League players pre-game rituals and venues.

Nothing but warm up at the place we are playing. I don’t like Playing at home before I go. even if I’m going some place with a diamond with the same cloth it’s not going to play the same. Age of cloth , humidity, cleanliness of the balls.. all change how you ;have to play and I don’t want to get dialed in at home and then have to adjust When I get to the league or tournament.
 
I like to hit a few balls before playing my match, if I can. I don't need to play a practice game, just hit a few shots to get the feel of the cue in my hand and the feel of hitting the balls.
 
Funny this came up. Last Wednesday we played my old team. Our handicaps pushed us apart so we could all play, and we're all still friends, so no drama, but of course we all want to win. Their top guy and I would be playing, and I usually do well playing him. The venue has a Diamond 7 footer and it's in good shape, and level. I wanted to be ready, so I played for about 90 minutes at home prior to going to the match. I have a 7 foot Valley, for comparison purposes. So I get out in front for the first two racks and make up the difference in our handicaps, played more Ds, and didn't try to overplay for position, everything working well. But during the match, I scratched on the break four times. This is with me changing my break to get away from what caused the first two scratches. My break was one of the things that I focused on when practicing at home, but my Valley and that Diamond were playing light years apart. We get down to the last couple racks and it's really tight, and all I end up with when he misses, is combos. Unfortunately, twice I missed and left the ball hanging in the jaws, another Diamond trait different than my Valley.
We both played well, but he won by making less mistakes, those scratches are killers on an open table. Oh well.
 
I shoot 2-4 games or so at home a few hours beforehand, meditate for 10 minutes, shoot a few games at the venue and often take a shot of tequila 15 minutes before the match with my teammates to calm the nerves
 
Try to work on lag speed. My home table is an 8 ft. The tables for the leagues I play in can be 7 ft., 8 ft. or 9 ft. depending on the location for that night. As you can imagine the tables play differently at each location.
 
Mensabum said:
What do you guys do to get ready for a match and how much does the venue affect your game??
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All depends on how good the tables are. If they are good, where it is does not matter. I have quit leagues to avoid having to play on shit equipment. If they use bar tables with oversize/heavy cueballs, dirt on the balls and table as old as my kids, any slow shot drifts off into the next zip code, I don't care if the payout is 4 Vegas trips every year, I am staying home.

As far as getting ready, I just practice a few shots, same as any other time I play. Mosty longer straight in shots and a few 3 rail position shots to get a feel for the speed and spin. All the prep work and getting ready is done months and years before when learning to play and then playing. The match is just a blip in that timeline.
 
I get there early and bang em around. Just to get feel for speed and rails.

I also like to play a few racks of 6-ball ghost. Just to get a feel for running out a decent number of balls from a good spot.
 
I usually shoot a progressive straight in shot drill at home before I go to the bar we play in. I like doing that because stop shot speed isn't as table specific. My home table plays different than the Valleys' I compete on. I clean my cue, scuff the tip, make sure I have league dues and quarters in my case, and clean my glasses.

Once I get to the bar I don't have much control over how I warm up, just have to put up quarters and jump in when it's my turn. If I do have the luxury of solo table time, I'll usually break and play out a suit (league here is almost all 8 ball) and then work banks with the other suit. Helps me get comfy on the table and also saves my precious quarters. :)
 
Only being back in the game for several months and also being 66yo I do find I need a 10 minute warmup even if just shooting pool with a local.

I usually start with long straight shots to get my arm warmed up and running straight. I run a few balls along a rail and just off the rail down to a corner pocket to kind of zero in my aim a little. I also do the normal thing of just throwing all the balls out and trying to run the whole table, regardless of whether stripe/spot. I find this gets my speed control set.
If I am on my own I run a few drills but my wife normally comes on tournament day so we play a few racks in the hour or so before it starts.
 
When and if I can I like to shoot a couple racks of balls to loosen up my stroke and try to get a feel for how the table is playing .
Then how bad my arthritis is acting up can effect how well I do also and if my pain pills are working or not since I quit drinking that doesn't help ha ha !

When we've got sub zero outside temps I get my cues out of the case , put together to warm up before even thinking about taking a shot and wipe them down with a clean cloth just in case there's chalk dust or who knows what on the cue .
 
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