Lost desire or passion

CaptainJR

CaptainJR

Shiver me timbers.
Silver Member
Hello all
I haven't posted for a couple weeks. A sequence of events happened and it did something to me.

A few weeks ago over a weekend.

Event 1. Mentioning this because I need to put something positive in this. I went to play some pool at Don's house Friday night to warm up for an big table 8 ball tournament the next day. Had a GREAT time. Don's wife made us a wonderful steak and shrimp dinner. I played some fairly good 8 ball and when leaving thought 'If I can play like this tomorrow in the tournament, I'll do alright'.

Event 2. Went to the tournament and played very poorly (understatement).

Event 3. Since I didn't stay for the weekend at the tournament, on Sunday I went to my regular 9 ball tournament. The rest of this is about this event.

I drew a friend that I play a lot. A very good player that is nice enough to play me cheap. I don't think he minds playing cheap because I don't ask for a spot. Nobody wants to play him around here without a spot. I'm saying this because before I go on you need to know that this guy is a player and you need to know that he and I play a lot. And you need to take my word for it that he isn't one to exaggerate.

He beats me in the tournament as usually. I won a couple games but now in the losers bracket.

My next match is with another big gun (I'll mention his name later). In our second game he left me the shot pictured below. Don't remember where the other balls were specifically but I have the 1,4 and cue ball very close to the very good safety he played. Of course he wanted to leave me frozen on the 4 but from where he shot this was excellent. The cue ball is about one ball or one and a quarter ball at most away from the 4 ball. Incidentally, before getting my X Breaker I would have had to kick. I know what I can and can't do as far as jumping and one ball distance apart is right on the bubble. Trying to make a good jump had to be first priority. Hitting the one ball was important but I wasn't really trying to make the 1. I make a good jump over the 4, end up a little off line and only hit about a fourth of the one ball. The cue balls is moving at speed (jump shot, the cue ball is moving) hits the far tit on the side pocket, rattles and then falls into the side pocket. This was all happening on the front table so there were a few people watching. One of them was my friend that beat me in round one. He says, "JR you are the unluckiest pool player I've ever played". Mind you this is a person that has played a lot of people over the last 30-40 years and he has played a lot of pool with me. He has seen this kind of impossible luck hit me over and over again. No, I'm not saying all the time, but evidently enough for him to make that statement. After finishing the match with Brett, I mentioned this shot to him. Brett said, "That can not scratch from there going at that speed".

I don't know what all this did to me but I haven't hit a ball since and don't even really think about it. Usually if I'm to busy to go out and shoot I'll spend some time in the basement, but I just have no desire. I go days without even thinking about pool. First few days, sometime during the day I'd wonder why I wasn't thinking about pool all the time like I use to, but now I don't even do that. I've been very busy with my family lately, maybe that is it, but I don't think so because that hadn't stopped me this much in the past. I had quit leagues to stay mainly on 9' tables and try to take it more seriously but maybe now I'll just go back to having a league night out of the house.

If your having trouble believing that I scratched from here at that speed, I know that people on here know Brett Stottlemyer. That is who I was playing when this happened. Just ask him.
 

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Enjoy your time with your family. The bug will bite you again before you know it and you'll be knocking 'em around when the time is right.

You know bad rolls happen, so don't fret. We'll be here when the pool bug bites again with open arms. :)
 
Damn Captain

I thought it was all my fault. Not to worry my friend. This can and does happen to everybody. You have a couple of bad showings in a row and it don't feel to good. You will get over it.
I am glad you enjoyed the dinner and you didn't play bad at my house. At least you got something positive out of it. I thought I may have done something wrong. I kept the bong hid, I didn't get drunk, the chow was decent. Glad it wasn't your experience with da' Purd that did this.
Purdman:D
 
Whew and I thought this thread was going to be some personal stuff we don't need to hear about your bedroom life.

You're just burned out dude, enjoy the summer and before you know it you'll be back on the horse shooting the lights out.

:D :D :D :D
 
Purdman said:
I thought it was all my fault. Not to worry my friend. This can and does happen to everybody. You have a couple of bad showings in a row and it don't feel to good. You will get over it.
I am glad you enjoyed the dinner and you didn't play bad at my house. At least you got something positive out of it. I thought I may have done something wrong. I kept the bong hid, I didn't get drunk, the chow was decent. Glad it wasn't your experience with da' Purd that did this.
Purdman:D
Click to expand...

Next time get the bong out and let's get drunk!:D
 
CaptainJR said:
Next time get the bong out and let's get drunk!:D
Click to expand...

