I agree with the 60"er completely.......lol.
Is gambling required at the higher skill levels?
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It seems like many to most of those that want pool to grow are just wanting more of what's already there and are resistant to any changes that would actually result in growth.
MMA is doing great and a large portion of the people at the top , could put the etch in sketch! Pool is not fun for average people to watch in any of the ways, it has been presented so far. Even I have a hard time watching anybody but Ronnie O Sullivan. I don't know the answer or I would have tried it. If someone can come up with an idea that makes pool explode in popularity, it will be worth a billion dollars or more. I saw an interview with Earl and he said they use the cameras at the wrong angle, I agree with him, even the announcers can't tell if a shot goes. I am sure that at this stage of the game , you could hire him and spend a week figuring out if there was anything to it. {Probably only take 1 day} But people are too cheap to spend money to make money in pool , so it goes in a circle.
People will take their young children to their mma gym to train and compete.
Smoke filled gambling halls with mostly beer and wings being sold to train and compete in pool, not so much.
The only way to get into big $ action is to just make it happen. Find a person to play and post-up. It won’t find you, you have to find it.
There’s never a “right time”, there can be a “wrong time” like now for me as I’m 95% out of stroke. But if you’re playing at 80% or better. Now is as good of a time as any.
After you play enough big $ games they feel the same as any action. It’s just serious pool where you’re 100% engaged. The balls never know the price of pool. Shouldn’t enter your mind either.
Focused pool is great action pool. They go hand in hand
Fatboy <——-misses pool action
Both combatants have their stake money and like poker the money only changes hands....
Pool needs to eat! Where that money comes from is the real problem....
Television? Sponsors?
The product has been presented incorrectly! Poker does not show every hand. Why must pool?
The best product and production to date is the Tony Chohan highlights. It is truly entertaining and something people can understand and see the beauty in....
That is one pocket
of all games and presented in a way that even women can understand. Kd
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to get excitement you need to make big entry fees so the prize money is big. and make very short races so many have a chance to win and lots have a chance to get in the money. and watch how the field gets larger every year by a magnitude when a few no names take the top spots.
every tournament does not have to be set up so the best players win. a tournament is a contest for that day, not a world title.
every tournament does not have to be set up so the best players win. a tournament is a contest for that day, not a world title.
Or it makes the game less fun. I'd rather make a great shot or two in a game and lose then miss 3 times and win. That's why I don't play for money much, I know how I play, I know how the other person plays, I don't need to give them money or vice versa to show that. If wanted to be serious with something, I'd become a surgeon or a pilot, not in a hobby.
Both combatants have their stake money and like poker the money only changes hands....
Pool needs to eat! Where that money comes from is the real problem....
Television? Sponsors?
The product has been presented incorrectly! Poker does not show every hand. Why must pool?
The best product and production to date is the Tony Chohan highlights. It is truly entertaining and something people can understand and see the beauty in....
That is one pocketof all games and presented in a way that even women can understand.
Kd
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"Even women can understand" ??? I've played against many women at high skill levels, on both pool tables and gun ranges.
One thing about pool is that while there are more men playing than women, men have no natural advantage. Assume you do because of your gender, you do so at your own risk, I've lost plenty of matches to both.
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I flipped that around a bit to support my take on it.
Now "action", is relative to the opponents. It could be $10k or simply a beer. The wager need not be more than what the players consider important. Whatever it is though, it's enough to force the players into becoming focused on their own performance. Unfortunately the same can't be said about professional Railbirds. They want high stakes or it's a waste of their time.
Personally, I want to see players grind out racks because they are afraid of selling out and losing what's important to them. Whatever that happens to be.
I want to play under serious pressure so I can grow more accustomed to what happens when nerves take over. ... <--and this isn't about money, but it's the only way to practice what I'm talking about. Here's some context: Last fall I played in a national open 8ball event and was real deep. One more win and I'm with a handful of the best players in the nation. Ended up getting an unexpected opportunity at an awkward hill/hill rack. I managed to figure it out and work myself down to a relatively easy 8 ball. However my nerves skyrocketed at that moment. Not while I was scrambling through the rack mind you but when I got to the 'easy' 8 ball. I don't have the words to explain what I was trying to play through. That shit is flat out incredible....lol. Pulling the trigger when nothing feels right and just hoping my subconscious would figure it out was terrifying and addictive experience. How does one practice that..?... If anyone has been there and knows a cheap way. I'm all ears...lol.
The point I'm trying to make is that 'action' just isn't a bet. It's a state of mind. My experience above has raised my bar of what action is for me. Anything less then what it takes to get my heart pumping and arm shaking, isn't action..., it's practice. No one is committed 100% to the win when they are practicing.
