Have I come across the ultimate nit?

I ran some popular handicap snooker tournaments in the 80s…..I had a guy who later became a pro who would take his cue apart and rummage under the table for his case while his opponent was running out…he won at least three matches doing this. I made a tournament rule “If you crack your cue, you’ve conceded the game.” Also “If you run out but touch the cue ball while it’s still moving, you lose the game.”
If anybody thinks that’s nitty, don’t run tournaments.
 
Bob Jewett said:
if a player unscrews his jointed playing cue stick while the opponent is at the table and during the opponent’s decisive rack of a match
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What I bolded is where I think things break down if you follow the rules. This wasn't the opponent's decisive rack.

If they are going to be nits they need to at least be nits that know the rules.

Hu
 
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Flakeandrun said:
I was playing in a small tournament this afternoon/evening - Field of 32. I won the first game 7-1, even while I played like trash. I blamed this performance on the new shaft I am using, an ACSS M Musashi 12.5mm, which came with a rock hard Kamui black on the end (I think). I got it for a steal, and thought I'd give it a whirl in this semi-serious tournament in place of my Musashi VI 12.8mm which has a medium Moori. It just felt horrible and I moaned about it quite a lot, to just about anyone who would listen, in a generally quite jovial way. I was in quite a good mood considering I really did not play anything like I wanted to.

Come second game, and I am still playing pretty poorly, with a few exasperated table taps and some pouting (can't help myself). I am playing a guy who I'd actually chatted with a fair bit while waiting around... I came back from 3-1 down, and the score is now set at 5-3. At this point, I had enough of this rock solid tip and took my old shaft from my cue case, and put it on the chair, unscrewed my cue in order to put the old shaft back on. This was at the end of the rack, not mid-frame... The guy calls to the floor referee who is working all the tables for the light off, and goes to shake my hand... Now I am super confused at this point and I think he is conceding to me... so I begin to shake his hand. Referee comes over and asks who won, and he claims it... 15 minutes of confused bickering follows.

I explained I took my old shaft out of my case to put it onto my cue. The guy I am playing knew I had been moaning about the new shaft, as I'd spent half an hour sat next to him waiting for the game. I even showed him the shaft... Both he and the referee just cling hard to language barrier issues and crack out the phone translation like they can't understand me (they absolutely can). They basically cite the 'breaking your cue down is a forfeiture' line.

Now, I fully get that breaking the cue down is a forfeiture, and generally stops people from sharking someone when they're on the last ball (My understanding, is that it could cause someone to dog match ball, and it would be bullshit to screw your cue back together and swoop in). But this guy... would not relent. if it wasn't for a close friend of mine helping me to see the pathetically funny side of it, I probably would have gone full sourpuss and loudly questioned his 'face' (culturally people don't like to be loudly called into question here, probably would have got me on his life-long Hitlist, or a beating in the carpark :ROFLMAO:).

It was incredibly obvious I was just switching the shaft in my opinion. People stop mid-rack to screw together a jump cue when required... So I can't switch a shaft in-between racks? I am genuinely amazed anyone would be happy to take that as a win.

Anyway, I hung around to watch him get demolished by the aforementioned close friend, and did enjoy some exaggerated celebration after. Then came home and thought I'd vent about it here. Anything like this happened to any of you??

Wooldridge Supertip is going on the ACSS shaft tomorrow. The current tip almost feels phenolic it's so freaking hard.
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Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Next time make sure you ask a ref before you unscrew a cue. Sure, it's nitty, but it's a rule for a reason, it prevents nitty moves.
 
a1712 said:
I was called out in NAPA League for changing cues in a match. The Cue was already out and assembled and there's no rule other than, you have to notify your opponent. I was just told to notify my opponent from now on, and we played happily on. Brian.
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If the cue is already put together, I don't see how it's any different from switching to a breaker, or a Jump cue. Glad at least your opponent allowed you to continue.
 
Patrick Johnson said:
How could the ref agree you'd forfeited while in the lead? He's the nit.

pj
chgo
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People tend to side with their own people sometimes. As sad as that is. I won't use the word that I think could be partly applied here, because although it certainly has something to do with prejudice, it's more getting swept up in 'face' during the moment. Agree with you. Pair of them had me gobsmacked.
 