You got it buddy. I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable. 1 fifth of Blantons and a big Purdy spliff ought to do it.
Purdman:D
 
Don't sweat it, triple shim your pockets at home. Play on the big tables if at all possible. Do that for the summer, when you get on anything else after that the pockets will seem like buckets. The short table will seem like a kids table.

Black Cat :cool:
 
Maybe just take a couple of weeks off - let the desire to play again build up within you. If you're just "not feeling it" and you try and force yourself to, it could just make it worse. Just my humble opinion. :)
 
I think sometimes we set our expectations too high and then we do poorly in the tournament, because we last felt that we could do anything and there were so many possibilities of success. Throw in a couple of opponents that are handy with a stick and that have the same winning objectives as you do, and those expectations can go down the tube.

Another thing I see that could have possibly happened is that your opponents and friends may have made the 'unlucky' comments when they were only trying to help and console you, only to put a subconscious thought into your mind like, "What's the use? I can play my hardest and the table or something else will get me anyway. No way could that have scratched from that angle! (Btw, I have scratched in the side with the cueball coming off the first diamond on the end rail!!! :eek: ) I must be the unluckiest guy on earth. Even a guy that has played so much is telling me that, so it must be true."

So your subconscious has basically given up. It has given you a reason to be scared.

I have gotten into that pity mode myself. My draws are legendarily BAD! When Hsin was playing on our tour, one year I ran into her first or 2nd round of every tournament except one! The one time I didn't, I ran into her on the B side to get in the money! I go to a men's/open event and I am drawing a top 6 player out of a field of 64 every time. Even when I get a bye, my next match will be...you guessed it - one of the top 6, and my whole bracket is loaded. No, I couldn't get one of the 30 huckleberries, lol. My husband just cannot get over how badly I draw, consistently.

Well, one day, I just resigned myself that that is what was going to be. I may not place far in the tournament, but if I was ever to WIN a tournament, I would have to play all those guys anyway. I laugh and shrug it off now.

Once, I was so disgusted with my performance, that I just really started rethinking my dedication to this game. It didn't last too long, but sometimes, you really can get sick of how you play. OTOH, we all have gleeful moments that we cherish of getting out in impossible situations or winning as the underdog.

Another thing that helped me, psychologically when I was scared - like playing in the pros with everyone watching me - is I read a book that said this game takes courage. Courage? There were tons of attributes to make a champion, but I never considered courage particularly one of them.

I have done tons of courageous things in my life. Not for myself, but for others. I have done public speaking, I have saved a woman's life with CPR not only as a civilian, but also on the job, I have given birth naturally twice, I have spoken up when I was doomed to be flamed because I thought it was the right thing to do, etc.

The thing about pool is - the cueball doesn't know you are scared! Or sad, or unlucky or how determined you are! Winning games can be broken down into making balls. And the only way to make balls is just to do it.

So, if you have done courageous things in the past (and I'm sure you have), then making a ball is a piece of cake. What is that in the grand scheme of life?

When I am down on a shot, many times I will just say to myself, "Courage!", "Be brave on this shot", or "Just make the shot" (having determined the speed and English before getting into my stance). I will also consciously push the heel of my bridge hand into the bed of the felt and concentrate on that too.

Avoidance of something painful is only human nature. Here's to a string of wins to counterbalance that 'unlucky' streak, and it's good to have you back on the forum. :)
 
Interest comes and goes for me personally. I might not care for the game at all, but then something will click, and I might become passionate about it for a while again.

As far as your shot, almost nothing is impossible on a pool table. We've all seen scratches from "impossible" angles.

I think you used poor judgment using the jump cue. A two rail kick behind the one would have had an excellent chance sending the one to the Brunswick on the head rail, and leaving the cue ball where the one was. I see no possible advantage on this shot using a jump cue, and in fact there is an obvious disadvantage because you can't make the ball or play a safe with it in the ball's current positions.
 
To be honest, I feel bad for the guy who thinks about pool all day long (me) and only wish I could focus more on the more important things, like family and freinds.

Consider this "issue" your having a blessing. If your anything like me, you'll get over it soon:D .
 
I know EXACTLY how you feel.

Personally, i haven't REALLY cared about pool for quite some time. Aside from external factors motivating me to go stomp on specific people from time to time, or gearing up for certain money making opportunities that rarely come around, pool lost it's appeal for me long ago.

There was a stretch of about 2 months, years ago, where i was playing great, and putting myself in positions to win, and would watch helplessly as whatever semblance of a win i had, would get shredded by misfortune and luck. That is not to say that i dogged it and did it to myself, but instead my opponents would unload a barrage of rolls, and end up torturing me, with me being more of a helpless witness/prisoner of the misfortune.
It happened in multiple consecutive tournaments, which in turn, made me feel helpless, and as a result, my game suffered because i started to EXPECT it.
So i quit pool for like 9 months. I returned to the game because of a fluke.

