I recently played the best pool ever...

Bic D

Bic D

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Long story short....

I had a stent put in my heart last Saturday evening and they told me not to lift anything with my right arm (they went through the right wrist) over 10lbs for a couple weeks.

By Monday I'm a bit stir crazy and decide I'm going to play in our local tournament. I had already decided I wasn't going to break or really even hit the ball that hard.

Every person I played, I told told them they could break instead of flipping the coin and every person obliged without any argument.

The very first game, the fellow broke and ran 3 balls and missed a shot. He lift me a straight in shot for which I ran the table and won. I played several more times that night and never lost a game. I never hit the ball real hard or put a bunch of English on anything. I ended up winning the tournament....with ease. I normally place in the money (top 3) about once every 4 to 6 weeks

Tuesday is another tournament at the same place for a little less money and I play again. Some of the same people and I offer to let everyone break again. After my 2nd win the fellow says..."no, we can flip". I show him my right forearm that is black and blue and say I can't really break but if I lose the flip, I'll try and break left handed. He breaks and I win.

I ended up winning again but it was less people and less talent but I played very well nonetheless.

My hypotheses....take it easy, don't bang em hard and let you opponent have the break to get some balls off the table.

I have since been practicing at home playing the same way..no hard hitting, no extreme english etc...

I will be playing again Monday night and I'll let ya'll know how it turns out.

For anyone that is interested, I went to the doctor/hospital 4 times (EKG, ECHO and 2 stress tests) and was sent home being told that everything was fine, my heart is great and strong. When they did the heart cath, they found a 90% blockage and put in a stent.
 
Giving the opponent the break is a good idea for C and some B players. I would not try that strategy with anyone that can run out, or hands over the table after a safe not a miss. I do find that at a lower level of play, the person that wins the game is the one that is shooting later not the one that starts the game. There is often a mistake abut the 6 or 7 ball in 9 ball and towards the last two balls in 8 ball. At which point the person coming to the table is at a huge advantage.

Pretty nice to win every game though even using that strategy. Not hitting the balls hard or with extra spin, well that is just normal pool hehe.

Stay healthy and win some more :)
 
Spin and "letting your stroke out" is maybe overrated? Center ball, (stop, follow, or draw) medium speed or lower, assuming the table is level, is probably an aid in accuracy for most players. Of course, this just a generalization. Individual results may vary.
 
My league team has a 3 handicap player who was having difficulty adjusting to a new cue. One evening after his match, I pulled him aside and tried to impress upon him to slow his game down. He was missing shots and the cue ball was typically landing in the worst part of the table for him and best for his opponent. Most often, advice goes in one ear and out the next. But the next week, he came in and was greatly improved. His shot percentage is way up and he is winning games/matches. He told me that he took my advice, but it was obvious when I was watching. I don’t anticipate he will remain a 3 much longer.
 
pwd72s said:
Spin and "letting your stroke out" is maybe overrated? Center ball, (stop, follow, or draw) medium speed or lower, assuming the table is level, is probably an aid in accuracy for most players. Of course, this just a generalization. Individual results may vary.
Click to expand...

If "letting your stroke out" is so overrated, then why does EVERY top player play that way?
 
I know that I've had what I consider a "heavy" stroke for years. It's only in the last twenty years or so that I've toned down my speed of stroke on most shots and it's improved my accuracy by quite a bit. I've also used mostly center, low, and high since the '80s, applying English only when needed, which it isn't very often.
I had two stints put in 2013 right before Christmas and it probably saved my life, according to my cardiologist. Arthritis keeps me from exercising as I should but I changed my eating habits.
Good luck!!
 
JohnnyOzone...They don't! Pro players rarely get into a position where they HAVE to "let their stroke out". Getting correct angles is the key to moving the CB around the table easily. The difference between pros and amateurs is that the pro CAN let their stroke out and succeed...whereas the amateur will most likely make some kind of error when trying the same thing.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com

JohnnyOzone said:
If "letting your stroke out" is so overrated, then why does EVERY top player play that way?
Click to expand...
 
JohnnyOzone said:
If "letting your stroke out" is so overrated, then why does EVERY top player play that way?
Click to expand...

There is a difference between shooting hard, and having a firm hit. A lot of beginners think that if you shoot hard, that is the way to impress people, and when they start to actually learn to play they have one speed, hard. No matter what the position requires, they hit at the same speed.

