How many people at your hall, can you talk to about the finer points of pool?
- Thread starter twilight
- Start date
If someone wants to talk about strategy or how to move whitey around I'm available. That is, if I'm not playing or working on something specific. It doesn't happen all that often so its not a big deal.
However if one starts talking about juice it more with a dime tip, or less deflection with a certain shaft and the list goes on and on and on -- well you easily lost my interest.
To simplify, players make shots happen. Not the radius or deflection --blah -blah -blah. I'm not saying there isn't a difference in some aspects but if your a pool player you adapt to what you play with. In time you learn what works best for you, not from what someone else likes. I have to mention though, it appears players on forums have adapted to what someone else likes.
I'm lot like Steve L or dead money's post. I came to play with what little time I have available. If you have lots of time and find it interesting discussion - fine go ahead. You'll have to do some searching though because I'll be one of those running away from you. I suspect a ton of players are the same in that aspect.
On a forum it's much easier to find individuals with similar interests. People are at work killing time (and getting paid) or at home with nothing to do at the moment. Their list of priority's are in the back seat. At the pool room though that is a minority, with time limitations the game at hand is taking the front seat.
Rod
However if one starts talking about juice it more with a dime tip, or less deflection with a certain shaft and the list goes on and on and on -- well you easily lost my interest.
To simplify, players make shots happen. Not the radius or deflection --blah -blah -blah. I'm not saying there isn't a difference in some aspects but if your a pool player you adapt to what you play with. In time you learn what works best for you, not from what someone else likes. I have to mention though, it appears players on forums have adapted to what someone else likes.
I'm lot like Steve L or dead money's post. I came to play with what little time I have available. If you have lots of time and find it interesting discussion - fine go ahead. You'll have to do some searching though because I'll be one of those running away from you. I suspect a ton of players are the same in that aspect.
On a forum it's much easier to find individuals with similar interests. People are at work killing time (and getting paid) or at home with nothing to do at the moment. Their list of priority's are in the back seat. At the pool room though that is a minority, with time limitations the game at hand is taking the front seat.
Rod
Rod said:
Yes, I would consider the finer points of pool to be all the "How Would You Play This?" discussions we've had lately, mostly courtesy of SJM and Jude. I've been having them my whole life. They are an integral piece of learning the game in my opinion. This is what is connoted, in my mind, when I think of "the finer points" of the game.
To be totally honest, I would consider all that other stuff the "trivialities" of the game. There's no judgment (positive or negative) with that word, but since none of it will make anyone's game better, I can't imagine how they're getting confused with the finer points of the game.
Maybe my connotation of that phrase is wrong? I don't know. Here's an analogy, though. If someone were to give you a lesson on "The Finer Points of Tennis", would you expect some sort of instruction, or would you expect a dissertation on the process by which rackets are made?
- Steve
Absolutely nobody!
There is nobody in any pool hall I frequent, nobody in my state, nobody in the US, indeed nobody in the world who I can have an intelligent discussion about all areas of pool with. What is more, I can say with some confidence that this will always be true!
Once when I was young I thought I needed to know every minute detail about anything I wanted to be good at. Then I bumped head on into the real world. Men with forty years experience that could barely read and write, nowhere nearly as smart or knowledgeable as me, whupped me like a rented mule!!
Over and over in every area I explored I learned that people could be dead wrong about why things worked and 100% correct in knowing how to make them work. After enough experience of my own I learned that I needed to understand some things or some areas in detail and other things I could "black box", do this and get that result. Put this in, get that out. It really doesn't matter why.
I know that to get the letters on this screen the input goes back and forth through at least four different levels of signal. For you to see it, it has to move back and forth through another seven to ten levels. Someone that knows to press the "g" key to get a g to come up on the screen gets exactly the same result.
My life got much simpler and I had much more time to make real accomplishments once I understood the KISS theory. Know how much and what knowledge you really need to accomplish your goals. Anything more is purely intellectual curiosity that often wastes time better spent elsewhere.
Hu
There is nobody in any pool hall I frequent, nobody in my state, nobody in the US, indeed nobody in the world who I can have an intelligent discussion about all areas of pool with. What is more, I can say with some confidence that this will always be true!
Once when I was young I thought I needed to know every minute detail about anything I wanted to be good at. Then I bumped head on into the real world. Men with forty years experience that could barely read and write, nowhere nearly as smart or knowledgeable as me, whupped me like a rented mule!!
Over and over in every area I explored I learned that people could be dead wrong about why things worked and 100% correct in knowing how to make them work. After enough experience of my own I learned that I needed to understand some things or some areas in detail and other things I could "black box", do this and get that result. Put this in, get that out. It really doesn't matter why.
