finaly starting to play smart

L

lorider

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
first i gotta say i was tired as heck. i had league fri nite. then after that match we had a make up match from the week before due to cities. left the poolhall 1:30am. had to be at 8 ball scotch doubles cities at 10:00am. played all day. then had 9 ball scotch doubles at 10:00 am sunday. got put out in 5th place at 4:00 clock. had double jeapordy league at 7:00 clock.

that was a lot of pool for this old body this weekend not to mention i was still feeling the effects of 8 and 9 ball cities the previous 2 weekends.

anyway at double jeapordy tonight i faced a 5 in 9 ball and i am a 4. for the 1st 3 or 4 racks we wound up pretty even. both of us stayed within a couple of points of each other. well i wound up breaking about the 4th or 5 th rack and scratched without making any balls. he ran the frickin table on me and got up by about 12 points ahead. i never could catch up losing just 3 points shy of what i needed.

later when i threw myself to play 8 ball the guy who beat me in 9 ball jumped up and said he is playing me. he had this grin on his face and just seemed like he was all sure of himself than he was going to have another win under his belt tonight.

i made up my mind right then and there i was not losing twice tonight, especialy to the same guy. i am a 5 and he is a 4 in 8 ball,so i gotta spot him a game. after playing him 9 ball i saw he was as good as me at pocketing ball so i decided instead of trying to outshoot him i would out think him.

although i play apa and have defended them on bashing threads on here i am an old barbanger and the words slop and defense have never been part of my vocabulary. well i decided that i was going to have to use some defense to help wipe that cocky grin off his face.

i made some balls i thought i needed to, left some hangers blocking pockets, attempted low percentage shots where i knew the cueball would come to rest where it left him hooked or hard shots.

the grin on his face quickly turned to a look of frustration. i purposely left the cueball where he could hit his last ball that was frozen on a rail hoping in his frustration that he would try something crazy because he did not see what i saw. sure enough he smacked his last ball and the cueball rebounded to the right knocking in the 8 ball.

i said damn it worked, game one for me. he had a look of disbelief on his face. to make this shorter he scratched on the 8 in the 2nd game. 3rd game he tried a kick into the left side pocket , it hit the rail and came across table and fell in the right side pocket. he raised his cue up like he he was going to sling it across the room but instead slammed it down on the table and started racking for the 4th time.

i am up 3 - 0 and have not even shot at the 8 ball yet. he is frustrated and missing easy shots and i finaly pocket the 8 ball putting him outa his misery.

folks i gotta tell you , this old barbanger has finaly seen the light and is now adding defense to his small arsenal. now i gotta admit sometimes the cueball did not stop where i wanted it to but i sure did not leave him very many easy shots:grin:

i am so tired i could not sleep so i decided to write about my experience. hope you dont find it boring or too long winded.
 
That is awesome. I love it when the ones that are so sure of themselves get frustrated. :p

Hey, now that you've learned defense, that means you're gonna get to SL6 faster! I better "learn" something new, too, and soon! :D

Seriously, congrats on managing your game. That's really what you did.
 
Congratulations I always say there are 4 games people play on a pool table 1) Make the OB 2) Make the OB and get on another ball 3) Try to run the table 4) Pool. I always say when you get up to the table there are for all practical purposes (usually) 3 options; TRY TO RUN THE TABLE, SAFE or SINK & SAFE (btw sink & safe doesn’t mean sink a ball and “call” safe in means planning a safe to end your inning after sinking 1 or more balls.)

People that are just beginning to discover the value a defensive sometimes have a few quirks about it I have a good way of getting to the meat of it quickly. Pool is more a game of odds than most players think but the upside is that there are ONLY EVER 3 CHOICES! When you’re faced with ANY situation ask yourself this question “what’s my best chance to win the game?” with cold objectivity. In other words “what kind of play gives me the best odds?” and reevaluate after every shot. Without the baggage that comes with defensive play. Glad you are coming around to more “solid” thinking keep on truckin!
 
You played a lot of Pool

and I am glad you smartened up a little. The only way to beat a better player is with defense because kicking is just a guess on where to send the ball into the rail(s) to hit the object ball, and noone is exactly accurate when doing that.
 
I like defensive battle games, i like seeing the players that have an all around understanding of the game and not just the ones who can pocket balls. I was in a 20 minute game of 8 ball in league last week and it was the funnest game i'd played in a while, won it after my opponent finally made the 1 mistake we both needed the other to make.
 
lorider said:
first i gotta say i was tired as heck. i had league fri nite. then after that match we had a make up match from the week before due to cities. left the poolhall 1:30am. had to be at 8 ball scotch doubles cities at 10:00am. played all day. then had 9 ball scotch doubles at 10:00 am sunday. got put out in 5th place at 4:00 clock. had double jeapordy league at 7:00 clock.

that was a lot of pool for this old body this weekend not to mention i was still feeling the effects of 8 and 9 ball cities the previous 2 weekends.

anyway at double jeapordy tonight i faced a 5 in 9 ball and i am a 4. for the 1st 3 or 4 racks we wound up pretty even. both of us stayed within a couple of points of each other. well i wound up breaking about the 4th or 5 th rack and scratched without making any balls. he ran the frickin table on me and got up by about 12 points ahead. i never could catch up losing just 3 points shy of what i needed.

later when i threw myself to play 8 ball the guy who beat me in 9 ball jumped up and said he is playing me. he had this grin on his face and just seemed like he was all sure of himself than he was going to have another win under his belt tonight.

