Dumbest thing I’ve ever seen in pool!

I've seen rain blowing horizontally across tables twice. Once it was coming in through a door and once through the wall. The tables didn't play all that badly afterwards. And then there was the time at the World 14.1 Championships that soggy ceiling tiles splatted down onto a table.
was that the one where the only cloth they had to recover the table with was cloth for the poker / gaming tables? Didn't Danny D. win that one?
 
Dumbest thing i have ever done and there was a crowd watching. Playing 8ball for the hot seat. About 4 balls surrounded the 8 without a good option to make a ball and break them apart. I played 4 dink safeties in a row and finally got bih.

Picked whitey up and nonchalantly tossed it up a couple inches and caught it. Guess it was nervousness as I continued to toss it up. Well as you have probably guessed it I dropped it right on the cluster leaving a wide open table for my opponent with bih. He didn't play catch with it!
 
The chasing of trends or more succinctly, the “hot new item”. In the last few years I’ve watched those where I play all go to CF shafts, fancy $20 chalks, and a good portion buying $700 jump cues. Hey it’s their money and anyone is free to do what they like. Sadly the observation I’ve made is that the one thing they all seem to have in common, besides making these changes in their equipment, is that there seems to be no improvements in their game for it. 🤷🏻‍♂️
 
25 years in action…..not a sleeper….playing 9-ball for $50 a game…..shooting the 3-ball…back cut….low running….gotta hit the first rail and shorten the angle a bit…then run three rails for position on…..the TWO BALL!
I’m thinking…in my 40s….this is what I have to look forward to?
 
The chasing of trends or more succinctly, the “hot new item”. In the last few years I’ve watched those where I play all go to CF shafts, fancy $20 chalks, and a good portion buying $700 jump cues. Hey it’s their money and anyone is free to do what they like. Sadly the observation I’ve made is that the one thing they all seem to have in common, besides making these changes in their equipment, is that there seems to be no improvements in their game for it. 🤷🏻‍♂️
Well, for pool to keep up with golf you have to take it one step at a time. 😀

I actually think it is good and would never criticize somebody for spending on fancy equipment or suggest they get better before buying it. The least it does is support the industry. It shows they are willing to spend money on the game, perhaps for the idea that it will improve their game. And maybe they will play more after they get the item. So while buying the thing won’t improve their game, the idea that it might could help the player eventually. That idea indicates they think improvement is possible. That idea needs to be nurtured even if the idea the new jump cue will help a lot is misguided.

Even if they never get better, so what? Our game benefits when people are interested enough in it to spend on equipment and IMO they should never be discouraged from doing so by being told they shouldn’t buy it, don’t need it, don’t need it until they improve, etc…. And maybe they just like buying new stuff and trying it. And….who is more likely to spend money on instruction someday- the person who shelled out $700 for the jump cue or the one who didn’t?

I am not saying you criticize this group and you indicate it is their money and choice. But some are more critical and IMO they shouldn’t be. If only because what someone else spends on equipment is their business. Beyond that though, I think spending on stuff you don’t strictly need helps the game and can be enjoyable just because. And my pile of stuff downstairs shows I put my money where my mouth is. 😜
 
Well, for pool to keep up with golf you have to take it one step at a time. 😀

I actually think it is good and would never criticize somebody for spending on fancy equipment or suggest they get better before buying it. The least it does is support the industry. It shows they are willing to spend money on the game, perhaps for the idea that it will improve their game. And maybe they will play more after they get the item. So while buying the thing won’t improve their game, the idea that it might could help the player eventually. That idea indicates they think improvement is possible. That idea needs to be nurtured even if the idea the new jump cue will help a lot is misguided.

Even if they never get better, so what? Our game benefits when people are interested enough in it to spend on equipment and IMO they should never be discouraged from doing so by being told they shouldn’t buy it, don’t need it, don’t need it until they improve, etc…. And maybe they just like buying new stuff and trying it. And….who is more likely to spend money on instruction someday- the person who shelled out $700 for the jump cue or the one who didn’t?

I am not saying you criticize this group and you indicate it is their money and choice. But some are more critical and IMO they shouldn’t be. If only because what someone else spends on equipment is their business. Beyond that though, I think spending on stuff you don’t strictly need helps the game and can be enjoyable just because. And my pile of stuff downstairs shows I put my money where my mouth is. 😜
As I stated in my initial post, it’s none of my business how others spend their money and if buying every new gadget blows their hair back, then have at it.

To me, I find it stupid because as I said, I see no real improvement in their games. You speak to enjoyment, logic would point to improving and actually playing better as being what would provide the utmost of enjoyment. That said, it would seem that perhaps finding a quality instructor and ironing out the issues that have them plateaued and actually getting better at the game would increase their enjoyment and be money better spent. Merely an observation, YMMV.
 
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As I stated in my initial post, it’s none of my business how others spend their money and if buying every new gadget blows their hair back, then have it.

To me, I find it stupid because as I said, I see no real improvement in their games. You speak to enjoyment, logic would point to improving and actually playing better as being what would provide the utmost of enjoyment. That said, it would seem that perhaps finding a quality instructor and ironing out the issues that have them plateaued and actually getting better at the game would increase their enjoyment and be money better spent. Merely an observation, YMMV.
I don’t disagree and if someone has a good enough relationship with the player that topic could be brought up at the right time in the right way. As we both know some people might bring it up at the wrong time in the wrong way.
 
Let's not neglect to mention the players that have improved. Equipment upgrades aren't the sole reason, but are usually part of it.
 
 
9-ball World Championships round robin/group stages combined with betting. Last group round matches you could predict the final scores with countrymen and friends helping each other to get through.
 
9-ball World Championships round robin/group stages combined with betting. Last group round matches you could predict the final scores with countrymen and friends helping each other to get through.
That's dumb on the part of the tournament director and "smart" on the part of the players.

In round robins, relatives/friends/Romans/countrymen should play each other in the first two rounds or so. This can conflict with trying to seed the order of play so the final matches are significant. It also requires a TD who understands the problem and knows which pairs have strong links.

In one of the Cardiff World Championships, in the final round of the round robin, a very strong player was already through and maybe he was even assured of a good seeding in the knock-out. His last match was against a player who was maybe a 7:1 underdog. There was a lot of betting on the match. There was an upset. The bookies were upset as well. Or so the story goes.
 
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25 years in action…..not a sleeper….playing 9-ball for $50 a game…..shooting the 3-ball…back cut….low running….gotta hit the first rail and shorten the angle a bit…then run three rails for position on…..the TWO BALL!
I’m thinking…in my 40s….this is what I have to look forward to?
It never gets easier, just more comfortable.
 
That WAS a pretty dumb story.
 
I was at a place and a six-handed ring game went for a long time. Mostly locals and one guy that wasn't.
After they played a long time and the game broke up, there was a pow wow and they told the non- regular guy that everybody had to give one dude a percentage, cuz of that one you had lost big.
Stranger protested like a mother f***** but gave up his piece anyway.
He included a healthy dose of wtf with it.
 
the superbowl is over around 11 or midnight on sunday night, this is a few years ago

i’m leaving the pool room near closing time, 1:30-1:45am

in walks a pretty woman, middle aged, with
a cue case on her sholder and says

“i just won ten grand on the super bowl!”

my only thought as i said hello to her and walked out was-

if that was true it would be the last thing you’d say as you walked into a pool room and bar for the first time
 
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