Crazy Infuriating Experience

onepocketron said:
I've been on the same team for many years. Believe me, I would never want to be a part of any team with players like the ones you described. Look for another team.

One thing about it, league is not life and death. Some are there to play for blood, but most are there for fun. Find a team that likes to be competitive, yet likes to have a lot of fun as well. Personalities of those on the team are much more important than anything else in my view. All of those on my team want to win and be competitive, but we also get along well and have a ton of fun when we get together. Life is too short to put up with a buch of bullshit, especially league play.
Click to expand...

And the best thing is when you're on a team like that, everyone is jealous and wants to be on your team, cuz you're always having so much fun!

I hear it all the time. "You guys always seem to have so much fun." That's because we do. We love to play pool, we love to win, and we love to have fun. None of those things are mutually exclusive. We'll always be doing at least one of them, cuz we're always gonna have fun.

It reinforces what great friends (and teammates) I have. I try to make sure and tell them as often as I can, too....
 
My team calls eachother sandbaggers every time any of us lose a match.

We do it in jest and actually have some people on other teams think we're just a team full of sandbaggers now.


Pool is a game... If you're on a team with people who aren't playing it as a game and having fun, it isn't worth being on their team. If you're not having fun playing a game you're doing it wrong.

Yeah it's a LOT more fun to be winning than losing, but still. You learn something every rack IMO.


I'd leave that team ASAP.
 
easy-e said:
I disagree. If someone is counting on you to be somewhere, and you can't guarantee it because of a medical condition, then I think it IS their business. To what extent you tell them is up to you, but they do have a right to know.
Click to expand...

Yep, what he said. With that said, it's their team and if the don't want you on it so be it. :smile:
 
I was once accused of sandbagging in a bowling league. I didn't even know what sandbagging was until it was explained.
I asked "Why in the world would someone do that" and they said "to keep your average down". I had no clue what they were talking about.

As it turns out that was when I found out I have a competitive nature. I play better when I need to (if I need to step it up to win). Other times I'm just goofing off and having fun (figuratively speaking).

Is that sandbagging?

Is sandbagging when you occasionally step up your game, subconsciously?

Bastards. All of em. If they judged you on one experience with you then they aren't worth dealing with. Play your own way. Play to have fun even if sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.
 
Playing with ADD can be a beast...one day you run out, the next it just doesn't "click". It's hardest when you hyper-focus for gambling and tournaments...but league play doesn't provide the motivation to bring on the focus.

Caffeine or your stimulant meds help a lot...what helps me is to run patterning drills and stroke training drills. They help me lock back into my zone.

I am a 5 with ADD that plays like a 6 or 3 depending on the day...I understand and have been working on my consistency for a while. I am often accused of sandbagging when it
s just simply a bad ADD night.
 
lorider said:
i have made a few posts on here about how inconsistent i am. i can also shoot like a 7 one night and a 2 the next, heck i can go from one extreme to the other during a match. many a night i have started shooting well then about the 3rd rack its like you flipped a switch, i miss straight in shots, have no idea what kind of pattern to play, i just stand there kinda dumbfounded as to what to shoot next or how to shoot it.

then there are nights i see a pattern with ease, know exactly where the cue ball is going and what to shoot next.

i have blamed my inconsistency on every thing from qiuting drinking, tired from working all day to just a lack of focus. also have blamed it on a hand injury.

the truth is i have autism. just been in denial about it all these years.
Click to expand...

I'm a 9 ball player, but occasionally play in a "bar tab" grade 8 ball tournament locally. My APA 9 ball rank is 2, but I regularly beat 4s + 5s in 8 ball (and 9 ball) but i'm inconsistent. One 8 ball game first rack I broke + ran 7 and won that game an inning later and then I couldn't damn well sink another ball through the next 2 racks.
 
I'm surprised your own team was angry at you for sandbagging. I had the opposite problem. I played one season of APA and at one point the captain asked me to dump a match. I told him that if he wanted me to dump it he just shouldn't play me. I don't see the fun in playing if you're not playing to win.
 
zpele said:
To be perfectly honest and blunt... I am one of the better players in the area and they know that. Hence the reason they thought I was sandbagging by losing.

