How do you get over being a coward?

[wayne]

Do you want to be a,
a. gambler
b. a hustler
c. a pool player?
G

My only desire of the three is to be a poolplayer. I hustled a guy once years ago and gave him his money back when he realized I'd hustled him that was the only time I ever hustled anyone. Since pool is a game of skill and I am betting on my skills I don't consider wagering on myself gambling.
Wayne

 

[wayne]

Getting someone to stake half your action might work for you as long as you don't have the problem I had years ago (when I gambled a little) - I felt MORE pressure if someone backed me!! Because then if I lost I was not only losing (which I detest) and losing money, but letting someone else down as well. For me, the pressure when getting staked was way worse than losing my own money..... Gee, how nutty can you get!!??

Yes I usually just bet my own money but if someone else takes part of my action it causes me more pain if I lose. If I win with someone else taking part of my action then I feel like I gave away some of my winnings LOL. I guess you can't win that way. I had a situation happen twice where a friend and I were 2 of the last 3 in a tournament and they asked me to split whatever we won, if someone asks me I always do this but I wouldn't ask. Anyway both times I finished third and got half of first (they both won) and third money which was a over a thousand extra and I really felt I didn't deserve it (I gave both players an extra hundred). On the other hand I believe I may have won both times if I hadn't agreed because it seemed to take the pressure off them and added to mine (go figure).

Wayne

 

[chefjeff]

(snip) ...I don't know what end is up any more.

OK, who wants to hit this slowball over the fence?

I'll take a swing at it: Driver, "up" is the end that is not talking.

Jeff Livingston

 

[Gabber]

My only desire of the three is to be a poolplayer. I hustled a guy once years ago and gave him his money back when he realized I'd hustled him that was the only time I ever hustled anyone. Since pool is a game of skill and I am betting on my skills I don't consider wagering on myself gambling.
Wayne

Wayne, what is a wager?
Anytime you put up money that you can lose, its a gamble. You are betting on yourself. You win a grand or you lose a grand. Its that simple.
Gabber

 

[LiL_C]

Gambling

Ther's something you have to relize about gambling it changes everything about your game and it takes heart becaue in a small way you have to loose respect for your money and if your going to become a top player your going to have to gamble and actually you would want to beccause in the long run it's going to help your game and teach you how to play better under pressure.

My only real advice to you is if your going to gamble start small, play everyone you can for 2 to 5 dollars a game and I mean people you can beat and the ones you cant just match up right and play them also. Put a set amount of how much your going to loose and as far as winning you keep playing until the other person quits because the worst thing you can do is quit someone winning any money player will tell you that.

I know this because I hang around some of the best playes in my city and play them alot the ones I dont hang out with I have watched them play. Just remember Never gamble with money you can't afford to loose because there's going to be a time when you think you have the dead nuts in a game and you will loose anyway.

One more little thing theres something I always tell people when they ask me how come I play people stronger than me for money and it's simple. I play a weaker player to get paid and a Stronger player to get knowledge

 

[sonia]

I have my limitations when playing and they are a little more limiting than they should be. I see players who have no fear of betting it way up if they consider they are even the slightest favorite. I know this can work against them a lot of the time but sometimes it pays off very big time.
An average poolplayer friend used to bet in the thousands and I saw him bet as much as $2000 in a single game of 9 ball. He doesnt play pool much anymore because he became a card player. This week he finished 3rd in a tournament in Vegas and won $210,000 (on ESPN in a couple of months) then yesterday he wins a tournament at the Bicycle club for $148,000. There is no way he does this well if he doesn't have that willingness to bet it up. It seems a lot of the poolplayers who were willing to bet it up are playing cards.
Now the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat tend to change drastically based on what is staked and most everyone has their limitations but I notice this cowardliness setting in sometimes in situations where it shouldn't for example I am down against a person I should be able to beat and I should double the bet but I don't, or someone wants to bet big in a game I should be able to win but the big amount scares me off. Sometimes I just force myself to go ahead but other times I do nothing or I back out of games I should be in. I know I am more afraid in certain situations than I should be and I wonder how others overcome this???

Wayne

Only when money is no object

Sonia

 

[Ronoh]

Bottom Line

Know your limits, and try to exceed them, wisely.

 

[sonia]

Thanks for the responses. The problem is staying too much in the comfort zone. I am not a big risk taker and I can always afford what I play for but I know it is necessary to step up sometimes in order to improve but in comes this fear that shouldn't be there. For example, this guy wants to set up this match of 9 ball for a $1000 which I am agreeable to but after agreeing then I start wanting to back off from it, I know it is a bit out of my comfort zone and the opponent is being backed so there is no big risk for him. I would like to have a mind set where there was no fear in this situation and I know if I do it that it will be beneficial to me but the comfort zone says not to do it. The way I have gotten better is pushing through barriers like this and it will probably take place but I really don't like having this cowardly feeling about it.
I want to have more heart so I can step up my game so I know I need to overcome this. I am just trying to figure out how I can best do this????

Wayne

You have it backwards. Step up your game and you will have more heart. Getting the top aiming system would be a big, big, help.

sonia

 

[Snapshot9]

Do you remember ..

That Whitney Houston song called, 'Step by Step'?

That's how you do it, step by step.

I, internally, think that my time and my skill is worth $100 an hour.
So, if I play a $100 9 ball match, race to 7, I am in keeping with
myself. Granted, I may not win every set, but I am at least playing
at the level I should play at. If I play for more, that is okay. If I
play for less, then I am low balling, trying to roll up my money.

You have to get comfortable playing for $200-400 sets, then up to $5-600
sets. From $6-700 a set, you can make the jump to $1,000 a set.
But, when I play for larger money, I usually stipulate that each player
(myself included) has to guarantee 3 sets worth of money, and no
winning the first set and running with the money. That way I know
the minimum I can win, and that we will be playing more than 1 set.

When you play for larger money, you are very specific about what is
required from each player, and get it agreed on before you start playing.
Also, any $500 and up a set money is usually held by an agreed upon
3rd party till the set is over , someone you both trust without a doubt.

If you know the guy, and he has shown you money and you trust him,
then go ahead and play. As a rule though, any sets over a $100, the
money should be posted, and kept where it is safe (like on top of the
light, but don't go to the bathroom without a trusted friend keeping an
eye on it for you).

If you are in a strange billiard room for you, take no chances at all
with your money, make sure it is safe at all times. Instead of posting
sometimes, players may elect to show the other player the money for
the upcoming set, and then just keep it in their pocket till the set is
over, but even then an opponent might just try to skip out on you
out the door without paying you (I had that happen to me on a $400 set).