. I'm poor.
I do wear glasses. Have noticed that sometimes the top of my frames will impede my vision of the object ball when sighting. But really, I don't think it's a major issue. I see plenty of guys shooting pretty awesomely with glasses.
I'm based in San Francisco. I know there's a number of famous teachers here, like Bob Jewett. I opted for lessons with my local house pro, who's also well-known and a nice guy.
Lee, are you coming to the West Coast?
Honestly, though, I was thinking more like a group clinic or weekend thing might benefit me more. That way there's an opportunity to converse and practice with my fellow classmates. (It's so boring to practice alone!) Right now, I don't have any opportunity to talk shop with people. The good players don't want to be bothered and everyone else doesn't seem interested in Tangent Lines or why low-left would've been better on a certain shot.
I recently took up pool again after a long hiatus and find myself not only much worse than I ever was, but also unable to improve, even marginally, despite hours of practice.
I joined an APA league, but am getting annihilated every week and by guys whose stance, bridge, fundamentals, etc, look god-awful, but who NEVER miss. Meanwhile, I'm OCS about that stuff, but can't make a shot.
I practice drills, I read books, I take lessons. Nothing seems to help. Only seems to further my overall sense of mass confusion. For example, I understand the basic concepts of Stun, Follow, Draw, Tangent Lines, 30-degree Rule, etc, but when I come up to the table that all goes right out the window and I only see a morass of unbelievable complexity and soul-crushing chaos. (Excuse the hyperbolic lingo). For example, my estimation of the tangent line is often off by 40-50 degrees!
And when I try to practice the diagrammed drills in books, I can't recreate the shots. For example, there's a "simple" draw cut shot in 99 Critical Shots, but every time I do it, the cue ball NEVER follows the path as shown in the book, but diverges in a TOTALLY DIFFERENT path. This is despite trying up to a 100 times! :angry:
So are there people who simply should not be playing pool? Just as there are midgets who shouldn't be playing basketball? Am I too geometrically-challenged?
I did flunk geometry in high school, btw.
I just want an honest appraisal. That way I won't expect anything more of myself, and try to accept that I'm genetically handicapped in regards to this game.
