Hypothetical Question - What would you do?

The light's about to fall on your opponent's head.

Do you tell him?

The light's about to fall on your head; your opponent alerts you:

Do you thank him or accuse him of tainting your win.

You’re reaching here, sir....did your philosophy course discuss apples and oranges?
 
The hard way

Hypothetical Question - What would you do?


It's no different than raising children, they learn by mistakes. It's the way of life. I thought they taught this in school?
 
In our league there is absolutely no coaching. No timeouts. But there is a high level of sportsmanship. Many of our players would not hesitate to point this out to an opponent. Many would not. A lot does depend on the opponent and the circumstance.

BTW we do not use the BCAPL rule for illegal coaching (foul). If coaching occurs (or intentional distraction/sharking) the team gets one warning and if it happens again during the match it is loss of game. In my 15 years as L.O. no team has lost a game due to illegal coaching.

OK, so they had their one warning already. Now, the teammate is about to tell their teammate they are shooting the wrong ball. Is it still sportsmanship? What will the other team say. "oh, yeah, it's cool, no worries" Obviously, it depends on team.

But, they could call a foul on someone that was acting with good sportsmanship, correct? Hence, why I don't believe it is good sportsmanship to tell your opponent they are making a mistake. See where I'm going with this ;)

Should I tell my opponent when he is going to shoot an obvious scratch shot ? I mean, why would I let him foul because he does not now his tangent line ;)
 
Last edited:
I only read the OP...

I’ve done both. I’ve stopped my opponent and told him he was shooting the wrong ball. And I’ve also let him shoot it and jumped up immediately afterwards and said foul. (And def not pretending I didn’t know).

I’ve also had both situations happen to me.

All were in money games.
 
I only read the OP...

I’ve done both. I’ve stopped my opponent and told him he was shooting the wrong ball. And I’ve also let him shoot it and jumped up immediately afterwards and said foul. (And def not pretending I didn’t know).

I’ve also had both situations happen to me.

All were in money games.

So true. If your doing business with another and your enjoying the moment, give and take works but, if your playing the other type of animal....anything goes.
 
OK, so they had their one warning already. Now, the teammate is about to tell their teammate they are shooting the wrong ball. Is it still sportsmanship? What will the other team say. "oh, yeah, it's cool, no worries" Obviously, it depends on team.

But, they could call a foul on someone that was acting with good sportsmanship, correct? Hence, why I don't believe it is good sportsmanship to tell your opponent they are making a mistake. See where I'm going with this ;)

Should I tell my opponent when he is going to shoot an obvious scratch shot ? I mean, why would I let him foul because he does not now his tangent line ;)

No if a teammate coaches a teammate it is cheating. Every time. We are not talking about telling a teammate that they are shooting the wrong ball, we are talking about an opponent.

If my opponent goes to the bathroom and comes back and forgets what they are shooting and starts shooting the wrong ball and I correct them, I am being nice. Of course I don't have to do it. And I probably wouldn't do it in our league tournaments/playoffs...just during weekly league play. Our league is both competitive and fun, and the high level of sportsmanship makes it one of the best leagues in the country.

You see this kind of sportsmanship on the golf course all the time. For example, when your ball marker is in your opponents line on the putting green, you move it one or two putter widths aside so your opponent can putt. You are required to put the marker back before you putt, but often times you forget. All of the pros will make a point of reminding their opponent to move their marker back so that they don't get penalized for putting from the wrong spot. ALL OF THEM. Just basic sportsmanship.
 
Depends on who I'm playing. I gamble with some people I like, some I don't. Some that would tell me, some that wouldn't. So it just depends on who it is.
 
Well if your playing rotation, you should have a game plan on how your going to run out. So even if you opponent in lined up to shoot the 5 with the 4 on the table. Gotta wonder when he planned on shooting the 4. Apparently a lapse in focus. I have seen players try to shoot the object ball to make the cue ball. Should you tell them. Personal preference. Not right or wrong either way. I have and I haven't. I can say if it were reversed and I shot the wrong ball. I wouldn't even think about what my opponent should have done. Only thinking about my mistake.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Well if your playing rotation, you should have a game plan on how your going to run out. So even if you opponent in lined up to shoot the 5 with the 4 on the table. Gotta wonder when he planned on shooting the 4. Apparently a lapse in focus. I have seen players try to shoot the object ball to make the cue ball. Should you tell them. Personal preference. Not right or wrong either way. I have and I haven't. I can say if it were reversed and I shot the wrong ball. I wouldn't even think about what my opponent should have done. Only thinking about my mistake.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
I have no problem if someone chooses not to tell me. The players I can't take are the ones that wait just until I've shot it, then immediately tell me what I've done, jump up to pick up the CB and say, "Sorry, I really would have stopped you from shooting the wrong ball if I'd realized it in time". Just be honest and tell me it is not your responsibility to stop me if I'm careless enough to make that mistake.
 
I have no problem if someone chooses not to tell me. The players I can't take are the ones that wait just until I've shot it, then immediately tell me what I've done, jump up to pick up the CB and say, "Sorry, I really would have stopped you from shooting the wrong ball if I'd realized it in time". Just be honest and tell me it is not your responsibility to stop me if I'm careless enough to make that mistake.

Yeah that’s kinda lame. I think the only thing they should say is “foul”.
 
Looking for honest answers to the following question - Your opponent is mistakenly getting ready to shoot at the wrong ball in a rotational game. If you see it happening in time to stop him, do you tell him before he shoots?

Does it matter if it's a weekly local tourney, a bigger tourney, a money session with a regular, a money session with a stranger, or a crucial shot very late in a close set in any of those situations, where telling them or not telling them is likely going to cause you to win or lose the set?