Mmmm. Beer.I flipped that around a bit to support my take on it.
Now "action", is relative to the opponents. It could be $10k or simply a beer. The wager need not be more than what the players consider important. Whatever it is though, it's enough to force the players into becoming focused on their own performance. Unfortunately the same can't be said about professional Railbirds. They want high stakes or it's a waste of their time.
Personally, I want to see players grind out racks because they are afraid of selling out and losing what's important to them. Whatever that happens to be.
I want to play under serious pressure so I can grow more accustomed to what happens when nerves take over. ... <--and this isn't about money, but it's the only way to practice what I'm talking about. Here's some context: Last fall I played in a national open 8ball event and was real deep. One more win and I'm with a handful of the best players in the nation. Ended up getting an unexpected opportunity at an awkward hill/hill rack. I managed to figure it out and work myself down to a relatively easy 8 ball. However my nerves skyrocketed at that moment. Not while I was scrambling through the rack mind you but when I got to the 'easy' 8 ball. I don't have the words to explain what I was trying to play through. That shit is flat out incredible....lol. Pulling the trigger when nothing feels right and just hoping my subconscious would figure it out was terrifying and addictive experience. How does one practice that..?... If anyone has been there and knows a cheap way. I'm all ears...lol.
The point I'm trying to make is that 'action' just isn't a bet. It's a state of mind. My experience above has raised my bar of what action is for me. Anything less then what it takes to get my heart pumping and arm shaking, isn't action..., it's practice. No one is committed 100% to the win when they are practicing.
did you make the 8 ball?I flipped that around a bit to support my take on it.
Now "action", is relative to the opponents. It could be $10k or simply a beer. The wager need not be more than what the players consider important. Whatever it is though, it's enough to force the players into becoming focused on their own performance. Unfortunately the same can't be said about professional Railbirds. They want high stakes or it's a waste of their time.
Personally, I want to see players grind out racks because they are afraid of selling out and losing what's important to them. Whatever that happens to be.
I want to play under serious pressure so I can grow more accustomed to what happens when nerves take over. ... <--and this isn't about money, but it's the only way to practice what I'm talking about. Here's some context: Last fall I played in a national open 8ball event and was real deep. One more win and I'm with a handful of the best players in the nation. Ended up getting an unexpected opportunity at an awkward hill/hill rack. I managed to figure it out and work myself down to a relatively easy 8 ball. However my nerves skyrocketed at that moment. Not while I was scrambling through the rack mind you but when I got to the 'easy' 8 ball. I don't have the words to explain what I was trying to play through. That shit is flat out incredible....lol. Pulling the trigger when nothing feels right and just hoping my subconscious would figure it out was terrifying and addictive experience. How does one practice that..?... If anyone has been there and knows a cheap way. I'm all ears...lol.
The point I'm trying to make is that 'action' just isn't a bet. It's a state of mind. My experience above has raised my bar of what action is for me. Anything less then what it takes to get my heart pumping and arm shaking, isn't action..., it's practice. No one is committed 100% to the win when they are practicing.
Those psychotic episodes are added. If you actually dig the thrill, you are sick lol. Me, fuk danger. Million a game only to win hundreds of millions. Otherwise I play for serious by myself.
I wouldn't bring my children anywhere near my local room just due to the unfiltered music that is played there. I can handle most music but yikes -- some of the stuff that comes out of the speakers is insane. The stuff that makes me question why I am even willing to go in. Guess that has more to do with culture than pool but I suspect that's a marker for the sort of anything goes mindset you see in many of the rooms in the US. It seems struggling rooms adopt the lowest common denominator rule and things don't ever seem to pick up from there.
I tried a junior league with my son one time at a different place and I had to be that guy, when out of the Jukebox came some ridiculously vulgar tune, that a room full of children had to listen to. That owner, was actually apologetic and said he forgot to change the setting.
Most just say "they're going to hear it eventually" and just don't care. I know this is true to a certain extent but establishing some boundaries of civility, while teaching kids there's a time and place for everything seems healthy.
So yeah -- not much of a family friendly pool environment near me. I envy the idea I have in my head of what a European club looks like.
**edit**
Just to clarify, I'm talking about the type of music that's about a step away from singing about having sex with decapitated corpses. Which is about all that's going to be left to sing about to get a reaction out of people. Anyways...
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I flipped that around a bit to support my take on it.
Now "action", is relative to the opponents. It could be $10k or simply a beer. The wager need not be more than what the players consider important. Whatever it is though, it's enough to force the players into becoming focused on their own performance. Unfortunately the same can't be said about professional Railbirds. They want high stakes or it's a waste of their time.
