Ipod During Play

Q

quitecoolguy

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by pip9ball
Personally I think anybody who has a problem with their opponent listening to an mp3 player with headphones needs to come up with some better excuses. I often carry my Ipod with me and put on my earphones during a tournament match. I have the volume at a reasonable level and I make myself available for my opponent to talk if needed. During a match I don't want to talk to my opponent and I find listening to music helps my concentration. I play in tournaments to win, not to socialize.

To me, pool is a sport, and not some social PTA event. Many professional sports athletes get in the zone before and during a game...does that make them rude people?

And to the person who said that MP3 players are unfair.....Nobody is stopping you from getting one yourself.

-pip9ball

I posted this conversation from a previous thread because i really wanted to see if my point of view is way off the mark with ipod being a device used during play

OKay..im gona stick my neck out on this one and i know im gona get flamed and hammered on this one but this is how serious I am on not allowing ipods...if all of you who find that using an ipod is okay to help you concentrate..then none of you should have a problem with someone using a tip with the laser in the center to help your opponent with aiming...how is it diffrent ?...your using a device to help improve your game during a match..why cant they use a device to help them.. this is the reason why i have so much problems with the ipod...when i am home a my own table practicing i play the same song over and over again when i play...it is the song with the course line "We can drive home with one head light" so that when i play in a match...in my head i hear the song and over and over and i concentrate during the match like i do during practice..i even find my self singing in the song low while im shooting ...this is my own method and i have found that it has given me about 2 to three more balls in my run out ability...but think about the ipod as a device during play...It was quoted above that a atheletes get in the zone before a match..im cool with that just not using a device during.
 
As I said in the other post, as long as a player has good pool hall etiquette, I could care less what they do while they are shooting. That being said, from my experience, it seems that most of the players I play that use earphones, happen to also have bad manners. I can understand that some players like to socialize when they play pool, and the ipod would certainly take out the social aspects of the game. Personaly I like to save the socializing for before or after a match, and like to just focus on the game while I'm playing.
 
but what do you think about the laser in the tip device in comparison to the ipod..are thy both not devices to aid in you playing better, would you consider them on the same level explain why or why not
 
I wear an ipod sometimes... i started to go to an inhouse tourney alot and the music was so loud and it was rapper kinda stuff i can't satand <no offense to those who like that music please> Speakers are all over the place and some right above tables we play on. So i bought an ipod, throw on some rock, BUT leave myself at a reasonable level as my opponent can still communicate IF NEEDED. I agree a tourney you are out to win and leave the socialization at home-you're my opponent and i want money so shut up the idle chit chat and lets play,,, so i too will break out the ipod for those opponents who can't keep their mouths shut too....
I don't find the ipod any different than going to the juke box and cranking out the tunes you like, so as far as being like a laser pointer i have to disagree,,,, that item is a physical aid to make you shoot better and aim accurately. The ipod just drowns out noise and idle chit chat.
Now i do not use my ipod all the time, just in environments that are overly distracting. Now APA Nationals i had to remove my ipod by the request of the referee and it was 'against the rules' as people could be telling me over my ipod how to shoot. So I removed it obviously. Noise and music was fine there and not distracting. Didn't make me shoot better or worse with or without.
Now why so against it:? Cause you find them unavailable for conversation during the match if needed? Or your opponent gets to listen to music he likes? Or do you think he's cheating with one? It doesn't physically help him shoot better....
Like i said- i don't use it all the time- just when there's too much BS that shouldn't be when you're holding a tourney- i blame the tourney establishment for allowing loud music or distracting behaviors <like drunk folk stumbling through the tables while you are playing...> etc.... And Some players i have had to turn to and tell them to shut up while we're playing.. mostly those are the ones that walk towards you and can;t seem to have a conversation from 10 feet away and wait until you shoot...
Just my .02 I like my ipod but in structured tourneys you can't use them APA, BCA IPT etc... but they control their environments to suit the poolplayer, not the general drinking public..
 
I have been wearing headphone radios, cassette tape, cd, mp3 players during pro events to help ignore certain players (example: Earl S.) that their mouths are half their game since the early 80's. Those disruptive people are usually the first to complain about them also....figure that out :)

Now that I practice on a table next to Mike Sigel about daily I am getting better at ignoring loud people.

