Opponent slammed butt of stick on ground and made me miss, just part of the game??

PA state BB open is a fun tournament, I played it a few years back. I ended up drawing a first round bye in the 8 ball, and sat for 8 hours before my first match. Brutal haha. But a good time, will probably hit it next year.
My method for getting sharked is if anything makes me think with the "wordy" part of my brain, I stand up and reset. If it was something done intentionally I smile because I know I have them by the short hairs. Then its PSR and back into it.
The part of our brains responsible for physical performance operates mostly visually, in images not words. So any words in our head while down on the shot do more harm than good.
 
Tournament directors have to be willing to stand up to bullies. Once a few players get thrown out for repeated sharking, and the players get the message, the atmosphere changes for the better and everyone becomes more polite and respectful.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough td's who care enough to do it.
 
FranCrimi said:
Tournament directors have to be willing to stand up to bullies. Once a few players get thrown out for repeated sharking, and the players get the message, the atmosphere changes for the better and everyone becomes more polite and respectful.

Unfortunately, there aren't enough td's who care enough to do it.
Click to expand...

Fran,

So very true. Remember Scott Smith telling Earl to leave after one of his blowups at a Reno Open in the late 90's. Mike Zuglan has asked many players to leave a Joss event. Specially at the Turning Stone. He runs a tight ship but treats everyone equally. As long as the rules are applied equally, I have no problem.

Lyn
 
:frown:



Just sad how TV-Mike was there to do live-streaming and hardly any matches

were being played on that table.



I just didn't get the whole thing. There were people who wanted to see matches

from all over the country and saw hardly anything on the TV table.


That really sucked for the viewers who were tuned in to watch.



:shakehead:



Lots of good players there and no one got to see them.



.
 
No way

Some one in a pool room pretended they were mad to win a bet?
Next time fake him out.
Pull up and say thought I had to fart. Is your stick alright?
I herd it crying. Or was that you. Where you learn to cry like that? Are you married?
Then fire it in.
Don't forget to laugh at him.
Say you crack me up. I like you.
Nick :)
 
Your opponent can't make you miss without physically touching you, the cue or the balls. If you miss because of a noise it's your fault for missing. That's my outlook on it and it forces me to block everything out.... People speaking, that annoying woman at the bar with THE LAUGH.,everything. Once you learn to stop blaming others and start blaming your self you become hell bent on becoming better.

I'm quite old fashioned and don't believe in meditation and crap like that but I'm almost in a trance, deep focus of you will when down on a shot. I don't have a clue what is going on around me. I start breathing really heavy when down and I focus on that... The sound, the tempo. I believe this helps me shut everything out and helps with my timing.... Weird, eh.
 
poolguy4u said:
:frown:



Just sad how TV-Mike was there to do live-streaming and hardly any matches

were being played on that table.



I just didn't get the whole thing. There were people who wanted to see matches

from all over the country and saw hardly anything on the TV table.


That really sucked for the viewers who were tuned in to watch.



:shakehead:



Lots of good players there and no one got to see them.



.
Click to expand...

Don't blame Mike. He was given the matches. He had no control at all over who played on table one or when they played. Usually the TD's offer him the best of whats available. This time ...... Oh well. Glad you folks got to watch some great pool. Perhaps next year you'll join us in Williamsport. Played on table one at 2:00 AM Sunday morning against Shane Jackson. My only appearance on the stream.

Lyn
 
cardiac kid said:
Don't blame Mike. He was given the matches. He had no control at all over who played on table one or when they played. Usually the TD's offer him the best of whats available. This time ...... Oh well. Glad you folks got to watch some great pool. Perhaps next year you'll join us in Williamsport. Played on table one at 2:00 AM Sunday morning against Shane Jackson. My only appearance on the stream.

Lyn
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:


I sure wasn't blaming Mike. He was not happy about it either.
Must of been a fast match when you played, because when I got there at 2:40 AM the whole room was empty.



.


.
 
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Pidge said:
I'm quite old fashioned and don't believe in meditation and crap like that

but I'm almost in a trance
deep focus ...
I don't have a clue what is going on around me.
I start breathing really heavy when down ...I focus on that, The sound, the tempo.
I believe this helps me shut everything out....
Click to expand...

Welcome to the world of meditation.
Feel free to call it whatever you're comfortable with.

DK
 
Pidge said:
Your opponent can't make you miss without physically touching you, the cue or the balls. If you miss because of a noise it's your fault for missing. That's my outlook on it and it forces me to block everything out.... People speaking, that annoying woman at the bar with THE LAUGH.,everything. Once you learn to stop blaming others and start blaming your self you become hell bent on becoming better.

I'm quite old fashioned and don't believe in meditation and crap like that but I'm almost in a trance, deep focus of you will when down on a shot. I don't have a clue what is going on around me. I start breathing really heavy when down and I focus on that... The sound, the tempo. I believe this helps me shut everything out and helps with my timing.... Weird, eh.
Click to expand...

A good goal and attitude to have, but sudden loud noises or sudden visual changes are very hard to ignore.

If you are down on the shot mid stroke and someone suddenly yells loudly behind you or suddenly walks in front of the pocket, it's going to affect almost every player.
 
