Finally got that elusive win

Cdryden

Cdryden

Pool Addict
Silver Member
Have you ever had that one person that you just couldn't beat? I had until Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are plenty of players out there that can beat me but there is one guy that I have had the opportunity to beat on more than one occasion but for whatever reason I just kept failing.

He plays better than me now in spite of being past his prime. He has a lot of knowledge about the game and has a pool IQ that most people will never reach. I have a ton of respect for this guy and have been intimidated by him in the past but for whatever reason I decided that I was the favorite this time and I wasn't going to get beat again.

He asked to play a race for $50 and I came back with a race to 9 for $100. I felt like I was in the zone before we even started playing. I won the race 9-4, it wasn't real strong though because every game seemed like a battle and could have went either way.
Then he asked for a chance to win his money back. I told him I don't quit winner and asked what he had in mind. He said he wanted the 8, I said I would give him 3 on the wire instead and he agreed. I caught my high gear and went on to win the next set 9-3 free wheelin the whole way. It felt great. He said he was done and that he would try to get his money back next week when I slowed down!

I don't know what exactly changed in my head but for whatever reason I was done with being intimidated by this guy. I built him up in my head to be this person that I couldn't beat and therefore I didn't. Now I got his number and I look forward to playing him instead of dreading it.

Do any of you have that 1 player that you had or have a hard time beating?

It feels good to get that monkey off my back. :)
 
Cdryden said:
Have you ever had that one person that you just couldn't beat? I had until Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are plenty of players out there that can beat me but there is one guy that I have had the opportunity to beat on more than one occasion but for whatever reason I just kept failing.

He plays better than me now in spite of being past his prime. He has a lot of knowledge about the game and has a pool IQ that most people will never reach. I have a ton of respect for this guy and have been intimidated by him in the past but for whatever reason I decided that I was the favorite this time and I wasn't going to get beat again.

He asked to play a race for $50 and I came back with a race to 9 for $100. I felt like I was in the zone before we even started playing. I won the race 9-4, it wasn't real strong though because every game seemed like a battle and could have went either way.
Then he asked for a chance to win his money back. I told him I don't quit winner and asked what he had in mind. He said he wanted the 8, I said I would give him 3 on the wire instead and he agreed. I caught my high gear and went on to win the next set 9-3 free wheelin the whole way. It felt great. He said he was done and that he would try to get his money back next week when I slowed down!

I don't know what exactly changed in my head but for whatever reason I was done with being intimidated by this guy. I built him up in my head to be this person that I couldn't beat and therefore I didn't. Now I got his number and I look forward to playing him instead of dreading it.

Do any of you have that 1 player that you had or have a hard time beating?

It feels good to get that monkey off my back. :)
Click to expand...

Nice story and congrats on the well played sets. There is one player I can think of who fits that description but I am pretty sure I will never beat him. He plays pretty much perfect all the time. We only play eachother in tournaments and he has to be at least 6-0 vs me. Darn grand masters! FWIW not many other players have beaten him either. lol
 
Cdryden said:
Have you ever had that one person that you just couldn't beat? I had until Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are plenty of players out there that can beat me but there is one guy that I have had the opportunity to beat on more than one occasion but for whatever reason I just kept failing.

He plays better than me now in spite of being past his prime. He has a lot of knowledge about the game and has a pool IQ that most people will never reach. I have a ton of respect for this guy and have been intimidated by him in the past but for whatever reason I decided that I was the favorite this time and I wasn't going to get beat again.

He asked to play a race for $50 and I came back with a race to 9 for $100. I felt like I was in the zone before we even started playing. I won the race 9-4, it wasn't real strong though because every game seemed like a battle and could have went either way.
Then he asked for a chance to win his money back. I told him I don't quit winner and asked what he had in mind. He said he wanted the 8, I said I would give him 3 on the wire instead and he agreed. I caught my high gear and went on to win the next set 9-3 free wheelin the whole way. It felt great. He said he was done and that he would try to get his money back next week when I slowed down!

I don't know what exactly changed in my head but for whatever reason I was done with being intimidated by this guy. I built him up in my head to be this person that I couldn't beat and therefore I didn't. Now I got his number and I look forward to playing him instead of dreading it.

Do any of you have that 1 player that you had or have a hard time beating?

It feels good to get that monkey off my back. :)
Click to expand...


Yea , sometimes you just have to toss the guy a softball once in while to keep him coming back.

:)


j/k
 
Nice win, C.
But I think I would rather give someone the 8 than 3 on the wire.
 
pt109 said:
Nice win, C.
But I think I would rather give someone the 8 than 3 on the wire.
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I would tend to agree except for the way the first set went. We went back and forth quite a bit in several of those games and him getting the eight would have made a difference in a few so I decided to go the other route.

The truth is he probably should have given me some weight in the first set due to our history but I didn't mind. Next time we play though I want it to be even, no spot. Then we will see where to go from there.
 
Congrats on the nice win.....you sound like me though when it comes to giving spots. I'm the kind of guy that will play and lose a few sets, then maybe next time I play I will ask for a spot or adjust. Unfortunately, it seems like I'm in the minority because most guys want to adjust after every set. I'm usually enough of a sucker that I will adjust, but I'm starting to wise up.

If the economy gets any worse, maybe guys will start looking to adjust in the middle of a rack. "Hey, it looks like you might run out here, how bout you give me the seven?"
 