i made up my mind right then and there i was not losing twice tonight, especialy to the same guy. i am a 5 and he is a 4 in 8 ball,so i gotta spot him a game. after playing him 9 ball i saw he was as good as me at pocketing ball so i decided instead of trying to outshoot him i would out think him.

although i play apa and have defended them on bashing threads on here i am an old barbanger and the words slop and defense have never been part of my vocabulary. well i decided that i was going to have to use some defense to help wipe that cocky grin off his face.

i made some balls i thought i needed to, left some hangers blocking pockets, attempted low percentage shots where i knew the cueball would come to rest where it left him hooked or hard shots.

the grin on his face quickly turned to a look of frustration. i purposely left the cueball where he could hit his last ball that was frozen on a rail hoping in his frustration that he would try something crazy because he did not see what i saw. sure enough he smacked his last ball and the cueball rebounded to the right knocking in the 8 ball.

i said damn it worked, game one for me. he had a look of disbelief on his face. to make this shorter he scratched on the 8 in the 2nd game. 3rd game he tried a kick into the left side pocket , it hit the rail and came across table and fell in the right side pocket. he raised his cue up like he he was going to sling it across the room but instead slammed it down on the table and started racking for the 4th time.

i am up 3 - 0 and have not even shot at the 8 ball yet. he is frustrated and missing easy shots and i finaly pocket the 8 ball putting him outa his misery.

folks i gotta tell you , this old barbanger has finaly seen the light and is now adding defense to his small arsenal. now i gotta admit sometimes the cueball did not stop where i wanted it to but i sure did not leave him very many easy shots:grin:

i am so tired i could not sleep so i decided to write about my experience. hope you dont find it boring or too long winded.
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Grats!!:thumbup: You just desrcibed the difference between a good shotmaker and a good pool player. Very nice.
 
instead of making a bunch of posts making replies i would like to state here, THANKS TO ALL THE ABOVE POSTERS FOR THEIR KIND WORDS IN REGARDS TO MY 1ST POST ABOVE.

i am competitive and dont like to lose but i have mostly treated league as some of you describe it, just a fun night out playing pool. maybe i took his actions wrong , i dont know. when i stated i was playing 8 ball he jumped up grinning ear to ear saying he was playing me again.

i took it as him being somewhat cocky and sure of himself that he was gonna hand me another asswhipping. it lit a fire in my belly and i decided it was not gonna happen again.

i know confidence goes a long way in helping your game and he was just oozing confidence. i also knew he was just as good of a shotmaker as i was and i was having to spot him a game. i decided instead of trying to outshoot him i would outsmart him.

you gotta realize i was a barbanger off and on for 30 years where defense was a dirty word. i have always been a strictly offense player. i have won a lot of games due to my shotmaking but have also lost a lot of games due to my opponents defense.

i guess you can teach an old dog new tricks if thay are willing to learn. i was always just to stubborn to change my way of playing.

once in between innings my scorekeeper said whats wrong buddy, you are missing a lot of shots. i replied some of those were intentional misses, i guess i gotta tell you when to mark a defensive shot. she said you never play defense, i said i am now . after that , every time i missed she asked, was that a defensive shot ? lol.

to dub ; if i continue to incoporate defense into my game and those defensive shots are marked my innings will be lowered, increasing the possibility of my skill level going up. i have never been worried about my handicap going up before because i was always the best player on my team even though i am only a 5. now that we have a 6 and a 7 on our team it does concern me some but i will cross that bridge when i come to it.

to tuscon9ball ; thanks for raising me from a good shotmaker to a good pool player :thumbup:. does that mean i am no longer just another apa banger ?:grin:
 
lorider said:
i have mostly treated league as some of you describe it, just a fun night out playing pool.

maybe i took his actions wrong , i dont know. when i stated i was playing 8 ball he jumped up grinning ear to ear saying he was playing me again.
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You can still be competitive and have fun. Ever have a drinking competition? I rest my case(no pun intended). You just learned how important it was and to set the aggressive ego aside. Play and don't just hand the game to your opponent. The better you get, the more important this will become. Some people don't need an open table, or even an open shot, to make you regret handing over the table.

No, you took his actions right. He was all giddy to play you, knowing he beat you flat-out in 9, then gets a spot in 8. Just an example of why not to get too ahead of yourself and that you haven't won until it's over.

Good playing, great eye-opener. :thumbup:
 
Banks said:
You can still be competitive and have fun. Ever have a drinking competition? I rest my case(no pun intended). You just learned how important it was and to set the aggressive ego aside. Play and don't just hand the game to your opponent. The better you get, the more important this will become. Some people don't need an open table, or even an open shot, to make you regret handing over the table.

No, you took his actions right. He was all giddy to play you, knowing he beat you flat-out in 9, then gets a spot in 8. Just an example of why not to get too ahead of yourself and that you haven't won until it's over.

Good playing, great eye-opener. :thumbup:
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thanks banks:wink:

yea i was in a few drinking competitions in my younger days. fun as hell but you pay for it the next day lol.

speaking of drinking, there was a thread a while back about does drinking help you play better. i think it does help some people who tend to overthink or who cant handle pressure.
 
Lumocolor said:
I like defensive battle games, i like seeing the players that have an all around understanding of the game and not just the ones who can pocket balls. I was in a 20 minute game of 8 ball in league last week and it was the funnest game i'd played in a while, won it after my opponent finally made the 1 mistake we both needed the other to make.
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Safety battles are more fun than pocketing balls IMO. I had my best night in at least year last night playing a 5 to move up on him for top shooter and safeties were the reason i won. Every safety disheartened him more and encorouraged me to shoot my best. I ended up winning 20-0 in 9 ball. I think the score was 31-5 in 13 innings with 6 defenses.
 
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