I'm so damn LAZY

Still want to shoot said:
You just reminded me. I have a bad habbit of uncontrolled sandbagging when playing new people, its not on purpose. I think its left over habbit from gambling in the halls when i was younger. happened a couple weeks ago lol and i thought great this guy thinks i suck now. whatever.
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I get this even at my level. I'd rather "vet" new players than trash 'em. Hard up for somebody to fire at will on me.
 
straightline said:
So aim first or shape first? Technically either can be second to the other and intellectually it's not that hard to grasp the concept of both as a single entity.
Learning to do both as a single entity is another thing entirely. Straight pool is a good example. The better you get, the more you try to stick with the natural behavior of the balls; often cinching stuff just to stay in an opportune position. Mastery of pool is no office party for sure.
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I dunno but has anyone else noticed that when you’re on, in stroke, seeing the shot line, making balls, that shape seems to be almost automatic? When struggling to pocket balls, when I do manage to pot balls, shape is usually wonky. But when playing with confidence, and not having to worry about whether I will make the object ball, shape is almost always pretty good without any extra attention to it. Rare for me but it has happened.
 
dquarasr said:
I dunno but has anyone else noticed that when you’re on, in stroke, seeing the shot line, making balls, that shape seems to be almost automatic?
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Yes! almost becomes automatic for a lot of shots. I love getting a lot of accidental safes too, makes me wonder if in the back of my head somewhere im considering the safe if i miss without realizing it.
When your on the game just seems fluid.
 
dquarasr said:
I dunno but has anyone else noticed that when you’re on, in stroke, seeing the shot line, making balls, that shape seems to be almost automatic? When struggling to pocket balls, when I do manage to pot balls, shape is usually wonky. But when playing with confidence, and not having to worry about whether I will make the object ball, shape is almost always pretty good without any extra attention to it. Rare for me but it has happened.
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I'd call that fluency. That magical zone is the goal. IMO getting there is a function of diligent and daily preparation.
 
GoldCrown said:
Here’s my take looking back. I should have stayed the fk in school. I sucked in pool then now and in between and will most likely suck next week. Screw pool.
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yes yes and yes, I wonder how many on here spent 40 50 or 60 years playing pool , drinking , ie {wasting time } Now that I am at the end of my life , I wish I could trade those hours days months years decades, doing almost anything else, that isn't illegal or morally wrong. Even if it was just skipping rocks across a beautiful lake or river and watching the clouds go by. It makes me feel so stupid.
and yet ,I continue to argue about spin on the cueball and who played better, who gives a rats ass.
 
straightline said:
Isolating this since the OP brought it up. Of course the cue ball does it's thing even as one learns pocketing. The primary focus should be the object ball line. The instructor can create more tuition opportunity by wasting the first year spoiling the student - letting them multitask whatever they can make of it. "It can build the foundation for a lifetime of enjoyment" yada yada...

You've worked in sophisticated tech right? Need I go on?
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I did work in sophisticated tech. I couldn't ignore eighty percent of it and focus on twenty percent and be successful.

A beginner is going to be a banger until they focus on the entire picture, making the ball and shape. If they focus entirely on making the ball first their pocketing is going to go way down when they start trying to play shape. I prefer a smoother climb.

Hu
 
ShootingArts said:
I did work in sophisticated tech. I couldn't ignore eighty percent of it and focus on twenty percent and be successful.

A beginner is going to be a banger until they focus on the entire picture, making the ball and shape. If they focus entirely on making the ball first their pocketing is going to go way down when they start trying to play shape. I prefer a smoother climb.

Hu
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The point was more it comes together piece by piece. Um, intellectualizing starts with an overview but putting it together and actually flying it is a piecemeal process. Same with pool.
 
ShootingArts said:
Because how a cue ball comes off of contact with the object ball is usually the first step in playing shape it is generally impossible to get perfect shape if that first contact is wrong. I can hit a ball so slowly it trickles in or slam it in at warp speed. If the angle is right, the object ball still falls. Shape will usually be totally disrupted if speed isn't right.

Likewise, if the object ball is a foot or less from the pocket I may be able to pocket the ball with a substantial range of angles. However, the cue ball may end up a foot or more from where intended even if it doesn't strike an unplanned ball or cushion.

These things are why I say if I play shape properly, the object ball has to fall. On the other hand, there is no guarantee of shape if the object ball falls.

This is why almost all of my attention is focused on shape. An entire runout is often a cycle repeated over and over. Pocket a ball with perfect short to midrange shape and it is easy to pocket the next ball with short to midrange shape on the next. No thought required between shots when you don't get out of line. When the total distance from cue ball to pocket is a half table or less shape and the game becomes much much easier.