I had gone with the then girlfriend for an evening on the town, and stopped by to see my mother who was housewatching for a friend.
So in the basement, they had a pool table, and naturally, the girl challenged me to a game, and i agreed. So to my amazement, i missed absolutely everything. My stance, stroke, and alignment were all gone, and she relished in the fact that she stomped on me. Which triggered the part of my personality that hates doing ANYTHING poorly.
So, refreshed and energized and without the current menory of all those suffers i recieved, i started to play again, and was in the pool hall at every opportunity, practicing till i was playing BETTER than when i left.

I played for a few years, before it started to happened again and then happened once very brutally in a major event on the winners AND losers side, and i had my epiphany. I can do anything i put my mind to, but if luck is involved, FORGET THAT CRAP! (which reminds me of how they killed 9 ball and made it a total garbage game when they took out the pushout rule)

Having sacrificed just about everything in my life at one point or another including education, jobs, relationships, family + friends to play this game, it was a no brainer when it came down to restructuring my priorities, and closing that chapter of life.

That's just me personally. I still play, but you won't see me travelling around to try and do some damage somewhere cause i just don't care anymore. Aside from the swollen headed local who needs to be put in his place, or the potential FISH that needs to be gutted, most of the time i spend in the pool hall, is just hanging out, with little time spent on the table.

My suggestion would be to take some time off completely from the game. Then, make a return, and see if it has some appeal. If you practice in the basement, you will still be going through the motions, and depending on your mood, either being positive, or negative, depending on the day, without really resolving anything.

Walking away completely, gives you a better perspective, and you will know where you stand when you return to the game.

You need to go through this process, to fully understand what you want from pool, and what pool is able to give back to you, and to find your happy medium. Whether that is competing in tournaments, putting yourself in action, playing league, or just hitting them around with friends and not being as serious about it anymore, you will find what is right for you.

Good luck with whatever choices you decide on.
 
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Hmmmmm

Some thoughts

  • Be happy you can stand up to a table and get bad rolls
  • Be happy you have the function of your arms to mis cue
  • Be happy that you have the funtion of you eyes to watch such bad execution of shape
  • By happy that you can hear the click of that weak ass break
  • Be happy that you can remember all the details of past failures

If you quit, you WILL ask yourself in a year or two...Why the hell did I quit?? How good would I be today if I had not quit??

In short enjoy every lousy second at the pool table that you can...It won't last forever...(just ask the Miz or OHB)

I fully belive that you are learning the most when you are playing your worst....The "key" to becoming a champion (at any sport) is to learn how to win when you are not playing your best and the rolls are going against you....It sounds like it is a perfect time for you.

BTW: There is no way I would have scratched in the side...but if it makes you feel any better, I probably would have just missed the side pocket, banked into the 6 and caromed into the corner pocket....(that is my luck):D :D
 
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I guess I don't get it. I'd be more upset giving my money away in your cheap games. However, regarding the shot. The side pocket is "there", if your intention was to send whitey on that line then you got what you deserved. Whether a scratch is possible is only a small part of the problem. The big problem, it could hit either point and go anywhere. If anywhere, including a scratch in another pocket floats you bubble, then ok, fine by me.

I think better planning could have saved you this frustration. At any rate, stuff happens and we as pool players have to live with our mistakes and or bad rolls. I wouldn't dwell on it, it's part of the game. "Count on it" or prevent it from happening.

Take some time off as suggested, then when your ready jump back on the horse. That is, after you take something positive from this adventure.

Rod
 
I think you made your big mistake when you left Don's house (shame on him for hiding the bong) and said, "If I can play like this tomorrow in the tournament, I'll do alright." You are setting yourself up for not being "alright" whenever you tell yourself this kind of thing. I like to think that I am going to be alright no matter what happens. It's a game, not a life or death situation. I know we put our heart and soul into it, but I think it's better (healthier for mind and body) to keep a positive attitude but be willing to accept whatever happens. If it's not enjoyable, let it go. Life's too short to spend time doing something you don't enjoy (unless you're making the big bucks for it and it makes the rest of life more enjoyable). My feeling is that you usually like playing, so maybe some reflection on what you want out of it and what you are willing to put into it may be time well spent.
 
I Get Knocked Down, I Get Back Up Again, I Get Knocked Down, I Get Back Up Again, They Ain't Never Gonna Let Em Keep Me Down!!!

Da' Purdman
 
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