Hatch The Shark

[JAM]

Jam,

You can thank me, (as well as hundreds of others) for instigating the seperate "Aiming System" forum.. Which Mike and Jerry were thrilled to accomodate...:thumbup:

I think it is a good addition, so thank you, et al., for the great suggestion! :smile:

Me personally, how I aim? I address the table properly a la Jimmy Reid. I then ensure my stance is correct, with my weight equally distributed in a comfortable position. Then I stroke the ball three times -- not two, not four, but three times a la Geese. Then I pull the trigger and it's ALL POCKETS STAND BY. Wherever she lands, nobody knows!

 

[West Point 1987]

What was the point of mic-ing these two? To hear their manners?

Okay, debate over...that officially killed the thread.

 

[SJDinPHX]

Exactly right!

The problem is determining which player (if any) did nothing to start the sharking. :indecisive:

I've seen many matches in my life and there are very few players without sin in this regard. Sometimes, the sharking starts with nothing more than a smirk that irks one of the players. It's really all about acting like gentlemen and it is too difficult to know for sure who was the original shit-stirrer. I've seen matches where the original shit-stirrer is never officially caught or seen by many. Some sharkers are more coy than others.

The bottom line is this game takes a LOT of focus and the little games that some people play have no place in the sport.

When both parties are penalized, the non-sharker will simply refuse to play. with those who will cost them money.

Joey,

I don't say its right, but if you don't learn to deal with the 'shark' you will not get far in the pool world..It took me over 50 years, to learn how to deal with the undisputed 'MASTER SHARKER', of all time !..For the first 8-10 years, I had way the worst of it, often having the best of the match-up, not realizing his shark was worth at least 2 balls.

Not being TOO stupid, I finally realized, sometimes you have to fight fire, with fire, and I became very good at pushing a few of his "hot buttons". Not saying thats acting 'professionally,'..but we were both so competitive, every time we played, it was all out war. Survival of the fittest...And we played hundreds of sessions, often for big money. We even came to actual blows a few times..(one win apiece..)

Today, we look back at those days, and laugh. We are good friends now, (except for the monthly bite ) I shall not be so crass, as to name this individual, but his initials are R.A...

PS..I guess a modern day comparison, would be Schmidt and Harriman II or III...Which, if Justin (TAR) could pull it off, would probably be their biggest draw ever...I say, let 'em take the gloves off, and go at it..But NO jumping up on the table, while the other guy's shooting !!! (unless of course, its his game ball)..After all, there have to be some rules re; decorum and sportsmanship..

 

[dorabelle]

If you are being sharked, you should be happy. Its tangible confirmation that your opponent is afraid of you or not focusing on their game. If you can block out the distraction of their behavior, they will try harder and only end up distracting themselves. You can easily turn a situation like this into your favor.

 

[Shane Sullivan]

I like how you think ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^:thumbup:

 

[Joe T]

If you are being sharked, you should be happy. Its tangible confirmation that your opponent is afraid of you. If you can block out the distraction of their behavior, they will try harder and only end up distracting themselves. You can easily turn a situation like this into your favor.

Wisdom beyond your years. Tough to do but I think its the only way to go.

 

[Slh]

I never had any problem with sharking. When I'm down on a shot I'm focused on the shot and I'm only looking the cb and ob, I'm not looking anything else. However I understand knowing that your opponent is trying to distract you can be very frustrating. In Italy there isn't such a thing as sharking. I mean there is, but (almost) nobody knows the " don't stay in front of the line of the shot" rule. Very often you will find out your opponent in front of you while you are shooting, or while you are shooting the 9 ball your opponent is picking up the balls from the pockets, or he is talking loudly when you are shooting. If you say something about these behaviours to your opponent many people think you are trying to find excuses for your ( potential) miss.

 

[mrmagoo42]

You knew something I didn't

When is some tournament director going to put an end to Hatch sharking in every match. I paid for the ppv and can't even watch it it makes me so sick watching him. Thank God for the stream from Hardtimes. Johnnyt

Had high hopes of what this match would be like because Mike & Dennis were even in my opinion. The drama was on the table. First night a come back by Mike when he was behind. Second night Dennis showed his stride in the middle of the match. Third night Mike kept a cool head and focused late in the match. That's what I paid to see.

But the mic ruined the image of tough competitors grinding out a tough match. Just my opinion but maybe the focus should be more on the table and not what goes on in the corner. I have seen both players compete in tournaments on live streams before but never heard or seen any behavior like that.