The problem is whenever I lose people think I am sandbagging because they always expect me to win. And no I'm not being full of myself or having a case of misidentification of my playing ability. I place in any of the local tournaments I enter and win one at least once every few weeks. I've played in some pro tour events in my area and put up a fair fight (never placed) as well as been to Vegas several times for the singles event.

My main problem is getting the drive to play fully when I play in a league match because I play in so many tournaments. Without that drive it can be hard to focus and when its hard for me to focus my ADD kicks in.

I usually can keep it under control and that is why I generally do not tell people about it. I also tend to keep it a secret from most people because there is a stigma surrounding ADD where most people don't consider it anything but an excuse used by people.
Click to expand...

What kind of spot can I get from someone who puts up a fight in the pro tour? At least the 6 ball right?
 
I played in a local tourney 3 wknds ago and director asked me my rating. I'm a new 8-ball player w/ a 3 skill level. He says he'll keep me in at that level. So, during matches I play my usual game. Take shots that I know I can make. If I am uncertain, I play safe. So, during one match against a 7 he tells me that I play better than their average 3's. I say okay, I don't have a problem with you raising me to be fair. He asks again what I'm rated. I tell him a 3 in 8 ball. Sure I can play defense or slop in the 9 but I am rated a 3. Local players are crying about losing. I have to tell him that one guy scratched on the 7 twice and left me a combo for the win. I had to tell him about all my matches. Was really upsetting. So, he and his friends talk about it and he comes back and says he's making me an 8. An 8! I can't run more than 4 balls and I have to play as an 8. Whatever, I accept the challenge. After cooling down, I continue my match. Same play style. If I have the shot, I go for it. If not then I play safe. I lose my match 7-7 against a 7. I lose my next match too. Guy ran first two racks, scratches on the 8 next game. I get that one. Oh yeah, it's a 6-3 race. I dry break and he runs out. I lose 3-1. I stick around to watch the finals and people are asking me my rating. I tell them about being raised and they ask why I had to play the last guy a 6-3 race when he was a 7. So now I ask the director what's up with that. He says he raised me again. You raised me after I l lost? So effectively, he made me an 11 to give his buddy (the 7) a 6-3 race against me. WTF!!! I ask him, if I don't have a shot am I supposed to try to slop some crap in and give it away or play the safe? I remind him that this is a tourney and I'm not trying to lose money and that it's not fair that he did me like that. How do I remedy this situation. Nice pool hall but really bad feelings towards tournaments there now.
 
I have friends that for years I play in the bar leagues with but we really don't get together outside of pool. Then I have friends that I've played pool with at the pool hall, bowling alley etc. that never played in leagues. I won't ever ask them on my team because I don't want a conflict between our friendship. You know how team mates could be. You're better off out of that situation and go somewhere where you could enjoy the game.
 
It sounds like you already understand that your past actions put you at risk of getting unfairly labelled a sandbagger.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the medical condition. I don't need to know if the new guy has hemorrhoids or a metal plate in his head. I DO need to know if he's bipolar, epileptic, ADD, or anything else that might make it difficult to be his teammate on some nights.

You aren't doing yourself any favors by trying to keep the ADD bit secret. By doing that, you feed into the naysayer's belief that it's 'mythical' or 'just making excuses'. Imagine what they'd say when they find out..."oh, NOW you're suddenly ADD after that bad performance? How convenient"... whereas if you'd just warned them ahead of time they wouldn't be so surprised by the bad performance. You probably should also come clean about the sandbagging if you want to join any other teams.
 
new team-itis

I applaud the members of the team that did not want to condone sandbagging but they should have been a little more sensitive to the possibilty of new team-itis where a player joining a team wants to impress his new team mates to the detriment of his normal game.
 
I'd be thrilled that they aren't into sandbagging! Hell, in league play...that's like seeing Bigfoot! LoL
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top