A lot of shots I see good players use power on is to prevent trying to hold a ball up with a soft hit so they go 2 or 3 rails instead of trying to feather a ball in and hope their speed is good enough to get position. They are also a lot better at pocketing balls with power than others.
 
JohnnyOzone said:
If "letting your stroke out" is so overrated, then why does EVERY top player play that way?
Click to expand...

Because THEY have the skill and experience to use that and extreme amounts of spin. Where we mere mortals go wrong is attempting the same while we still should be working on the basics.
 
Any chance they just put you on some new drugs?

I ask because I had two stents put in and then was put on the "cocktail" of drugs... beta-blocker, ace inhibitor, cholesterol, and Aspirin.

I immediately noticed that my pool game got better... I was like I wasn't nervous EVER. No shakes, etc. Long shot were much better.

Won some tournaments.... did better in leagues, etc.
 
Thanks for such an uplifting post. I have also had to give up pool after cardiac procedures and when I came back to the game, it was wonderful. If you love the game, and from your post it's clear that you do, "absence make the heart grow fonder." Good luck with your continued recovery.
 
Bic D said:
Long story short....

I had a stent put in my heart last Saturday evening and they told me not to lift anything with my right arm (they went through the right wrist) over 10lbs for a couple weeks.

By Monday I'm a bit stir crazy and decide I'm going to play in our local tournament. I had already decided I wasn't going to break or really even hit the ball that hard.

Every person I played, I told told them they could break instead of flipping the coin and every person obliged without any argument.

The very first game, the fellow broke and ran 3 balls and missed a shot. He lift me a straight in shot for which I ran the table and won. I played several more times that night and never lost a game. I never hit the ball real hard or put a bunch of English on anything. I ended up winning the tournament....with ease. I normally place in the money (top 3) about once every 4 to 6 weeks

Tuesday is another tournament at the same place for a little less money and I play again. Some of the same people and I offer to let everyone break again. After my 2nd win the fellow says..."no, we can flip". I show him my right forearm that is black and blue and say I can't really break but if I lose the flip, I'll try and break left handed. He breaks and I win.

I ended up winning again but it was less people and less talent but I played very well nonetheless.

My hypotheses....take it easy, don't bang em hard and let you opponent have the break to get some balls off the table.

I have since been practicing at home playing the same way..no hard hitting, no extreme english etc...

I will be playing again Monday night and I'll let ya'll know how it turns out.

For anyone that is interested, I went to the doctor/hospital 4 times (EKG, ECHO and 2 stress tests) and was sent home being told that everything was fine, my heart is great and strong. When they did the heart cath, they found a 90% blockage and put in a stent.
Click to expand...

Awesome for you! Take care of that diet and do what the Doc says. My
Dad has stents and now a Quadurple Bi Pass and does 7 miles everyday. You can
have a great life knowing your stroke risk is now much lower.
 
eastcoast_chris said:
Any chance they just put you on some new drugs?

I ask because I had two stents put in and then was put on the "cocktail" of drugs... beta-blocker, ace inhibitor, cholesterol, and Aspirin.

I immediately noticed that my pool game got better... I was like I wasn't nervous EVER. No shakes, etc. Long shot were much better.

Won some tournaments.... did better in leagues, etc.
Click to expand...

Quite possibly b/c every thing you said was correct regarding no shakes, long shots, not nervous etc..very calm as if it was like I didn't care.
 
sjm said:
Thanks for such an uplifting post. I have also had to give up pool after cardiac procedures and when I came back to the game, it was wonderful. If you love the game, and from your post it's clear that you do, "absence make the heart grow fonder." Good luck with your continued recovery.
Click to expand...


THANK YOU!!

It's all good now. Or at least I believe it is.
 
336Robin said:
Awesome for you! Take care of that diet and do what the Doc says. My
Dad has stents and now a Quadurple Bi Pass and does 7 miles everyday. You can
have a great life knowing your stroke risk is now much lower.
Click to expand...

Thank you!

If I ever make it out to the western part of the state, maybe we can find a game.
 
Glad you were able to find the heart issue, do you mind if I ask what made you keep following up, were you having symptoms.


Interesting hearing eaatcoast chris mention the drug cocktail, I could see how some beta blockers would be beneficial to shooting pool.
Hope the improved game continues and your health continues to improve as well
 
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