Most of the time I just want to tell the loud ones "Shut up and play pool!" but the headphones seem more like the act of a gentleman :D
 
CueJunkie wrote

quote "I don't find the ipod any different than going to the juke box and cranking out the tunes you like, so as far as being like a laser pointer i have to disagree,,,, that item is a physical aid to make you shoot better and aim accurately"

quitecoolguy wrote:
But isnt the ipod being used as a physical aid to help you shoot better by drowning out sounds that you dont like..

Both the laser in the tip and the ipod are functioning as the same thing a device to help you shoot better..if the ipod did not help you shoot better you wouldnt bother to use it.
 
quitecoolguy said:
Both the laser in the tip and the ipod are functioning as the same thing a device to help you shoot better..if the ipod did not help you shoot better you wouldnt bother to use it.
Click to expand...

So by your theroy then they should not allow people to smoke or drink either, these things also help people relax as well and therefore play better.
There is big difference between an actually physical aid and a mental aid. I use an iPod sometimes and it does help me to focus but I still miss and I still get distracted. I think your way off the mark here with your anaolgy...
sorry.
 
I never used one, but I think I might try it out. I agree with the post about not wanting to listen to music the owner of the pool room picked, or wanting to drown out noise from around the table.

since pool is played "1 player at a time" what my opponent does while at the table....within the rules....is his business. If a player is not bothering anyone else with ear phones, or getting playing instructions via 2 way, its cool by me.

what if your opponent was deaf?, or used a hearing aide to hear and chose to remove it while playing? are you going to say he HAS to put it back in? sounds silly right?

Gerry
 
cuechick said:
So by your theroy then they should not allow people to smoke or drink either, these things also help people relax as well and therefore play better.
There is big difference between an actually physical aid and a mental aid. I use an iPod sometimes and it does help me to focus but I still miss and I still get distracted. I think your way off the mark here with your anaolgy...
sorry.
Click to expand...

well..if by your definition then there would be nothing wrong with a person listening on an ipod to a instructional mp3 on banking when he is getting ready to make a bank shot...that is a mental aid..but there is no one on this forum who would allow that during play... All i am saying is that an ipod takes out part of the game that some people practice over and over which is to maintain their mental focus through what ever.. maybe i am off the mark but i just cant believe that i am the only on that thinks that ipods present an unfair advantage when used during play..if a person isnt shooting and is listening to an ipod then cool but not while shooting..just my personal prefrence
 
quitecoolguy said:
well..if by your definition then there would be nothing wrong with a person listening on an ipod to a instructional mp3 on banking when he is getting ready to make a bank shot...that is a mental aid..but there is no one on this forum who would allow that during play... All i am saying is that an ipod takes out part of the game that some people practice over and over which is to maintain their mental focus through what ever.. maybe i am off the mark but i just cant believe that i am the only on that thinks that ipods present an unfair advantage when used during play..if a person isnt shooting and is listening to an ipod then cool but not while shooting..just my personal prefrence
Click to expand...

Do you smoke Mr. Cool or have a few beers when you play? How is that different? And if so why should you be allowed to do that but I not be allowed to plug in my pod?

I don't do either (either drink or smoke) myself but I have no problem with some one else doing so if I am in a smoking and drinking poolroom.
As far as it being an advantage, as someone else stated, nothing is preventing you from using one yourself. I know one lady that wears ear plugs...I could care less. If some wanted to wear blinders or chew gum or eat candy? In the end, it does not make you a better player...

As far as listening to an instructional feed? Now your really grasping there, that could be nothing but distracting in the middle of playing a match.
 
okay okay..i submit..i guess im not doing a good enough job defending my point...

however i will say that smoking or drinking may calm you down..and thats cool and i dont have a problem with that at all i just think ...sigh..and i sigh because its a mute point now..chuckle.. that smoking and drinking and listening to the ipod (when your not shooting) is great.. smoking while playing or drinking while playing is okay..because they dont directly block out distractions..that is the only complaint i have.. if i was at some one home and it was quiet and they wanted to put on the ipod headphones ...more power to them..i would not care .. but in a loud pool room while playing pool I dont like to wear ear plugs in my ears when i shoot so i wont use them but if my opponent does he has an advantage of muting out the noise factor..just for what its worth..i love the beauty of this forum...we can disagree and still smile..i wish there was some one who could explain my point of view a little better than myself ...but maybe no one feels the way i do..maybe no one hears me..because the all have ipods in their ears.ha ha ha.
 