Personally, I want to see players grind out racks because they are afraid of selling out and losing what's important to them. Whatever that happens to be.
I want to play under serious pressure so I can grow more accustomed to what happens when nerves take over. ... <--and this isn't about money, but it's the only way to practice what I'm talking about. Here's some context: Last fall I played in a national open 8ball event and was real deep. One more win and I'm with a handful of the best players in the nation. Ended up getting an unexpected opportunity at an awkward hill/hill rack. I managed to figure it out and work myself down to a relatively easy 8 ball. However my nerves skyrocketed at that moment. Not while I was scrambling through the rack mind you but when I got to the 'easy' 8 ball. I don't have the words to explain what I was trying to play through. That shit is flat out incredible....lol. Pulling the trigger when nothing feels right and just hoping my subconscious would figure it out was terrifying and addictive experience. How does one practice that..?... If anyone has been there and knows a cheap way. I'm all ears...lol.
The point I'm trying to make is that 'action' just isn't a bet. It's a state of mind. My experience above has raised my bar of what action is for me. Anything less then what it takes to get my heart pumping and arm shaking, isn't action..., it's practice. No one is committed 100% to the win when they are practicing.
I understand what you are saying, been there a handful of times, once on a pool table, once a snooker table, a few times in a circle track car. Once I needed twelve perfect laps to win, green flag to checkered flag. Ten faster cars behind me but if I drove perfectly they were unlikely to be able to pass me. Half a car width from the bottom of the track in the turns so they couldn't go under me, a long ways on the outside so they couldn't get there before I climbed up to the wall in the groove down the straights.
It wasn't a big win in terms of money or prestige but my biggest win to date. We climb in and out of a window to get to the driver's seat of these cars. When I climbed out of the car both legs buckled. I had to lean on the car and rest a minute before I could walk! Twelve laps of pulse pounding heart in your throat will do that to you.
I bet the equity in my business, basically five years of my life, on a single game of eight ball and didn't get that feeling. I played a tight cautious game it's true but that adrenaline overload feeling wasn't there. You may feel it in a fairly minor competition, you may not feel it playing for a world title. I don't know if I would be seeking that feeling or hoping to play without it.
There isn't any gain to adrenaline overload in pool. It is a throwback to cave man fight or flight, all in for your life, mode. It can create greatness, it can also create a miss on a shot you can make 999 times out of a thousand! It is much more likely to create the miss than to create greatness. All of that adrenaline is to create explosive action. When do we need explosive action running a table?
You shouldn't be trying to learn to deal with the effects of fight or flight syndrome, you should be trying to learn to not get it. My opinion anyway.
Hu
I don't think gambling is required, and that's specifically for today's players. Maybe about 40-50 years ago it may have been the case, but players like Albin Ouschan have proven you do not have to be a degenerate gambler to be great at pool.
And even if there is big gambling, what are they besides boring races to 120 games in 9 ball and snoozefests one pocket matches? Kudos to anyone who actually enjoys that stuff.
And even if there is big gambling, what are they besides boring races to 120 games in 9 ball and snoozefests one pocket matches? Kudos to anyone who actually enjoys that stuff.
The words degenerate and gambling do not have to go hand in hand. I would venture to guess that most of the people who have responded to this thread so far in favor of gambling are far from degenerates.
enjoying action on the game or set and pushing your comfort level is a great way for many people to get better. If that’s not for you, then don’t bet. You may find some free games and in the right moment even some free games from those “degenerate“ gamblers. But don’t expect it for long. It’s just not that interesting for most people to bang balls around with nothing on the line.
enjoying action on the game or set and pushing your comfort level is a great way for many people to get better. If that’s not for you, then don’t bet. You may find some free games and in the right moment even some free games from those “degenerate“ gamblers. But don’t expect it for long. It’s just not that interesting for most people to bang balls around with nothing on the line.
Adrenaline junkies are pool players
we battle and win lose or draw get high on the Adrenaline and action! The chemicals called endorphins produced by the brain during battle are highly addictive. Just call me a one pocket crackhead
.... pool is crack!Kd
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I guess you could equate my nerves to adrenaline, (I'm not a doctor so don't know the correlation if any), but I've experienced high adrenaline before when racing motorcycles and it's a different animal. I'm not chasing adrenaline in pool. I want to subject myself to situations that make me break down. Overcoming those situations is a mark of success imo.
I completely agree... However I don't know how you can learn to cope with something until you've experienced what it is and how it effects you.
Memorizing theory is great and all, but you cannot replace experience.
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