Conceding the Game

Was your back turned to him? I could see that maybe being done, but if your talking about standing up and moving towards the table right by the pocket your shooting in, yeah thats for sure sharking. He would have to be a real pool idiot to not know that.
 
uwate said:
Was your back turned to him? I could see that maybe being done, but if your talking about standing up and moving towards the table right by the pocket your shooting in, yeah thats for sure sharking. He would have to be a real pool idiot to not know that.
Click to expand...


No, I was facing him when he moved toward the table and no, I don't think he's an idiot. I think he simply saw nothing wrong in what he was doing. In fact, I don't think his intention was to shark me. I think he was simply getting ready to rack.

When I explained to him what he did, his teammate asked if it were in the rules. I told him this was about sportsmanship. Shouting "fire" while your opponent is shooting is not specified in the rules but nobody allows it.

It's nice to see so many of us feel the same way about this issue but frankly, I was hoping someone would step up and say, "Hey, I didn't know this. Nobody around here plays that way."
 
I always try and give my opponent the benefit of the doubt...

I don't generally mind coming up off a shot to clarify their intentions when they step towards the table. If it becomes a habit every time I am down on a money ball then they are obviously sharking me.

It probably is a good idea to never assume that someone is conceding a game to you.

Even if I have the money ball hanging in the jaws of a pocket in an 8-0 match I always go through the same preparation assuming that I am going to have to shoot the ball.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
No, I was facing him when he moved toward the table and no, I don't think he's an idiot. I think he simply saw nothing wrong in what he was doing. In fact, I don't think his intention was to shark me. I think he was simply getting ready to rack.

When I explained to him what he did, his teammate asked if it were in the rules. I told him this was about sportsmanship. Shouting "fire" while your opponent is shooting is not specified in the rules but nobody allows it.

It's nice to see so many of us feel the same way about this issue but frankly, I was hoping someone would step up and say, "Hey, I didn't know this. Nobody around here plays that way."
Click to expand...

Oh, it's in the rules. It may not be written, but it's there.
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
... As we leave the era of gambling and hustling and further progress into the era of league pool, I was wondering what people would consider a concession of game/match. Do you feel this behavior is tolerated more/less? Should it be tolerated more/less? What do you expect of your opponents in terms of behavior?
Click to expand...
What you see is not necessarily new. Around here some 25 years ago there was a player of more or less Lassiter's generation. If there was not much of a bet, he was favored to win against any local player. In one nine ball tournament, I had a tricky cut on the nine along the foot rail -- I was a little mad at myself for getting out of line -- and he helped the situation by grabbing the triangle and standing there ready to rack the balls after I shot. I thanked him for the concession. He was a little startled when the TD agreed with me. This player would also stand by the table rattling his coins on tough shots. I'm still not sure whether he was even conscious of his moves, since he seemed like the sort of person who wasn't conscious of much.
 
They asked you where in the rules it was?

LMAO what jackasses. This is a good example of why I never liked league play much. You get the worst players arguing over the most ridiculous things.
 
belmicah said:
This is the same as breaking down your cue. Automatic loss of game.
Click to expand...

Tell that to someone at One Side in Manila. EVERYONE, even Efren, Django, Alex, Lee Van and all the others break down their cue if the opponent is on the hill and has an open table.

If you miss, they put it together and start play. I was shocked with this behaviour first time I saw it, and also since everyone also kept talking to other people, walking around, standing in front of your shots ++, but I learned to ignore it and it made me a little bit better :)

But in my world it's a loss of the game, except when playing in Manila :D
 
Jude Rosenstock said:
IAs we leave the era of gambling and hustling and further progress into the era of league pool, I was wondering what people would consider a concession of game/match. Do you feel this behavior is tolerated more/less? Should it be tolerated more/less? What do you expect of your opponents in terms of behavior?
Click to expand...
It's a shark tactic -> sometimes used on purpose, but mostly used by novice players unwittingly. In most places, any such tactic (e.g., moving toward the table, grabbing the rack, and pulling balls) is an automatic concession.

The only rule I know of is breaking your cue down = a concession. WPA rules have this implemented (for tourneys at least).Some leagues use this rule as well.

