"I don't practice at all" - good excuse?

[larrynj1]

sometimes i'm playing bad, and the other guy is missing as much as me. when the rack is done, i think or say, that game was a matter of who wanted to lose the most.

 

[Roy Steffensen]

I don't have time to practice any more. At all. So when I am playing leagues and guys will want to match up I say, no thanks, I haven't been playing at all. Usually they think it's just a stall or a way to ask for weight, but it's true and I don't want to play them because I know I'm not in good form.

As for things said after a match. I've learned that if I win anything I say can be 'insulting' if the person I say it to . By the same token, if I lose, anything I say to the winner can be taken as offensive or as a lack of respect.

So now, no matter whether I win or lose I shake hands and say, "good game." or "I enjoyed playing you." Or, if it's someone who I know is volatile, I'll just shake their hand and smile. If they say "you got lucky." I just say "Thank you." (That usually confuses them enough for me to get away )

Many players will say something along the lines of "I played crappy" or "You got lucky" or something. If they do, I just smile, maybe say "Thank you" and walk away.

I really can't see anything productive from having that conversation, especially in a tournament where you need to keep positive for your next match, win or lose. So I try to nip it in the bud.

I really don't like it when I put a guy out of a tournament and he comes and finds me when I'm trying to get ready for my next match and wants to re-hash the ins and outs of "When I missed that three ball in the third game, I knew that was it for me" or "That lucky safe you got in in game 5 was a two game swing..." Even if they're being friendly and sincere about it, I just really don't want to have that conversation.

~rc

When people tell me that I got lucky I always reply: "Yes, I got lucky, I got to play you"

 

[pooltchr]

Guess I missed the sarcasm. It's just that I hear so many people tell me how much they parctice, when in fact, most of them are just playing pool by themselves and calling it practicing. I'm no exception. Until I went to pool school, I didn't know how to practice. It's probably one of the best things I learned. And many of my students tell me that has changed their game as much as anything. Most of us don't have as much table time as we would like, and learning to optimize that time is a great help.

Didn't mean to tempt you with the food for thought...but at least I didn't tempt you with thoughts of food!

Steve