We were talking about this the other day. I have unfortunately been "that guy" who slams the cue and mutters to himself and everyone else with working ears when losing.

I said to Matthew, my colleague, when we set up this training center I want to teach people how to play through distractions. I think we could have fun with it and teach people to just focus and bear down on the balls regardless of what's happening off the table.

When I see the videos of Efren and other Filipinos playing in open air pool rooms with chickens and traffic sounds and people having to ripple out of the way when they shoot I actually am embarrassed for the times that some small thing "sharked" me.

But yes, frustration sharking is part of the game you have to deal with.
 
Straightpool_99 said:
Not part of the game.

You have every right to be upset.

Nobody is entirely shark proof, and anyone claiming to be so should be viewed with suspicion. A loud noise like that is probably going to have an effect on just about anybody especially with the "perfect" timing. I don't get sharked as easily as I used to, so I think it's a matter of training to at least be more resistant to it. That being said, if someone runs past the line of sight at the moment I shoot, I sometimes miss the ball. Our eyes track movement and it's hard to stop such a a reflex action, especially when the movement is close enough that it would be in the "danger zone" for a primitive man.
Click to expand...

Words to live by - from one of the players in the PPPA World Straight Pool Tournament:

"If a bomb explodes while you're shooting, if it don't knock you over, you got no excuse for missing."

Dale
 
Let me get this right, YOU pulled the trigger while something was bothering you....or you were thinking of something else...and you want to blame someone else?

When you learn to own your game.....you will never be sharked again.
 
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ronscuba said:
A good goal and attitude to have, but sudden loud noises or sudden visual changes are very hard to ignore.

If you are down on the shot mid stroke and someone suddenly yells loudly behind you or suddenly walks in front of the pocket, it's going to affect almost every player.
Click to expand...
I honestly don't notice any sounds going off around me. The tougher the shot the more zoned out I become to my surroundings. I remember straight out flattening a guy I walked into and I didn't realize I bumped him because I had my line of aim locked in and was fixated on it. I have a habit of walking into chairs and knocking them over whilst I circle the table with my aim point locked on the object ball.

Didn't Tiger Woods' father shout and clap as he was about to start his down swing as a youngster to prevent him from jumping when the crowd would cheer? My father would do something similar when I was young. He didn't shout but he would randomly tap me on the shoulder or give me a little nudge when I was playing a shot. He said it was to get used to tournaments that were compacted... I think he was just trying to make me miss!
 
I'M DK said:
Welcome to the world of meditation.
Feel free to call it whatever you're comfortable with.

DK
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I prefer to call it focus. Meditation to many makes them think of a 90 year old monk in a Himalayas... That I am not.

Good job on editing my post, you should seek out a job in the press.
 
I grew up around people that tried to shark you constantly. Learned to try and not pay attention to what is going on around me when I'm shooting. If I know someone is trying to disrupt my shooting, then odds are I'll say something. Noises don't bug me much anymore, someone walking up to the table as I'm shooting will get me to stop and ask them to move.
 
thubosky said:
When I'm down on the shot getting my cue speed in my practice strokes, I'm just ready to shoot when I hear my opponent slam his stick butt on the wooden floor and is like muttering curse words to himself. It wasn't at the moment of impact but pretty close.

It made me think, " was that my opponent?", "what a sore loser!"
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So just to be clear, did you miss your position because he slammed the butt on the floor, made a loud noise and the floor vibrate, or did you miss because you were upset that someone would try to shark you? Those are two very different things with different solutions.
 
JB Cases said:
We were talking about this the other day. I have unfortunately been "that guy" who slams the cue and mutters to himself and everyone else with working ears when losing.

I said to Matthew, my colleague, when we set up this training center I want to teach people how to play through distractions. I think we could have fun with it and teach people to just focus and bear down on the balls regardless of what's happening off the table.

When I see the videos of Efren and other Filipinos playing in open air pool rooms with chickens and traffic sounds and people having to ripple out of the way when they shoot I actually am embarrassed for the times that some small thing "sharked" me.

But yes, frustration sharking is part of the game you have to deal with.
Click to expand...

John,

Being oblivious to distractions is an art. The story of how Tiger learned to handle distraction is the basis for any player schooling. We never had the problems Efren had. We did however have a billiard table with ten or twelve Asians surrounding it. Try to play a three cushion shot when you're going to have to push people out of the way. And while you're pushing them, they're yelling and talking in their native language the entire time. Yeah, a school just might work.

Incidentally, I have the design for my Vegas case almost done. Changed it multiple times. I'll contact you or Matthew when I'm ready.

Lyn
 
poolguy4u said:
:rolleyes:

I sure wasn't blaming Mike. He was not happy about it either.
Must of been a fast match when you played, because when I got there at 2:40 AM the whole room was empty.

.
Click to expand...

Left for my hotel directly after losing Sunday morning. Got there after 3 AM. Match could have ended before that. It was only a best of five. Shane 3 - 2. Did walk around the "gambling" area for several minutes. Perhaps I lost track of time.

Just thought of it. Saturday morning or Sunday morning. I played till nearly 3 both days. Would have been nice to meet another AZ'er.

Lyn
 
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