Lucking out

A

AAplayr

Banned
So last night I play the one guy locally who I am afraid to play. Not because he is a worldbeater, he isnt. He gets the called 8 and we played some $40 sets. When I play him, I have never seen anyone roll better in 20 years of play. So I tell him it's got to be pro 10 ball rules, shooting 9 ball, called shot and if he lucks in a ball or safes me by accident I can give him back the shot or shoot myself, my option.

The first set I just dogged, had gotten a bad beat to miss the weekly tournament finals, my head wasn't in it. Lost 7-2. I can't lose to this guy, I refuse, so set #2 I win 7-0 like I'm practicing alone. The third set I am on the hill and he dogs his 8 ball. He missed it so bad and it fell in behind the 9 ball. I tell him it's his shot as he didn't make the ball in his pocket and rolled good to leave me safe. He kicks and misses and I win, 7-4.

So I am up $40 and it's time for set #4 , but it will have to be quick, they are closing soon. He says race to 3 double or nothing, but he wants to play slop 9 ball rules. He's down a set and I can double up , why not. Game one he hits the 4 ball up table 2 rails and makes it in the corner, when he was trying to leave me safe/long. He gets out. Game two he hammers the 4 to the side misses and it comes 3 rails around, hits the moving cueball and goes in the side! Down 2-0 in a race to 3. So I get 2 games and now it's double hill , I can breath. He shoots the 6 and leaves me safe by accident when he misses and I kick it, selling out and he runs 3 balls to break even.

Moral of the story...make this player play called shot games always. Just tired of people lucking out. There is just too much luck in Texas Express rules, rewards the weaker player all the time.
 
Slop plays for both sides. The best defense against slop is to stop selling out and play more safes. Ball-in-hand is a pretty hefty reward for any B or higher player.
 
I played with a guy 9 Ball, race to 21, believe me or not he had 7 times lucky at 9 ball. It was something like I made a safe shot, he goes 2-3 rails, hit the object ball, and then got lucky and bang the 9 in pocket.
Now I play with him only 10 ball :)
 
ideologist said:
Slop plays for both sides. The best defense against slop is to stop selling out and play more safes. Ball-in-hand is a pretty hefty reward for any B or higher player.
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This is written well enough that I'll just second it.

He can't Ram-shot the balls if he's locked up.
 
DallasHopps said:
This is written well enough that I'll just second it.

He can't Ram-shot the balls if he's locked up.
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And even if he does, that's part of 9-ball! You are betting him because you think you can beat him. He wanted slop rules to try and even the field. He evened it. Make your slop-friendly opponents play on a Diamond if you want to hamstring their shenanigans. ;)
 
Moral of the story could be "don't play slop"
Another moral to the story could be "don't make a dumb game like race to 3 in 9b for all the cheese". :)

Unless you're playing straight pool to 100, you need more than 3 games to decide a set,
call shot or not. You kinda walked into this one.

It may not be all luck either.
Guys who are "better at getting lucky" are often playing 2-ways that aren't super obvious.
Some people develop a good instinct for them even when they look like they're just blasting it.
 
It was the race to 3 that did it.

There was a guy in our area that everyone said was "lucky", that was because on every shot he'd try to do 2-3 other things like send the 9 for a ride or try to hit a few other balls to make them as well in case he missed.

We played for $5 a game once, he kept going for the 9 on half the shots. I got sick of him doing that instead of just playing and bore down a bit. Beat him 11 games in a row. Luck won't overcome skill in the long run.
 
I feel ya bro.....

AAplayr said:
So last night I play the one guy locally who I am afraid to play. Not because he is a worldbeater, he isnt. He gets the called 8 and we played some $40 sets. When I play him, I have never seen anyone roll better in 20 years of play. So I tell him it's got to be pro 10 ball rules, shooting 9 ball, called shot and if he lucks in a ball or safes me by accident I can give him back the shot or shoot myself, my option.

The first set I just dogged, had gotten a bad beat to miss the weekly tournament finals, my head wasn't in it. Lost 7-2. I can't lose to this guy, I refuse, so set #2 I win 7-0 like I'm practicing alone. The third set I am on the hill and he dogs his 8 ball. He missed it so bad and it fell in behind the 9 ball. I tell him it's his shot as he didn't make the ball in his pocket and rolled good to leave me safe. He kicks and misses and I win, 7-4.