Hu
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Develop this game early and it will help you as you age and the eyes go. 14:1 taught me this. Those long thin cuts on a 9 ft table get tricky when you can't see that far anymore, the balls are blurry and you fire from rote memory. Kinda like a drunk guy who sees 3 balls down there, you aim at the middle one. 🤣
 
Wow reading all this hurts my brain. I must be the lazy one! I just use tip position, speed and hit spot on OB that makes it go in hole
 
ShootingArts said:
High school and just past high school some idiot boys thought the best way to show off their pool skills was to crush their date that had seldom if ever played pool. When I was inclined I stepped in.

"Hit my finger." I would tell them to shoot softly, medium, or hard. Some of the little sweethearts asked if that wouldn't hurt my finger. "The finger isn't going to be there when the cue ball gets there." It wasn't unusual for these girls to have three, four, or five ball runs on a bar table with just speed and a more precise aiming point. They didn't know they were playing shape but they were.

If we start off just focused on pocketing balls we pocket them the easiest way, often to the determent of shape. Then after someone is pocketing balls pretty well they start trying to learn shape. Generally their ball pocketing goes way down for awhile.

Ball pocketing and shape are elements of the same shot if we are to have any success on a pool table. There is no reason to break them apart and prolong the early learning phase. Do both to begin with, have more success and two phases of learning to play are united as one.

Pool is a frustrating game to learn. If a person pockets a ball with no idea where the cue ball is going to stop it is a lot more frustrating. It wasn't unusual for the young ladies to come ask for more help, to the annoyance of their dates!(grin)

There can be an advantage to breaking something down into parts when learning. However, there is also a point where it is counterproductive to break something down further. To have more than minimum success a person has to know how to play shape. Teaching at least rude shape from the start makes happier beginners. It was amazing how much just the finger target and speed did for beginners. No rush to introduce spin of any kind. When they were ready they would ask about it.

Hu
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Oh you Heart 'Breaker' you.😂
 
ShootingArts said:
I was sandbagging playing everyone my age and most locals so it mostly didn't matter. A few girls hated they couldn't get my best game but it was no fun for me to win all the time. I tried to give the other player enough chances to make things interesting when possible.

Hu
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You had to or nobody would play you.
The drunk crazy chicks were the most fun - for me. The 'who gives a shit' gals.🤪
 
book collector said:
yes yes and yes, I wonder how many on here spent 40 50 or 60 years playing pool , drinking , ie {wasting time } Now that I am at the end of my life , I wish I could trade those hours days months years decades, doing almost anything else, that isn't illegal or morally wrong. Even if it was just skipping rocks across a beautiful lake or river and watching the clouds go by. It makes me feel so stupid.
and yet ,I continue to argue about spin on the cueball and who played better, who gives a rats ass.
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Makes you wonder whose team you are on, doesn't it?!?

What a useless and self indulgent pursuit, right?

A pool room philosopher told me once, '...you won't wish for another day at the pool room where you're on your deathbed'.
 
Expectations play a big role in sports. Youth sports captivate many with the dream of going pro, however the odds are against it.

Pool is different because you can travel for new competition. Meet new players and have fun.

The ups and downs in pool will continue. However the way pool is shared as a community is changing.

Learning about other cue sports like carom or pyramid was worth the trips. Carom should be a broken game because of computers but few people are working on it.

Carom is dancing the touches are varied and require experience. Pool is patient and strategic.
 
The Old Jaybird said:
my mentor, the late Louie Roybal of Albuquerque, told me a million times, "whitey don't lie", he goes right where you shoot him. Meaning the cue ball is reacting to physics, not your wishes.

I would line up a shot, Lou would say, "where do you want the cue ball to stop", I would point to point A, Lou would put a chalk cube at point B, and say go ahead and shoot it, and I'll be damned Lou was right about 80% of the time. That's what 50 years of experience will do for your game.
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I remember Louie, and Wilfred, and of coarse the late Jimmy Moore....And the Golden Cue, man good times.
 
Go ahead. Ask yourself what you should do given any shot. Knowing the path and spot position will answer it for you.
 
The Old Jaybird said:
my mentor, the late Louie Roybal of Albuquerque, told me a million times, "whitey don't lie", he goes right where you shoot him. Meaning the cue ball is reacting to physics, not your wishes.

I would line up a shot, Lou would say, "where do you want the cue ball to stop", I would point to point A, Lou would put a chalk cube at point B, and say go ahead and shoot it, and I'll be damned Lou was right about 80% of the time. That's what 50 years of experience will do for your game.
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Talk about position and pocketing; you can't leave this guy out,.....

Chris Melling
 
book collector said:
yes yes and yes, I wonder how many on here spent 40 50 or 60 years playing pool , drinking , ie {wasting time } Now that I am at the end of my life , I wish I could trade those hours days months years decades, doing almost anything else, that isn't illegal or morally wrong. Even if it was just skipping rocks across a beautiful lake or river and watching the clouds go by. It makes me feel so stupid.
and yet ,I continue to argue about spin on the cueball and who played better, who gives a rats ass.
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Why am I suddenly thinking about WHY I got married??
 
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