No, No NO! I don't like it. So I have to get your attention to watch a hit, or I have to tap you on the shoulder and tell you you're on two. Nope don't like em, I feel like it's cheating, I understand how hard it is to focus and block out stuff, we all have that problem but, we don't have machines hanging out of our ears! We don't know what your listening to, it could even be hypnosis or some calming techniques. Everyone should be on an equal playing field. If you don't like the music on the jukebox vote with your money, its annoying for us to hear music blaring out of your head and the jukebox while playing.
Phew touched a nerve!!!
PHM
 
quitecoolguy said:
well..if by your definition then there would be nothing wrong with a person listening on an ipod to a instructional mp3 on banking when he is getting ready to make a bank shot...that is a mental aid..
Click to expand...

My opponent can listen to instructional MP3's all they want, but it is not going to magically make them a better player for the duration of the match.

The only problem I can see with IPODs are that a player may not be able to hear when someone needs to grab their attention.

However I am not sure that they should be legal for a tournament, at least not a pro tournament. No other sport allows players to use mechanical devices during play in which to enhance focus. At least I don't think they do (poker is not a sport).

An arguement can be made that smoking and alcohol are performance enhancing drugs and therefore should be banned. But they have been used for so long, and considered kosher for so long that it would be impossible to change those rules.
 
quitecoolguy said:
okay okay..i submit..i guess im not doing a good enough job defending my point...
Click to expand...

Honestly, and please, I don't mean to be offensive, but I personally have had a tough time trying to filter out precisely what your point is. I know you don't like Ipods, and I know you are trying to compare Ipods to some sort of laser pointer tip thing. You seem like a very good natured guy, but speaking for myself, the way you end then start your sentences with the three period thing and no capital letters, it is very hard for me to follow.

I don't know, maybe that's just the way kids are doing things these days.:confused:

It's not just you either, I've seen others do this, so please don't be offended. I have no idea where it comes from.

I think your comparison of Ipods to other electronic devices is not the most relevant argument against Ipods, or any headphone device, during tournaments.

The main problem with having headphones on while playing in a tournament is the potential for an incident such as this:

Player A wears headphones. Player A prepares to shoot. Just before player A draws his cue back to take a shot, player B sees a foul occur and calls foul. Player A then draws back cue and hits the shot.

To me, this is enough of a reason not to allow headphone devices during tournaments.
 
...sorry about the dots... :)

I know i should really use better writing skills when posting on the forum. The main argument that I am attempting to make is that ipods are focusing inhancement devices that allow a person to block out distractions that naturally occur in a pool room. A laser in the tip would enhance a persons ability to aim during a match. Both of these items are devices that inhance a persons ability to play...they should be considered in the same ballpark. I dont really understand how someone can serperate the two. People say they play better when they have the ipod on because it blocks out sound and relaxes them, then why cant i say the laser help me find center ball? I hope that this is a little clearer.

and no offence taken for my lack of writing skills...my college prof. would kill me if he read any of my post... :) I just cant stop using those....
 
As far as the argument about not paying attention, I think the opposite occurs, I make sure to pay extra attention and always acknowledge when my player calls a push etc...I also do not have my music up so loud that I can not hear them.

where as, I have played many people with nothing in the ears that are busy talking or looking off into space and I have to work to get their attention.

As far as making your point Mr. Cool, I got it, I just don't agree with it. I don't think your comparison to an aiming device is the same thing...I do think my analogy to smoking and drinking a lot closer. But yes we can agree to disagree and there are many tournaments that do not allow them and I don't wear them all the time.
I do enjoy using those extra dots though, so at least we have that in common.......!
;)
 
you are indeed a funny person...perhaps if you ever come to richmond Va..we can play some and you can try and convince me the ipod is okay to use over a game of pool and a Pepsi. both are on me
 
i sent you an email..about your homepage..and i just might call you on that game in Atlanta...and i dont have a laser in the tip..although i have been accused of playing like i have one..ha ha ha
 
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