I know that to get the letters on this screen the input goes back and forth through at least four different levels of signal. For you to see it, it has to move back and forth through another seven to ten levels. Someone that knows to press the "g" key to get a g to come up on the screen gets exactly the same result.
My life got much simpler and I had much more time to make real accomplishments once I understood the KISS theory. Know how much and what knowledge you really need to accomplish your goals. Anything more is purely intellectual curiosity that often wastes time better spent elsewhere.
Hu
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Youz bums.... Ya knows what I hate? When I'm elemavating my stick to hit the rock on the right side, and it deflects off to the left, and if that ain't bad enuff, it then masses it's happy arrrrrrrse back to the right. But it sometimes hits wheres I wanted it to go, youknowhaddimean?
And den, when I got a combeenation straight down the rail, and I look over at Joey-with-the-Glasses, and I say, "Hey, Joey-with-the-Glasses, (cause, you know, that's what we call him) watch me make this here combeenation, 5 to the deuce, in the corner, rackety tacketdy!"
And just because I hit it a little on the left side, that DAMN contact induced friction made me miss the damn shot! Combeenation went right into the rail.
Fuggedaboudit.
But then I made up for it when played Johnny Three Toes. Don't ask, you DON'T want to know what happened to Johnny.
Johnny Three Toes is laughing at me because he has my last ball blocked. He wants I should bank the ball 5 rails, he is laughing so hard. I says to him, "Johnny Three Toes, you better stop laughing at me, maybe you wanna be called Johnny No Toes?"
I then shove that ball right up Johnny's arse by saying "After your ball, Johnny, right in the corner. " I then shot my ball with an awesomely smooth draw stroke, which after my ball knocks his in, it keeps going forward, and goes in.
I tell yah, it was never so much fun before watching Johnny Two Toes crap hisself, knowwhaddimean?
I tried to teach Johnny that there shot, but he's one of dose, whaddyacallem? Yeah, dat's it. He's one of dem "Phillistines". He ain't no good for nothing except gettin' pounded in the head with a rock.
(Is THIS the sort of intelligent banter about pool physics you were looking for?)
And den, when I got a combeenation straight down the rail, and I look over at Joey-with-the-Glasses, and I say, "Hey, Joey-with-the-Glasses, (cause, you know, that's what we call him) watch me make this here combeenation, 5 to the deuce, in the corner, rackety tacketdy!"
And just because I hit it a little on the left side, that DAMN contact induced friction made me miss the damn shot! Combeenation went right into the rail.
Fuggedaboudit.
But then I made up for it when played Johnny Three Toes. Don't ask, you DON'T want to know what happened to Johnny.
Johnny Three Toes is laughing at me because he has my last ball blocked. He wants I should bank the ball 5 rails, he is laughing so hard. I says to him, "Johnny Three Toes, you better stop laughing at me, maybe you wanna be called Johnny No Toes?"
I then shove that ball right up Johnny's arse by saying "After your ball, Johnny, right in the corner. " I then shot my ball with an awesomely smooth draw stroke, which after my ball knocks his in, it keeps going forward, and goes in.
I tell yah, it was never so much fun before watching Johnny Two Toes crap hisself, knowwhaddimean?
I tried to teach Johnny that there shot, but he's one of dose, whaddyacallem? Yeah, dat's it. He's one of dem "Phillistines". He ain't no good for nothing except gettin' pounded in the head with a rock.
(Is THIS the sort of intelligent banter about pool physics you were looking for?)
The way I look at it is this...no offense to anyone on here but I think most of people who are addicted to AZB, myself included, are the nerds of the pool world. I don't just like to play pool I like to play, eat, drink, and sleep it. I love to hear stories and about the history of the game. Some folks are cue afficiandos; other folks are junkies for learning about the science and physics of the game. Whatever you're into is what makes the game great. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if you take the time to routinely read and post on a forum about pool you're much much more a fan of the game than even most frequent or good players in the poolroom.
StraightPoolIU said:
I like the way you put it. I am a big fan of the game and I think I like to know about the history and physics and all the stuff we discuss on the board.
I think I hit a nerve with a few people about this topic. My question merely asked who does have good good conversations beyond the normal, "how are you shooting today?" I know some people play to play and thats great. I'm asking who here is able to talk about all the other things that encompass pool beyond just playing. Some people seem slightly bothered, but I don't get annoyed when people just want to play, why should some get bothered if I want to have discussions about pool? *shrugs*
I guess "finer points" was a bad choice of words. How about other aspects of the world of pool beyond the pool hall and TV. whew, what a mouthful.
uwate: yes that's me. I do Muay Thai, and I love to spar. I also like talking about the origins of Muay Thai as well as fighters of the past. Just like I like to play pool as much as I like to expand my knowledge. I just think learning new things is fun... call me a nerd.