The counter to this is that some rules do not allow concessions in any way. Giving one results in loss of that game PLUS the loss of another game... Two players agreeing to concessions can be DQ'd from the tourney.

But, I have no idea how any of this applies in league play, but I think your unsportsman like conduct comment is spot on.

-td
 
Bob Jewett said:
What you see is not necessarily new. Around here some 25 years ago there was a player of more or less Lassiter's generation. If there was not much of a bet, he was favored to win against any local player. In one nine ball tournament, I had a tricky cut on the nine along the foot rail -- I was a little mad at myself for getting out of line -- and he helped the situation by grabbing the triangle and standing there ready to rack the balls after I shot. I thanked him for the concession. He was a little startled when the TD agreed with me. This player would also stand by the table rattling his coins on tough shots. I'm still not sure whether he was even conscious of his moves, since he seemed like the sort of person who wasn't conscious of much.
Click to expand...


This exchange reminds me of something I was witness to in Las Vegas this past May. A friend of mine was finishing off an important match when his opponent proceeded to unscrew his cue. My friend stops shooting, walks over and offers a handshake as recognition the match was over. His opponent says, "That was my break cue!" My friend's reply was "Okay" and offered a handshake again. The guy didn't say another word so it was pretty apparent what his intentions were.
 
Roy Steffensen said:
Tell that to someone at One Side in Manila. EVERYONE, even Efren, Django, Alex, Lee Van and all the others break down their cue if the opponent is on the hill and has an open table.

If you miss, they put it together and start play. I was shocked with this behaviour first time I saw it, and also since everyone also kept talking to other people, walking around, standing in front of your shots ++, but I learned to ignore it and it made me a little bit better :)

But in my world it's a loss of the game, except when playing in Manila :D
Click to expand...
wow...thats an eye opener.

Manila is brutal tough...no wonder so many players keep coming out of there that are hardened killers on the pool table. Meanwhile, over in the USA, our top young players are facing down the rough atmosphere of what club to best take it to the tee from 95 yards out.
 
td873 said:
It's a shark tactic -> sometimes used on purpose, but mostly used by novice players unwittingly. In most places, any such tactic (e.g., moving toward the table, grabbing the rack, and pulling balls) is an automatic concession.

The only rule I know of is breaking your cue down = a concession. WPA rules have this implemented (for tourneys at least).Some leagues use this rule as well.

The counter to this is that some rules do not allow concessions in any way. Giving one results in loss of that game PLUS the loss of another game... Two players agreeing to concessions can be DQ'd from the tourney.

But, I have no idea how any of this applies in league play, but I think your unsportsman like conduct comment is spot on.

-td
Click to expand...

Yes, that's exactly how the tournaments around here are run. In the Tri-State Tour, if you concede the 9-ball, the automatic penalty is loss of ANOTHER game.

However, they also have another rule - if you make the 9-ball and scratch, it is a loss of game. Your opponent is not obligated to shoot.

I found out about this rule when I made the 9-ball and scratched. In my attempt to adhere to the 'no cocession' rule, I brought the 9-ball up and handed my opponent the cue-ball. He REFUSED to shoot it which remains one of the most hysterical things I've ever seen.
 
uwate said:
wow...thats an eye opener.

Manila is brutal tough...no wonder so many players keep coming out of there that are hardened killers on the pool table. Meanwhile, over in the USA, our top young players are facing down the rough atmosphere of what club to best take it to the tee from 95 yards out.
Click to expand...


Yeah, come to think of it, I've never heard of a Philipino player claiming he was sharked!
 
Most times around here I've seen someone concede a game they'll walk up & say "That'll do, well played." or something along those lines. I tend not to do it much myself anymore because I've seen some sitters missed & you never know what can happen!
 
Old school

I remember many times players breaking their cues down, only to put them back together because their opponent missed on match ball. Eventually, in gambling, it became a no-no, and was adopted later on as a rule in leagues.

There is no rule specifically addressing other than it could be considered unsportsmanship behavior, which could mean forfeiting the game and/or the match.

Another one of these is someone making the 9 ball (or 8 ball in 8 ball) and grabbing the cue ball while it is still rolling.
 