BasementDweller said:
Congrats on the nice win.....you sound like me though when it comes to giving spots. I'm the kind of guy that will play and lose a few sets, then maybe next time I play I will ask for a spot or adjust. Unfortunately, it seems like I'm in the minority because most guys want to adjust after every set. I'm usually enough of a sucker that I will adjust, but I'm starting to wise up.

If the economy gets any worse, maybe guys will start looking to adjust in the middle of a rack. "Hey, it looks like you might run out here, how bout you give me the seven?"
Click to expand...

I don't like to adjust the spot much unless there is a big imbalance. Sometimes a person just needs to man up and play better. A spot should only allow people to be relatively even but most everyone tries to use it to get the nuts.
I was on cruise control and he knew it, he just wanted a chance to compete so I was cool with it. Next time it may be me that is in need of a equalizer!
 
congrats, but don't go counting your chicks until u make a habit of beating this guy on a regular basis. good luck.
 
It's always good when your game goes great. That shift in your game confidence will stay with you and your BPI (Balls Per Inning) average will show an improvement.
 
Just like with Jordan when they said "it must be the shoes"..... It must be the tip :woot:

Now you are gonna tell me you have already swapped out LOL

Congrats,

Chris
 
Do any of you have that 1 player that you had or have a hard time beating?
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Good stuff Bud.

Nope, not anything quite as good as yours except for yesterday in a way.

A previous league game, I had a player pick up and fire the 8 ball into a pocket, swear and do a loud rant about how he gave me the game.

Well, yesterday, I came up against him in a League tourney. I handled him easily. So it wasn't a, I gave you a game. I take em. I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of thinking that I was an easy touch on the table.

He was a 9 handicap so the best ranked player on their team.

We won the tourney but this game made me smile a bit more on the inside.
 
Congratulations!

Cdryden said:
Have you ever had that one person that you just couldn't beat? I had until Saturday. Don't get me wrong, I know that there are plenty of players out there that can beat me but there is one guy that I have had the opportunity to beat on more than one occasion but for whatever reason I just kept failing.

He plays better than me now in spite of being past his prime. He has a lot of knowledge about the game and has a pool IQ that most people will never reach. I have a ton of respect for this guy and have been intimidated by him in the past but for whatever reason I decided that I was the favorite this time and I wasn't going to get beat again.

He asked to play a race for $50 and I came back with a race to 9 for $100. I felt like I was in the zone before we even started playing. I won the race 9-4, it wasn't real strong though because every game seemed like a battle and could have went either way.
Then he asked for a chance to win his money back. I told him I don't quit winner and asked what he had in mind. He said he wanted the 8, I said I would give him 3 on the wire instead and he agreed. I caught my high gear and went on to win the next set 9-3 free wheelin the whole way. It felt great. He said he was done and that he would try to get his money back next week when I slowed down!

I don't know what exactly changed in my head but for whatever reason I was done with being intimidated by this guy. I built him up in my head to be this person that I couldn't beat and therefore I didn't. Now I got his number and I look forward to playing him instead of dreading it.

Do any of you have that 1 player that you had or have a hard time beating?

It feels good to get that monkey off my back. :)
Click to expand...


A sincere congratulations! It does feel good to get that win against somebody that has been beating you for awhile. Search my posts and "Old Joe" for a story I have told too many times already.

When I was in high school there was a guy I couldn't beat playing pool. Purely mental, everybody in the large bar we all hung out at knew that. I heard people talking about it a handful of times, especially since I played him every time we were in the same place with a pool table. I regularly beat the players that pounded on him, beat a player more often than not that nobody else even wanted to tackle most of the time. Couldn't beat this one guy. Never did in fact, don't know if he went off to college, moved away, or what. He was a couple three years older and the big man on campus when I was an unknown freshman coming in from another area. I never did get past that status thing.

Not too many years ago a young man came up to me very excited after a pistol match. Turned out I had been his target for several years and he had finally outscored me in a match. I congratulated him quite sincerely and wished him well in the future but had to grin after he had left. I often pick people at certain levels to use as my yardsticks to see how I am progressing but I don't let them know that I am! :D

Hu
 
Turned out I had been his target for several years
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Oh oh, thats probably not a good thing when you are using live rounds Hu.

Glad he was a bad shot. Otherwise you might not be here telling your good stories to us.
 
Congrats !

Yep, I been there; Dun-that, lol

Itsa grrrrrreeeatt feeling isn't it? :grin:

Sometimes we build psychological mountains out of what is only a foothill. Sounds like you have a great rivalry now. He is not going to let you go if he was serious saying what he said. All the best in your future victories over this particular opponent. :wink:
 
yup, fortunately I'm mostly bullet proof!

Blue Hog ridr said:
Oh oh, thats probably not a good thing when you are using live rounds Hu.

Glad he was a bad shot. Otherwise you might not be here telling your good stories to us.
Click to expand...


We were talking about old jokes in another thread. The guy in my mechanic shop at my salvage yard and I had went and had a few beers the night before. Talking about his wife he said, "Cherry hit the ceiling when I got home!" I'd waited years for somebody to feed me a line like that: "Yeah, I know what you mean. Linda is a lousy shot too."

"She shot at you!?!" Astonishment huge in his voice. Hook, line, and sinker!

Of course when I first bought those businesses I moved 125 miles. I told him I always thought Linda was faithful until I moved from Baton Rouge to Alexandria and still had the same mailman! He fell for that one too.

Hu
 
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