don't play best game without gambling

Most everyone on here says to pay your dues by gambling and playing against better players if you want to play at a higher level. And yes, that's the way I learned the game and how most everyone who took up the game learned how to play it when I started back in 1960. We played and practiced real hard and gambled heavy.

But this is a different era and there's so much more available today that it's moronic to donate your money to some slob (like me and other hardened players) to learn how to play the game. I'm not going to teach you shit if we're playing for money, all I'm going to do is take it as long as you want to keep handing it over. And if you ever DID start getting good enough to win, I'd just go find someone else exactly like you in the earlier stages and say bye-bye. But that's not going to happen either because you'd quit me way before I quit you.

Knowing what I know now and if I was a young feller wanting to improve, I'd put that money into some personal one on one instruction with a couple of the best names that I could find right off the bat and get REAL good REAL fast. That wasn't available when I was coming up. Then there would no longer be any "gamble" in the game. I'd be the one "betting" against your "gamble" and cleaning your ass out. All in all even though lessons can get expensive with top name instructors, it's still a lot cheaper than giving it away in "hopes" that you'll learn.
 
drivermaker said:
Most everyone on here says to pay your dues by gambling and playing against better players if you want to play at a higher level. And yes, that's the way I learned the game and how most everyone who took up the game learned how to play it when I started back in 1960. We played and practiced real hard and gambled heavy.

But this is a different era and there's so much more available today that it's moronic to donate your money to some slob (like me and other hardened players) to learn how to play the game. I'm not going to teach you shit if we're playing for money, all I'm going to do is take it as long as you want to keep handing it over. And if you ever DID start getting good enough to win, I'd just go find someone else exactly like you in the earlier stages and say bye-bye. But that's not going to happen either because you'd quit me way before I quit you.

Knowing what I know now and if I was a young feller wanting to improve, I'd put that money into some personal one on one instruction with a couple of the best names that I could find right off the bat and get REAL good REAL fast. That wasn't available when I was coming up. Then there would no longer be any "gamble" in the game. I'd be the one "betting" against your "gamble" and cleaning your ass out. All in all even though lessons can get expensive with top name instructors, it's still a lot cheaper than giving it away in "hopes" that you'll learn.
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gambling does help pay for those high priced lessons though........... :D

VAP
 
drivermaker said:
I don't doubt it...your boss says the same thing every day about you. :D
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well i wouldn't want him to get any expectations, hell, one day i decide to do something worthwhile, and he'll expect me to do it everyday..........


VAP<<<<<using the boss's computer to post on AZB :p
 
vapoolplayer said:
well i wouldn't want him to get any expectations, hell, one day i decide to do something worthwhile, and he'll expect me to do it everyday..........
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I can't fault you for that. Just remember, the same thing applies to women. The first time you take out the garbage or change a light bulb...all hell breaks loose. They want and expect you to do EVERYTHING. Then on top of it you have to cuddle, snuggle, be expressive, pour out your feelings, be thoughtful, caring, hold hands everywhere you go, go shopping with kthem for days on end, get a housekeeper (if you're not doing it yourself), a cook (same as previous), and on and on ad infinitum. THEN...you're compared to all of the Cosmo articles on the perfect man.
(This should bring some comments)LOL I can't wait.....
 
drivermaker said:
I can't fault you for that. Just remember, the same thing applies to women. The first time you take out the garbage or change a light bulb...all hell breaks loose. They want and expect you to do EVERYTHING. Then on top of it you have to cuddle, snuggle, be expressive, pour out your feelings, be thoughtful, caring, hold hands everywhere you go, go shopping with kthem for days on end, get a housekeeper (if you're not doing it yourself), a cook (same as previous), and on and on ad infinitum. THEN...you're compared to all of the Cosmo articles on the perfect man.
(This should bring some comments)LOL I can't wait.....
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i wish you would have told me that 14 months ago..........i found out the hard way............ :rolleyes:

VAP
 
drivermaker said:
... I'd put that money into some personal one on one instruction with a couple of the best names that I could find right off the bat and get REAL good REAL fast...
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...And then proceed to get your clock cleaned by a player that plays your speed but has the experience of "serious" competition.
 
