"Nice shot"? Or no...
- Thread starter Michael Andros
- Start date
To each their own I guess. I dont say much if anything at all, and I prefer the same in return. I have played chatty type guys before, and if I deem them too chatty, I usually suggest we play mum pool the next set. They usually catch my drift and STFU. :thumbup:
I would add a full body humping motion to the phrase as I said it, but thats just me. :grin:
I wouldn’t talk to shark but I also wouldn’t worry about building their confidence. Sometimes the most commonly missed shot is that easy one after making a hard shot.
Respectfully, Matt
(I don’t take myself too seriously. I hope you can return the favor.)
Respectfully, Matt
(I don’t take myself too seriously. I hope you can return the favor.)
I had a guy one time jump my ass and try to start an argument because I DIDN'T tell him "nice shot" after he hooked himself and kicked 3 rails to make the ball LOL.
Sometimes,something like that can certainly swing the opponent's mental state and momentum in their favor. Tommy D.
Sometimes,something like that can certainly swing the opponent's mental state and momentum in their favor. Tommy D.
If I don't know the guy I'll tap the butt of my cue. I don't want anyone thinking I'm trying to shark them. But as I don't play a lot of tourneys or gamble it's somewhat rare I play someone I don't know.
If I know the person and am comfortable enough with them to know they won't take it any other way than a compliment then I like to say "great shot" or "nice out" or whatever.
I don't mind if someone says it to me.
Different strokes for different folks though.
If I know the person and am comfortable enough with them to know they won't take it any other way than a compliment then I like to say "great shot" or "nice out" or whatever.
I don't mind if someone says it to me.
Different strokes for different folks though.
I was just picturing Jack Haynes at a three cushion tournament....
..the “nice shot”, the finger snapping, and butt tapping would do him in.
...after a half hour, he either gets laid out...or leaves in a straight jacket.
I prefer to use a bull horn to convey my admiration for their shot. Makes your opponent just a little jumpy. Remember, if you're not cheating, you don't want to win bad enough...
:rotflmao1: :rotflmao1: :rotflmao1:
"Anything worth having... is worth cheating for."
~ W.C. Fields ~
Once he let his iguana run around on the table he would be tossed out.
:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
The overwhelming consensus seems to be that it is sharking, insulting or somehow just in poor form to say, " good shot" after an opponent makes a good shot. Sorry, but as a general proposition, I don't buy it.
It seems to me that if someone's ability to "stay in the zone" is so fragile that their game deteriorates when someone pays them a brief compliment, they are probably lucky to make the good shot that they did. And if someone saying "good shot" is such a distraction then why isn't the blaring juke box, the waitress walking by with a beer, the guy breaking on the next table, the guy next to the TV screaming about a call he doesn't like in the basketball game he's watching, etc. not also going to also drive him to distraction?
No offense to anyone but I'm not sure that this Never-Say-Good-Shot sentiment isn't more an effort to perpetuate an unwritten code of conduct that allows someone to act like a total jerk with impunity so that he, in turn, gets to intimidate the uninitiated schmuck who innocently says, "good shot." When some guy says, "good shot" and the shooter gets to turn around and pretty much say, "Go f*** yourself," a better argument could be made that it's the latter doing the sharking. Someone is looking for a license to be a jerk toward their opponent and that's a bigger problem than someone extending a compliment in good faith.
I'll acknowledge that if someone is saying, "good shot" or something similar on every shot that's longer that two feet or on a simple cross-side bank, then maybe he is trying to play head games. But it seems to me if someone makes a truly good shot and his opponent simply says so, the compliment should just be accepted in good grace. If it truly bothers someone that much, their head isn't in the game anyway.
It seems to me that if someone's ability to "stay in the zone" is so fragile that their game deteriorates when someone pays them a brief compliment, they are probably lucky to make the good shot that they did. And if someone saying "good shot" is such a distraction then why isn't the blaring juke box, the waitress walking by with a beer, the guy breaking on the next table, the guy next to the TV screaming about a call he doesn't like in the basketball game he's watching, etc. not also going to also drive him to distraction?
No offense to anyone but I'm not sure that this Never-Say-Good-Shot sentiment isn't more an effort to perpetuate an unwritten code of conduct that allows someone to act like a total jerk with impunity so that he, in turn, gets to intimidate the uninitiated schmuck who innocently says, "good shot." When some guy says, "good shot" and the shooter gets to turn around and pretty much say, "Go f*** yourself," a better argument could be made that it's the latter doing the sharking. Someone is looking for a license to be a jerk toward their opponent and that's a bigger problem than someone extending a compliment in good faith.
I'll acknowledge that if someone is saying, "good shot" or something similar on every shot that's longer that two feet or on a simple cross-side bank, then maybe he is trying to play head games. But it seems to me if someone makes a truly good shot and his opponent simply says so, the compliment should just be accepted in good grace. If it truly bothers someone that much, their head isn't in the game anyway.
It's not necessarily that it may not be appreciated, it just isn't as acceptable to do it as the stakes get higher and as the skill level of the players get higher - which is why you virtually never see it done with pro players in tournament matches or money sessions.
I always try to withold the compliment until I see if the good shot they made resulted in the player winning the game, and then I'll compliment that particular shot they made during the runout. Otherwise, the good shot really meant nothing.
Sometimes I see my opponent make a really good shot, with position, and all I'm thinking is that it was not the correct shot to play - they really should have played safety as it was an easy safety and a very low percentage shot and they just got lucky. In those instances I will never reward their bad decision making with a compliment, even if they did make a great shot.
I think most players here would agree that the ultimate respect and courtesy you can show your opponent during a serious match is to completely avoid communication except when it is necessary.
Good post.
And if pool is to ever get more money via a nice gate, etc. then pro players MUST DEAL WITH CROWDS and whatever they do during matches. So, practicing how to play with spectators doing what they do is a vital skill that had better be learned to be competitive.
If....
Jeff Livingston
I believe Clusterbuster was referring to comments made by your match opponent, and not to the spectators or rail birds observing the match.
I know, and I elaborated on those comments.
You know....expanded the issue into the pro world. And also into the league world that is growing. If a player wants to play without any crowd or opponent talk/noise/etc. he's going to be at a disadvantage when it happens anyway.
That's all.
Jeff Livingston
Any pro player that has played tournament matches against Earl, is well aware of the necessity to be able to ignore and zone out commentary/chatter on the part of their opponent while they are at the table shooting.
I agree. When friends and I are playing a ring game we often "shark" each other. It's a part of the camaraderie of playing and to me I often get in a "zone" when the sharks are in the water, often spawning the statement "he's unsharkable". However for money I'm pretty quiet, if playing someone I gamble with regularly and I know their demeanor I certainly may tap the butt of my cue or the chalk on the arm of my chair in appreciation of a great shot/leave, but to a newcomer, I don't say a word. I'm 100% poker face.