Do you refuse to play against weaker players?
- Thread starter alstl
- Start date
i would play them ...i just love the game it dont matter to me who i play
I also play whoever jumps up. I like the people who just can't get enough of a beating and like to play. Lets me work on my break shots cause they are racking almost all the time. I get more practice and they get to watch me play and learn some things. If they ask questions during the session i will divy out some pointers and offer some when I see they are doing something backwards. Works out for both parties.
fwiw, I'll play anybody whether they can't carry a cue or they'll blow me off the table. If the person is really pathetic, I'll shoot left-handed. However, that can get kind of boring as I can't really play position lefty and the games can get mighty long.
I don't mind playing against a considerably weaker player occasionaly. I wouldn't do it all the time, cause it brings my game down and generally isn't a lot of fun in the long run. I try to help out where I can, if the help is appreciated, but I'm also still trying to improve, so when I can play against a strong opponent I will.
gr. Dave
gr. Dave
Double-Dave said:
Doesn't necessarily have to bring your game down. Eddie Robin talks about how he wasn't even a shortstop when he left his home state, and a mere year later, he was crushing players like Mexican Johnny in One Pocket. To what did he attribute his improvement?
Easy games against weak, confidence building opponents.
I will say this both about most pros, and myself when I started playing well before I got married: Arrogance can be an asset to a poolplayer. If you have a decent amount of skill, the arrogance of thinking you can beat anyone that walks through that door is sometimes enough to make it so.
Look at it this way.. If you are so arrogant that you don't think you should ever miss a shot, it's a lot easier to bear down hard and try your best on every shot.
Heck, back in the day, I truly believed I should never, ever, ever lose a match to a weaker opponent, even in a race to three in 9 ball. I worked on this attitude so much that occassionally I'd lose a short match against a weaker player, and get so royally P****SSED, that I would wipe them out in the next set.
I call it arrogance, but it was really extreme confidence backed up by some measure of skill. When you can force yourself to care so much about winning every single game, that you can't stand it... THAT's when you start being able to manhandle weaker players in any circumstances.
It helped immensely when against a player with a fair amount of skill when down a few games, as well. I've been down 4 games to 0 in a race to 7 against a decent player, and was sure I was going to win.
Russ
I agree with you that self confidence to the point of arrogance is a good thing for a poolplayer, and an athlete (Thorsten said it, pool is now a sport) in general.
The situation I'm currently in is that I'm playing by myself 75% of the time, so if someone asks to play, I'm game regardless of how they play. I still say that I feel my game goes downhill when I play against a considerably weaker player for a long time, it's just that there's no need to play my heart out to win comfortably, so I find it hard. Espescially if the difference is really big and you're playing 8-ball, I know if I play all out the score is gonna be 10-0 or 10-1 fun for once but I start feeling sorry for them. Not that I miss on purpose or something, just that the concentration goes down and maybe I'll take the more difficult route.
Again for me personnally I can't relate to the Eddie Robin story, I take much more confidence from beating a good player.
gr. Dave
The situation I'm currently in is that I'm playing by myself 75% of the time, so if someone asks to play, I'm game regardless of how they play. I still say that I feel my game goes downhill when I play against a considerably weaker player for a long time, it's just that there's no need to play my heart out to win comfortably, so I find it hard. Espescially if the difference is really big and you're playing 8-ball, I know if I play all out the score is gonna be 10-0 or 10-1 fun for once but I start feeling sorry for them. Not that I miss on purpose or something, just that the concentration goes down and maybe I'll take the more difficult route.
Again for me personnally I can't relate to the Eddie Robin story, I take much more confidence from beating a good player.
gr. Dave
I will play any one who wants to play. I would not gamble with some one who has no chane of beating me,I like to have pressure on me I thinke it makes my game better.I do enjoy playing player's that are not as good as my self,the way I see it they have to learn some way and if they lean some thing from me good.
Double-Dave said:
Meh... I've never felt sorry for an opponent. I beat my wife's brains out on our second or third date, when I took her to my home pool room, City Lights in Tacoma, WA. It started out as regular 8 ball, and I basically ran out every time she missed. Then, I told her I would bank the 8 ball to give her a chance.
I tried real hard to plan my last three balls right so I had a hanger bank. Then, the spot moved to me playing one handed and her playing regular.
I tried as hard as I possibly good to run out on her every time. The spot eventually ended up where I had to play one handed and bank the 8 ball wherever my last ball fell. That made it an even game.
Not telling about that to brag, just to illustrate that I'd try to beat my own mother 11-0 if I had to play her a match. All my friends who ever played me knew I was going to try my absolute hardest, and they did not take it personally. If it was just some guy in the barracks I was playing (I was in the Army), I tried to absolutely destroy them.