So I am up $40 and it's time for set #4 , but it will have to be quick, they are closing soon. He says race to 3 double or nothing, but he wants to play slop 9 ball rules. He's down a set and I can double up , why not. Game one he hits the 4 ball up table 2 rails and makes it in the corner, when he was trying to leave me safe/long. He gets out. Game two he hammers the 4 to the side misses and it comes 3 rails around, hits the moving cueball and goes in the side! Down 2-0 in a race to 3. So I get 2 games and now it's double hill , I can breath. He shoots the 6 and leaves me safe by accident when he misses and I kick it, selling out and he runs 3 balls to break even.

Moral of the story...make this player play called shot games always. Just tired of people lucking out. There is just too much luck in Texas Express rules, rewards the weaker player all the time.
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ohhh yeah,...........
I heard all of that ! Can't wait to get back to play "LUCKY" again ! :wink:
 
AAplayr said:
So last night I play the one guy locally who I am afraid to play. Not because he is a worldbeater, he isnt. He gets the called 8 and we played some $40 sets. When I play him, I have never seen anyone roll better in 20 years of play. So I tell him it's got to be pro 10 ball rules, shooting 9 ball, called shot and if he lucks in a ball or safes me by accident I can give him back the shot or shoot myself, my option.

The first set I just dogged, had gotten a bad beat to miss the weekly tournament finals, my head wasn't in it. Lost 7-2. I can't lose to this guy, I refuse, so set #2 I win 7-0 like I'm practicing alone. The third set I am on the hill and he dogs his 8 ball. He missed it so bad and it fell in behind the 9 ball. I tell him it's his shot as he didn't make the ball in his pocket and rolled good to leave me safe. He kicks and misses and I win, 7-4.

So I am up $40 and it's time for set #4 , but it will have to be quick, they are closing soon. He says race to 3 double or nothing, but he wants to play slop 9 ball rules. He's down a set and I can double up , why not. Game one he hits the 4 ball up table 2 rails and makes it in the corner, when he was trying to leave me safe/long. He gets out. Game two he hammers the 4 to the side misses and it comes 3 rails around, hits the moving cueball and goes in the side! Down 2-0 in a race to 3. So I get 2 games and now it's double hill , I can breath. He shoots the 6 and leaves me safe by accident when he misses and I kick it, selling out and he runs 3 balls to break even.

Moral of the story...make this player play called shot games always. Just tired of people lucking out. There is just too much luck in Texas Express rules, rewards the weaker player all the time.
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Sounds like the guy was a decent shot in addition to being lucky. I agree with some of the other about you probably making a bad game at the end. He put the odds in his favor doing that for sure. It sounds like you know how to handle this guy now. Stick with no slop games and push the bet after the first set, I bet he will tend to dog it more when lady luck isn't on his shoulder.

I gotta ask this just out of personal experience, do you think he won because he got lucky more or do you think he won because the way you reacted to his luck? Some players are automatically on tilt when playing certain people because they expect things like that to happen due to previous experiences. Their brain is reacting negatively to every fortunate roll whether it be luck or not. Next thing you know your head is completely out of the game and your negativity is consuming you to the point where you can't make a ball.
It happens to most people at one point or another. I went through it and have learned how to deal with it before it ruins my game. I'm not saying that you are like this but it is something to consider.
 
Replies

All good responses. I gave him a shot at the quick 3 game set because I could double up and we closed the pool hall. I knew what could happen and from playing him I know how it goes.

I like the fact that pro rules rotation makes you chose your intention before shoting. It means giving up 2 way shots, but you get so much more back by playing this way. I understand why there are handicaps, but the winner should still have to do something worthwhile to win. It is a game of skill not shooting craps.

Ever had a non-pool player see the game played where a guy lucks out and they ask why did they win, or why they get to keep shooting. Hard to explain why the slop balls are allowed to continue in tournament play among avid amatuers and pros. I really think it cheapens the game. On the rare occassion I hit a ball hard enough and bad enough to luck one it, I don't want to win sets or tournaments like that.

Worst part of people rollig lucky is there is just no defense. You can't practice away rolls. When good pplayers ,matchup, one roll or two so often decides the winner. When they shit in 2-3 balls in a runout all you want to do is puke.
 
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You both broke even. No one lost money.

You played four great sets with something on the line.

You shot well.

You closed the poolhall down.