Teacherman said:
...And then proceed to get your clock cleaned by a player that plays your speed but has the experience of "serious" competition.
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That could definitely happen...but who says a person can't get their "experience" from "serious" competition learning to be a "winner" instead of learning to be a "loser" for a long time. They'll still lose, but nowhere near as much until they pay their "playing in the trenches" dues.
Are you sure you're a Teacher?
 
Wanting to make this next shot (complete with the knowledge of how to and the skill to do it) is completely different than having to make it.

Until you can get out when you have to instead of when you want to........you're a wannabe.
 
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drivermaker said:
That could definitely happen...but who says a person can't get their "experience" from "serious" competition learning to be a "winner" instead of learning to be a "loser" for a long time. They'll still lose, but nowhere near as much until they pay their "playing in the trenches" dues.
Are you sure you're a Teacher?
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This whole 'gotta gamble to get good at pool' is a culture IMO. The 'gambling scene' around here has been going on for so long that most on the inside of the pool culture believe that it is the only way. Most serious sports are not 'learn on your own in the school of hard knocks'.

I'm real glad that swimming is taught according to a program. I can just see some silly pool player throwing their kid into deep water yelling 'sink or swim kid !'. Or how about boxing. Rather than teach the rudiments, strategy, and conditioning elements, just have new boxer-wannabes match up against other boxers wagering their cash on the outcome ! Sure, great way to develop talent :rolleyes: Seriously, you may end up with a couple of good swimmers (and a few dead ones, and a bunch that will be afraid of water for the rest of their lives) and a few good boxers (and a bunch of beat-up dudes), but there are much better ways.

Gambling may be an excellent teacher of competition within the game, but it does little to develop pool skills other than provide motivation to find a way to learn ... and there are damn few good opportunities to learn pool from what I can see.

Dave, who like most pool players is self taught and has a lot of bad habits as a result, and wonders how the kids learning pool in school in Taiwan will fare over the next decade or two ...
 
i think its all about having the killer instinct
even though i personally play my best if i hate my opponent
instead of need his money
regaurdless of how you motivate yourself greed, desire, need , hate ,
nothing tops having been in a similar position before
 
Teacherman said:
Answer this question.

When do you know something????????
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Today.

My turn ...

When might you know something ?


Dave
 
My bad.....forgot I'm on a pool player forum. Let me simplifiy for you.

When do know something?........as in......I know it when I can do it 50% of the time.........or 75% of the time.........95% of the time.......or on demand..............or all the time........etc etc.
 
Teacherman said:
My bad.....forgot I'm on a pool player forum. Let me simplifiy for you.

When do know something?........as in......I know it when I can do it 50% of the time.........or 75% of the time.........95% of the time.......or on demand..............or all the time........etc etc.
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No problem TM, I appreciate that at your age your memory may not be what it once was. Thanks for 'simplifiy'ing, I never would have deciphered your meaning from the original text. I have no answer to this question, is there one ?

Dave
 
Teacherman said:
Wanting to make this next shot (complete with the knowledge of how to and the skill to do it) is completely different than having to make it.

Until you can get out when you have to instead of when you want to........you're a wannabe.
Click to expand...


True...your point being?
 
It seems to me that just about everyone here has brought up some very valid points. It's true that if you can play hard without playing for money, than you can learn to play under self-imposed pressure, rather than the money pressure. But for people like myself (unfortunately), I can only play hard if I'm playing for money. It's sad to say, but even when I play for only $10, I screw around way too much.

When I first started learning, there were no handicapped or women's tournaments in my area. I put up anywhere between $10 to $75 to enter into men's (open) events. Then on top of that, I started to gamble. Now I play eight events a year, and I find that the only way to keep my mind 'in stroke' is to gamble. While there are weekly open and handicapped events (and even women's tournaments) in my area now, I've gotten 'used' to them, where there seems to be no pressure on me. I'm not saying I have to play for hundreds or thousands, but I do enjoy playing sets for $25, $50 or $100. I figure, even if I lose, I've gained something from it. At the very least, I got practice out of it, and experience....which is more than I can say for losing my money at the casino.

Alice Rim
 
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