I remember one kid I played a lot in the barracks.. He was pretty good, and could have been a great player if he got a good practice regimen going on good equipment. After I took a month off to practice, I came back and played him, and beat him so badly over a number of non gambling sessions, he ended up giving up pool. I didn't feel bad one bit about it either. I considered that pool table in the dayroom mine, and if you stepped up to play me on it, you deserved what you got. I ended up buying his Meucci cue off him and an awesome price when he quit, too. Bonus!
Danny McGoorty used to say he had to hate his opponent while he was at the table. That's what works for me, too. I want to crush my opponent's spirit when I am at the table with them. Imagine, if I end up playing some real good young player in a big regional tournament, and I slack off for one shot, and he gets a rack that he otherwise may not have. Then, he runs a few racks, but still loses a match 9-4. He'll think.. "9-4 is not that bad, I'll get him next time." If I played him so hard that I bear down the whole match, and I don't give him that shot, he might get beat 9-0. I will be in that dude's head every time I play him. He better be a mentally strong player to put that beating out of his mind.
What I guess I am saying is this. That weaker player that you can't play hard against.... He might be a real player one day. Beat him now... Beat him often. Beat him badly. He'll either quit playing the game... or he will really push himself to get better, to avoid getting beat 11-0, 10-0.
I used to think it was my responsibility to beat younger players as badly as possible, to separate the wheat from the chaff. If they end up giving up the game early, they save themselves lotsa money on table time.
Russ
I used to refuse to play weaker players... Then I realized that it really had no effect, since I could not find anyone weaker than myself.
But, in seriousness...
I play anyone, I just love to play. For me, it's playing against the table, no matter who I am playing against. I also have a streak of teacher-ness in me, so I really enjoy playing someone who is considerably lower skill than myself; it gives me a chance to transfer some knowledge to someone else. I really enjoy when someone I'm coaching a little starts to make better shot selections without any help on the spot. Truly rewarding!
But, in seriousness...
I play anyone, I just love to play. For me, it's playing against the table, no matter who I am playing against. I also have a streak of teacher-ness in me, so I really enjoy playing someone who is considerably lower skill than myself; it gives me a chance to transfer some knowledge to someone else. I really enjoy when someone I'm coaching a little starts to make better shot selections without any help on the spot. Truly rewarding!
I learned pool by playing better players than I. Which currently is still probably anybody who picks up a tree branch.
On the other end I normally shoot pool by myself. It's what I prefer. Just me and the table. So I decline a lot of games just because I want to shoot bymyself. Also many people who ask me to play are often time pool hall bums who don't have a table but will play with you for hours if you let them.
On the other end I normally shoot pool by myself. It's what I prefer. Just me and the table. So I decline a lot of games just because I want to shoot bymyself. Also many people who ask me to play are often time pool hall bums who don't have a table but will play with you for hours if you let them.
alstl said:
I practice alone most of the time and get asked daily to play for fun with lesser players. I try to play a session with all of the locals at least once a month but find myself saying "No thanks, I'm working on my game right now, but maybe another time" more often than I would like. I also give pool lessons but most people just want to hit some balls with a better player. I'm no different when I'm at a big tournament. I corner one of the pro players and offer to buy them breakfast, lunch or dinner and they often reciprocate with some good advice and/or a few games.
I try to treat people the way that I would like to be treated.
JoeyA
Refusing to play a lesser player does nothing to further the game. Im not saying that you should play them exclusively, but it helps to give them a goal to shoot for and to teach them at the same time. How many times when you were learning did a better player play with you?
If it is really lopsided, give them a spot, make it hard on yourself to win. That way you both get something out of it.
Chuck
If it is really lopsided, give them a spot, make it hard on yourself to win. That way you both get something out of it.
Chuck
Playing weaker players is a good time to practice the things you suck at. If you know you are probably going to win anyway, then opt for a extreme cut instead of a easy bank just for the practice. Try all the things you normally wouldnt do against a much better player. You will have alot more at your disposal when it comes time for serious play in a tournament or for money. Always go for the runout instead of playing safe. You might be suprised how many times you get out when you didnt think you could.
Ya I'll play. Of course I might decline if I haven't had any time to warm up, but I would tell them to come back in an hour if they are still interested.
I can't justify refusing these players when I enjoy the benefits of playing against guys much better than me.
I can't justify refusing these players when I enjoy the benefits of playing against guys much better than me.
I'm mostly in the opposite situation. Nearly all the players I play are weaker than I am. It's not even so much that I am really good but rather that the stronger players don't come to the pool hall anymore! It's just not right that a low B player can't find someone to whip his arse. 