What's the problem???

Maniac (would have been elated in this scenario)
 
Cdryden said:
Sounds like the guy was a decent shot in addition to being lucky. I agree with some of the other about you probably making a bad game at the end. He put the odds in his favor doing that for sure. It sounds like you know how to handle this guy now. Stick with no slop games and push the bet after the first set, I bet he will tend to dog it more when lady luck isn't on his shoulder.

I gotta ask this just out of personal experience, do you think he won because he got lucky more or do you think he won because the way you reacted to his luck? Some players are automatically on tilt when playing certain people because they expect things like that to happen due to previous experiences. Their brain is reacting negatively to every fortunate roll whether it be luck or not. Next thing you know your head is completely out of the game and your negativity is consuming you to the point where you can't make a ball.
It happens to most people at one point or another. I went through it and have learned how to deal with it before it ruins my game. I'm not saying that you are like this but it is something to consider.
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I fully expected him to get some luck, but took the chance. When he lucked in the 2 balls to get out the first 2 games I beared down more. Knowing if I won the set I get $800 and if I lose it's break even, so I really don't have pressure. I pulled even and then he missed bad and left me safe. At that point I knew I was no longer a favorite, tried to leave him bad, but he had a shot.
As we left I explained how much rolls change things. He knows he gets lucky, he is notorious for it. I am going to start a called 10 ball tournament locally. I think so many of us play way too strong to win this way and call it winning. This player would be so much better if he just played a shot or safe and stoped flailing into balls, exspecially called money balls that are spotted. If he played called shot rotation it would force him to improve shotmaking and safes, he's getting away with playing banger pool when the odds favor him.

Hopefully the called shot 10 ball tournament will work. The spots we give are crazy. I give several decent shooters the called 7 + 8 in nine ball and they are wild on the break. When you win with that, they just want more.
 
You fired his money at him and it did not work out, it happens. You could have pocketed the cash you were up and said we can do it again next time instead of the short set, that's gambling. ;)
 
Life is hard and unfair. Pool is sometimes hard and unfair. I don't waste energy on situations that are an outcome of luck. I save my energy for times when I actually need it. Adrenaline turn you into a frickin cave man so don't bother getting excited and angry cause it does not in any way do you any good.

Read Golf is not a game of perfect by Bob Rotella and bring your game up a couple of notches. So much is in your mental game.

And don't play the broken game of 9-ball if you can't handle it mentally. In the right state of mind it's fun!
 
the rolls even out over time, i have lost lots of $$ because of bad rolls, won lots cause i got good rolls. you cant get bogged down over one session, or 2 or 3, hell ive had the balls roll bad for a month it seemed. it always evens out. you just have to be there for it to get even, if you pull up your whole life trying to out run bad rolls you might not get good rolls.
 
AAplayr said:
Moral of the story...make this player play called shot games always. Just tired of people lucking out. There is just too much luck in Texas Express rules, rewards the weaker player all the time.
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In our BCA league we split the session with 10 ball the first half and 9 ball the second half. We have a small league and the schedule has each team playing twice. Once in 10 ball and once in 9 ball. My record last year in the 10 ball half was 70 wins and 10 losses. Playing the exact same players in 9 ball I went 54 and 26. 8 of those 26 losses were nine ball breaks against me. Many of the others were likely due to what you described "riding the nine". They did not improve and my game did not fall off between the two halves of the season. Texas express rules boosts the lower player's chances at all but the professional level. Playing double or nothing at the end is also silly. You dug your hole with a hand shovel, I'm not letting you fill it in with a back hoe.

JC
 
If your opponent's playing style is hard hitting, you want the called pocket scenario. Balls can travel too far and too many places.

If he's a careful player - shooting most shots with pocket speed, slop will not be a factor and can be excluded from consideration. There won't be enough possible situations for slop to be a factor.
 
I don't mind if an opponent lucks in a ball when his cue ball travels in an unexpected direction after he makes a well-thought-out legal hit.

But most of the guys I play with use No-Call as an opportunity to play Smash Ball. If the ball doesn't have a pocket just hit it as hard as you can and something is bound to go in (usually the CB :grin:). If the OB is near a cluster...Watch Out! Balls are going to go flying!

The aggravating thing is that they've got a perfectly good safety opportunity; sometimes a dead-nuts lock-up. But they'd rather play Smash Ball.
 
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