No Conflict Rules Favor the Better Player
- Thread starter Paul Schofield
- Start date
Ball Spot handicaps
Ball Spot handicaps are a gaff. Games on the wire are real spots, and that comes from top players I have visited with.
Ball Spot handicaps are a gaff. Games on the wire are real spots, and that comes from top players I have visited with.
MikeLikesPool
Registered
I've played in a few of Pauls' tournaments.While it takes a little time to get used to the rules it makes for a good tournament.It really does.Good players can and do get beat in this format.People still actually enjoy suiting up and playing without getting spotted in a tourney,like the old days.You don't need to take first to win money in Paul's event.
I also feel he is dead on about tougher equipment.People want to make balls.Especially in the beginning of their pool playing days.99.9% of pool players will not grow up to be champions and having to be perfect on every shot every game kills a player's enthusiasm, not to mention the action it kills. looser tables make running out possible for more players,more of the time.
His tournaments always fill up with a waiting list.Most are 64 players fields.Must be doing something right
Just my observation
I also feel he is dead on about tougher equipment.People want to make balls.Especially in the beginning of their pool playing days.99.9% of pool players will not grow up to be champions and having to be perfect on every shot every game kills a player's enthusiasm, not to mention the action it kills. looser tables make running out possible for more players,more of the time.
His tournaments always fill up with a waiting list.Most are 64 players fields.Must be doing something right
Just my observation
I was a bit baffled by this comment Paul made too. I mean, how possibly can a weaker player benefit form called-shot rules? Better players rarely...and I emphasize RARELY slop in a ball. The lesser skilled players I see in the pool halls seem to semi-frequently slop balls in.
I'd like to hear his explanation of how a called-shot game favors the weaker players. I would think he is in the minority on here with that line of opinion.
Maniac
Exactly!!! Paul's No-Conflict rules are, for the most part, a bunch of players playing the ghost.
When the lesser-skilled players lose to the ghost (which they will do VERY often), the better player comes to the table and cleans up the carnage...which often is just a handful of balls.
It's a turkey-shoot!!!
Maniac
Last edited:
This is the one thing that Paul discussed that I totally agree with. Unless there are nothing but top-tier pros playing in an event...the tables need to not be too tight.
Tough equipment will eventually turn the average pool player away.
Maniac
Well, we've had discussions in the past about the rules, but I think it's likely you're
just good at running events. Your fields might fill up even with conventional rules.
And I bet the top 4 calcutta guys would have also won under those rules.
But in any case, congratulations on another successful event.
just good at running events. Your fields might fill up even with conventional rules.
And I bet the top 4 calcutta guys would have also won under those rules.
But in any case, congratulations on another successful event.
I will start a new thread on this topic when I get a chance sometime in the next couple of weeks.
The myth that 'playing good players well above you' is good for your game, was started by 'The Good Players'!
All you learn is how to rack, and with the ridiculous 'rack your own' rules, you learn nothing except how to pay off. Its no 'fun' getting run over by a 'pro'. A number of 'local pros' have come to local tourneys in my area to 'scoop' first place. Most of thoses tourneys are now defunct.
You will get a lot more out of watching good players, either live or on youtube than playing them, and its FREE!
Am I dead money? Of course. I for one would pay with no chance of winning against these players. Especially a double elimination tourney.
Why? Simple. It's entertainment. A day/night out. Shit, I can't turn the key on my boat without burning $50 of fuel.
We all decide where and how to spend our disposable income. A lot of the same people that complain about this spend $5-$8 on a pack of smokes. You could enter a tournament a week for that $$.
Why? Simple. It's entertainment. A day/night out. Shit, I can't turn the key on my boat without burning $50 of fuel.
We all decide where and how to spend our disposable income. A lot of the same people that complain about this spend $5-$8 on a pack of smokes. You could enter a tournament a week for that $$.
There are many smokers that could enter 3 to 5 tournaments a WEEK with what they spend on smokes. Seriously.
People will spend their own money in a way that makes them the happiest, regardless of how asinine it may seem to others.
I don't mind paying (donating) $10 or so to enter a tournament that I have zero chance of finishing in the money...I can still get some value out of that. But when the entry fee starts to get up around $25 or more....then I'm just going to sit and watch. I have learned plenty by just doing that.
I'm not foolish enough to just give my hard-earned money away...and I'm certainly not mad at it.
It's all about the value one is getting out of his/her dollar.
Maniac
So that is what happened around here!
It depends on the person's mentality.
A couple of years ago I played on a particularly tough Diamond pro-am table with a friend of mine, and after about the 10th ball rattling and staying up when I thought I had hit it good, I said to him "this table will either make you quit or make you better." I stayed with it and now play a little better because of it.
There's plenty to gain by stepping up against the better players in your area. Sure, you're going to be lighting money on fire at times, but the key is to get in as cheap as you can so you don't lose much.
For example, I know I have no shot against Efren in 1-Pocket, but I would gladly play him even at $10 a game. It wouldn't matter if I lost 10 or 20 games, because I know I would come out of it better than I came in, although a little lighter in my wallet.
The fact is that there isn't a top player in any era that never paid their dues against tough competition. You'll never get to the top by just watching videos and reading books.
I agree I would rather play cheap sets with a pro than with someone I know I can beat ,,
The sliding scale entry fee and alternate breaks gives us lower level players at least a chance to win a few games and a occasional chance at a win ,,
Watching simply does not make you better by that alone you have to take it to the table
1
In order for you to say something like this, you must not have a very deep understanding of this game. I will explain:
There are 2 ways and only 2 ways to make a ball on the break: 1) Fluke a ball in the hole, 2) Carefully set up and execute a trick shot. Neither of these deserve to be rewarded. The ball on the break is the source of loads of trouble and needs to be canned. I say "Shoot what you break and get on with the game."
How can you be so against slopping a ball in on the break, yet despise call shot at the same time?
By your logic, if I make the 1 in the side on the break, that's bad. But if I miss the 9, and it goes five rails into a different pocket, that's okay?
CreeDo is correct when he says your events fill up because you're good at your job, NOT because of these rules.