Maxx said:
Maybe he couldn’t take anymore of your constant bitching and moaning, while you had a lead no less, about your shaft and decided the most humane thing to do was to end the match and put you out of your misery.
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:ROFLMAO: got a point to be honest. Although, verbally there was no moaning in frame. Just a lot of tutting. Again, 'face', no one likes being beaten by a person who's not 100%
 
sixpack said:
I think the rule is pretty clear. If you break your shaft down during your opponent's turn, it's a forfeit/concession.

I have seen it called in even nittier circumstances though.

A girlfriend of mine was playing leagues away at a bar and was 'pole hooked'. She couldn't use her cue because it was too long. They had a 'shorty' house cue at this bar but even it was too long. So she took her shaft off to play it with a shaft and her opponent thanked her for conceding. Of course she contested, she even told her opponent she would shoot the shot with her shaft before she to ok it off. And she took apart her cue during her turn, not her opponents.

They called over the LO - who happened to be at the bar - and the LO ruled in favor of the concession. She lost the match.

Nittiest BS I've ever seen.

Also - just as n aside - if you posted this as an "AITA" thread (Am I the Asshole) I would have voted for you being the asshole. I like your posts on here and I think you're a good person, but you are at a semi serious tournament demolishing your opponents by scores of 7-1 and bitching and moaning about how poorly your shaft is playing. Nobody cares. Keep your whining to yourself. Be happy with every win and if you need to make an equipment change, make it. Quietly.

I think you should have a little more humility, especially when playing lesser players.
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I don't think they are lesser players. Though I see your point, 'face' matters here more than I am familiar with, and in ways I am not fully familiar with. Humans are complicated things.
I was surprised that it was called because it was no ones 'turn' it was between racks.
 
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Bob Jewett said:
Here is the text of the applicable rule in the World Standardized Rules:

1.11 CONCESSION​

If a player concedes, he loses the match. For example, if a player unscrews his jointed playing cue stick while the opponent is at the table and during the opponent’s decisive rack of a match, it will be considered a concession of the match.​
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This was my understanding, and I tried to contest it by saying this. The referee is actually a reasonably good friend of mine, who referees major events also. I think he was also caught up in the 'face' of the situation. As I said earlier, people here can be irrational when many eyes are involved, and there's a bit of a scene.
 
Flakeandrun said:
I wasn't sure I broke any rule. Seems from the text Bob posted, I didn't actually do anything wrong by changing shafts between racks.
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When in doubt (or even if not in doubt) get a ref involved. It's the only way to protect yourself from nits. They are everywhere, from the corner bar to the pros on tv.
 
Bob Jewett said:
He got the official involved. That official helped screw him. I think they don't like him there.
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The guy who is referee is actually a lovely guy, who I know and respect.

I think the guy I was playing factored difference and 'face' into the issue, and exacerbated the situation on purpose. It's why I'm glad my other friend who was playing stepped in and showed me just how hilariously pathetic it was, and encouraged me to accept it. He understood my perspective, and he knows I'd probably have ended up making some enemies by pushing the issue too far in the name of logic. Face > logic in almost all circumstances here.

There would be no backing down by the opponent or referee once eyes were involved (this is the case with most issues). It can seem quite pathetic to an outsider, but people will argue the toss even when they're in the wrong in the name of 'face'. I was always going to lose any argument in that situation, as I said in a previous comment. Both understood me and started saying their was language barrier issues... I think, yes, there was some prejudice used/involved (a bit like when I was told I was 'too good' for a tournament, but really they simply didn't want me to play in it), but realistically, I think that when tensions arise, and eyes are on people. There is no backing down, or looking lesser.

I felt a bit sorry for the referee, and I'll have a joke about it with him at another time (I play with him often, and he does an awful lot for the American table pool scene). I am curious how he would approach it with me in a 1:1 context.
Lawnboy77 said:
The OP did nothing wrong.
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I don't think I did. But I won't be trying it again anytime soon :ROFLMAO:
 
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