I don't have a problem with a player that doesn't inform me, and is honest enough to tell me it is not his responsibility to inform me, if I'm the one shooting at the wrong ball. After all, it is my mistake.

What irritates me is the player who lets you know you fouled as soon as you shoot it, but then tries to claim he didn't notice what you were doing in time to stop you, but that he would have stopped you if he'd realized it in time, as he takes the ball-in-hand. Particularly if this has happened in numerous instances versus the same player.

So the part about saying you did not notice the foul in time to let the guy know, I have done that quite a few times, and it was really because I though he was going to try to hit the correct ball or I was looking the wrong way or something. When balls are in the same area, say the 2 is behind the 3, and the guy is aiming towards the 3, maybe he is going to masse or kick or is just looking at the shot. Then he shoots right at the 3 and it's too late to say anything.

In any of my weekly tournaments where it's often the same players and we have D players playing with B+ players, I don't know of a single player that would not say something when the opponent is about to do something that is a foul. Especially the lower level players when they are about to double-hit or shoot some crazy thing that would be a foul.

In the local tours where the players are paying decent money to compete and have no issues trying to get you on 3 fouls or whatever, it's 50/50 for me. If I know the player, and like them, I will say something. If I know the player is less than honest or has an attitude, that is on them if they mess up.
 
Last edited:
So the part about saying you did not notice the foul in time to let the guy know, I have done that quite a few times, and it was really because I though he was going to try to hit the correct ball or I was looking the wrong way or something. When balls are in the same area, say the 2 is behind the 3, and the guy is aiming towards the 3, maybe he is going to masse or kick or is just looking at the shot. Then he shoots right at the 3 and it's too late to say anything.

In any of my weekly tournaments where it's often the same players and we have D players playing with B+ players, I don't know of a single player that would not say something when the opponent is about to do something that is a foul. Especially the lower level players when they are about to double-hit or shoot some crazy thing that would be a foul.

In the local tours where the players are paying decent money to compete and have no issues trying to get you on 3 fouls or whatever, it's 50/50 for me. If I know the player, and like them, I will say something. If I know the player is less than honest or has an attitude, that is on them if they mess up.
A somewhat similar scenario - Is it considered OK for someone watching a tournament match to let one of the players know if they've forgotten to mark up their game on the wire? As a tournament director, I know I stay out of it even if witness it happening - it's the player's responsibility and not right for me to say anything anymore than it would be for me to just happen to randomly witness someone committing a foul that wasn't called and say something.
 
A somewhat similar scenario - Is it considered OK for someone watching a tournament match to let one of the players know if they've forgotten to mark up their game on the wire? As a tournament director, I know I stay out of it even if witness it happening - it's the player's responsibility and not right for me to say anything anymore than it would be for me to just happen to randomly witness someone committing a foul that wasn't called and say something.

My vote...completely OK.
 
I always inform them if I notice in time, and if they call the wrong ball number, but I know the ball they made was the one they were going for, that's cool too!
 
No if a teammate coaches a teammate it is cheating. Every time. We are not talking about telling a teammate that they are shooting the wrong ball, we are talking about an opponent.

If my opponent goes to the bathroom and comes back and forgets what they are shooting and starts shooting the wrong ball and I correct them, I am being nice. Of course I don't have to do it. And I probably wouldn't do it in our league tournaments/playoffs...just during weekly league play. Our league is both competitive and fun, and the high level of sportsmanship makes it one of the best leagues in the country.

You see this kind of sportsmanship on the golf course all the time. For example, when your ball marker is in your opponents line on the putting green, you move it one or two putter widths aside so your opponent can putt. You are required to put the marker back before you putt, but often times you forget. All of the pros will make a point of reminding their opponent to move their marker back so that they don't get penalized for putting from the wrong spot. ALL OF THEM. Just basic sportsmanship.

If it's cheating if my best friend and team mate do it, it should be wrong is my opponent does it. How can you pat one on the back, and call the other person a "cheater" ?

That makes no sense. Sportsmanship is being thrown around, but when my team mate does it he's a cheater?

Either it's right or wrong. If your opponent is shooting leave him alone unless he asks you something? Hey, am I stripes or solids? Whatever.
 
I have never played in a singles tournament that allowed coaching. I have never played for money and allowed coaching.
I played in the BCAPL and if you want to stop your opponent you must do it before they get down on the shot.
So to stop my opponent to give them shooting advice would be wrong on 2 counts.

In 8 ball I have gotten down on a shot to take an intentional foul and tie up my opponent, only to have them stop me to tell me I am shooting the wrong ball......Heh heh.
 
IMO, a foul's a foul, whether your opponent is colorblind or simply lacks basic attention skills. Having said that, I have spoken up to keep an opponent from hitting the wrong ball, but rarely in tournament play or league play. I would not subject myself or my teammates to a possible loss by ignoring or passing on an obvious foul from a player that should not be making such fouls. And I would expect to be called out for committing such a foul myself, though I can't remember the last time I was that careless. Well, I did shoot 2 balls into my opponent's pocket a couple of weeks ago while playing 1hole, but that's not a foul. I had gone to get a drink. It was his break and he switched pockets on me, made a horrible break, and when I returned the cb was sitting almost in the middle of the table. I looked at him and he said he had tried a different break. I told him to use it more often, then proceeded to run out. After I shot two balls he spoke up and said I was shooting into his pocket. What an idiot...not him, me. :o
 
Why are you looking for your moral compass on a billiard forum?

hahaha!

I'd tell them if I saw them about to mess up, and I always tell my opponent if I mess up and they didn't see it. I was raised playing the game of golf, and you always hold yourself accountable to your actions. To each their own though.
 
Back
Top