Justin after hearing what you have to deal with it gives me a whole new respect for how difficult making these events go off. Did enjoy the competition and the stream was excellent, nice work.

 

[JoeyA]

Joey,

I don't say its right, but if you don't learn to deal with the 'shark' you will not get far in the pool world..It took me over 50 years, to learn how to deal with the undisputed 'MASTER SHARKER', of all time !..For the first 8-10 years, I had way the worst of it, often having the best of the match-up, not realizing his shark was worth at least 2 balls.

Not being TOO stupid, I finally realized, sometimes you have to fight fire, with fire, and I became very good at pushing a few of his "hot buttons". Not saying thats acting 'professionally,'..but we were both so competitive, every time we played, it was all out war. Survival of the fittest...And we played hundreds of sessions, often for big money. We even came to actual blows a few times..(one win apiece..)

Today, we look back at those days, and laugh. We are good friends now, (except for the monthly bite ) I shall not be so crass, as to name this individual, but his initials are R.A...

PS..I guess a modern day comparison, would be Schmidt and Harriman II or III...Which, if Justin (TAR) could pull it off, would probably be their biggest draw ever...I say, let 'em take the gloves off, and go at it..But NO jumping up on the table, while the other guy's shooting !!! (unless of course, its his game ball)..After all, there have to be some rules re; decorum and sportsmanship..

Dick,

I'm afraid your advice about dealing with the shark is falling on deaf ears. If pros like Dechaine and Hatch can't deal with the sharking, how can I expect to deal with it. The pool world would be better off without the sharking. That's just my opinion.

If you are being sharked, you should be happy. Its tangible confirmation that your opponent is afraid of you or not focusing on their game. If you can block out the distraction of their behavior, they will try harder and only end up distracting themselves. You can easily turn a situation like this into your favor.

You are correct about the opponent who is doing the sharking being AFRAID.

I have observed the best players in the world, unable to block out the distraction of sharking by their opponent. I truly wish that blocking out those distractions were that easy.

If the best players in the world demand that the distractions stop, how am I supposed to be able to block out those type of distractions.

I never had any problem with sharking. When I'm down on a shot I'm focused on the shot and I'm only looking the cb and ob, I'm not looking anything else. However I understand knowing that your opponent is trying to distract you can be very frustrating. In Italy there isn't such a thing as sharking. I mean there is, but (almost) nobody knows the " don't stay in front of the line of the shot" rule. Very often you will find out your opponent in front of you while you are shooting, or while you are shooting the 9 ball your opponent is picking up the balls from the pockets, or he is talking loudly when you are shooting. If you say something about these behaviours to your opponent many people think you are trying to find excuses for your ( potential) miss.

Slh,
I'm not trying to diminish your post in any way but you seem to be talking about a different level of play. At the professional level of play I have seen the very best players distracted by sharking and miss balls. I could probably write a book about the number of matches that have been won because of sharking and distractions.

I once witnessed one of the best players the world has ever seen distracted not once but three times by a spectator who just happened to have the noisiest ice cubes bouncing around in one of those hard, clear, styrene glasses that they put to-go drinks in. Each time the player was about to take a shot, the spectator would "harmlessly" take the opportunity to tilt the glass which was empty of all water, except for the ice cubes, take a small sip and let the cubes clink together as he righted the glass. This probably wouldn't have bothered this great champion in other circumstances but it negatively affected his performance and after the third time, the audience sharker was outted by the player and it stopped. Unfortunately, it was too late and the great player had lost his rhythm and focus as well as the match.

I have seen other matches where an elite pro player was beating EVERYONE in a great tournament filled with professionals. In the finals, his opponent was fearful of this confident, precise manner in which the elite pro player was winning every match and somehow his opponent found it fitting to wipe down his cue at the very moment the elite pro player was pulling the trigger. The EPP stopped and looked at his opponent and the opponent, said a very sincere "I'm sorry" and remained still. When the EPP finally composed himself for this medium difficult shot, just as he was about to pull the trigger, the same opponent, jerked his head to talk with some people in the audience, which resulted in the EPP missing the shot by a diamond. The result was an angry EPP who couldn't beat me at that point. And of course, his very capable opponent now had the EPP exactly where he wanted him. It was sad because this EPP deserved to win based on his level of play. Unfortunately, even with his ability to focus at such a high level for such a long period of time, the sharking proved to be his ultimate demise.

So to those who say that one should be able to block out the distractions, I say that MOST of the pro players are unable to do so. If they can't do it, how can I be expected to do it?

Furthermore, why should I or anyone have to put up with sharking to any degree?