There are a few around here who will discuss this before the match, saying "don't concede any games, I won't concede any to you". I have no problem with this, and enter each match I play with this attitude. Having said that, as recently as a few weeks back, I had an opponent concede the 7-8-9 (OK, they were pretty easy, but I can mess up 1 easy ball so 3 iw well within my screw-up zone) after he scratched .... silly boy.

Generally speaking. around here any motion towards the table is a concession.

Dave
 
Well check to mirror??

Jude Rosenstock said:
I'm sorry I failed to mention this - I was completely unphased. He said "no" and I proceeded to pocket the ball. It really wasn't a problem however, had the game been for money, I wouldn't have even asked if he were giving me the game. I would have simply gone for my break cue.

Since it was a league match, after I won the game, I explained to him that I am accustomed to my opponents staying in their chairs until it is their turn to shoot. To walk to the end of the table is a concession. He still looked at me like I had two heads.
Click to expand...
To clear this up go check your mirror.Do you see two heads??:D If not then you know if was a concession buy him,I wouldn't have shoot the ball at all.But since he said know I would just pocket the ball and handled it the way you do.This happened to me once in league with balls being removed from the pocket amnd the nice guy I am:D I started some serious shit.:eek: :eek:
 
Another reason I love AZBilliards

Jude Rosenstock said:
I was playing a league match yesterday and as I circled the table to shoot the game-winning ball, my opponent got up out of his chair and proceeded to the foot of the table. I said, "Are you giving me the game?" He replied "no", honestly not having any clue what I was talking about.

I find these misunderstandings to be more and more common. When I first learned to play pool, it was only about gambling and any motion to rack was a concession since if you didn't concede, you were sharking which was a heavy accusation and could easily escalate into a fight.

As we leave the era of gambling and hustling and further progress into the era of league pool, I was wondering what people would consider a concession of game/match. Do you feel this behavior is tolerated more/less? Should it be tolerated more/less? What do you expect of your opponents in terms of behavior?
Click to expand...

Thanks Jude... I'm glad that you posted this, I learned something.

It's the little etiquette things that people don't realize exist in games that are popular in bars... like in darts (metal tips)... pull the dart out in the direction it went in, avoids messing up the board... a novice player would pull it directly out, not paying any attention to how the dart entered the board.... for example.
I personally wait until the balls have stopped moving, or until the other player walks away from the table before I remove my ass from my seat... but that's because of the "golden rule" (treat as you would like to be treated, or something like that)
Chalk on the rail, paper side up... rude
In the line of a person's sight when they're making a shot... rude
Walking up to the table to rack before a game is complete... rude, so I thought. I never realized that this could be a concession of game.

I'll be sure not to ever do it though, I can say that much.
 
I think it depends upon the opponents level of play. If they are a league player they probably don't know any better and it is acceptable until explained to them. If it's someone that knows a little something, they are trying to shark you and I wouldn't tolerate it. Or if you are like me, I just wouldn't play them again.

Usually if someone puts there cue stick on the table or breaks their cue down I consider that conceding the game. I try not to concede games and make everyone shoot everything even if it is a top player.
 
Last edited:
If you are playing a knowledgable player and you think they do that as a shark tactic, just rake the balls with your cue and say "thanks", then try to shake their hand. If they try to argue, tell them the rule about it, and that you know it's a shark tactic to try to break your concentration.
 
hysterical for me, too.

Jude Rosenstock said:
Yes, that's exactly how the tournaments around here are run. In the Tri-State Tour, if you concede the 9-ball, the automatic penalty is loss of ANOTHER game.

However, they also have another rule - if you make the 9-ball and scratch, it is a loss of game. Your opponent is not obligated to shoot.

I found out about this rule when I made the 9-ball and scratched. In my attempt to adhere to the 'no cocession' rule, I brought the 9-ball up and handed my opponent the cue-ball. He REFUSED to shoot it which remains one of the most hysterical things I've ever seen.
Click to expand...

Jude, there was a reason I refused to shoot the 9-ball:
The game was over, you just didn't know it!
Glad I entertained you so much that day in Staten Island.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top