Plan for Excellence in Pool

[wayne]

Very good read drivermaker... thanx! If Patrick is anything like Moe, I wouldn't want to face him on the table. It's actually really amazing how many variables an autistic person can process.

I am not sure that Patrick actually plays pool on a pooltable. I think he is just an expert at Virtual Pool and he confuses posters sometimes because he talks about how he runs 10 racks with millimeter position or runs hundreds of balls in straight pool but a lot of people don't know he is talking about Virtual Pool.

Wayne

 

[Boro Nut]

Very good read drivermaker... thanx! If Patrick is anything like Moe, I wouldn't want to face him on the table.

I thought it might have occured to someone that Patrick/One or whatever he likes to call himself is a virtual pool player. Tosser I think he took it up because some 12 year old or other spanked him at mortal wombat or something, and is a self-styled legend in his own bedroom. I for one would welcome his sort of drivel on this board. You lot never bite.

Boro Nut

 

[FastMikie]

...getting back to the subject of a Plan for Excellence in Pool...
(not that it wasn't fun learning of autistic idiot savants in golf & pool)

With my background of 40 years working with computers,
I have come to the conclusion that "any plan is better than no plan",
as long as there is a feedback loop of continuous improvement of the plan.

And, if the feedback/improvement cycle is short,
the goals of the system can be achieved much more quickly.

That's the basis for success, the way I have experienced it.

How would you improve
this Plan ?
Where would you want more detail?
How would you modifiy it for your situation?

 

[AuntyDan]

...getting back to the subject of a Plan for Excellence in Pool...

Getting back on topic? Well I guess there's a first time for everything;-) Alright, I'll give it a try:

1) Define your target better - "Finish "in the money" in at least 5 local tournaments" means a very different thing if you are including rooms like Hardtimes Bellflower in your list of local tournament locations.

2) Define a schedule you can meet - You stated earlier in the thread "I wish I did put in 3 hours of focused practice every day.". If you know you cannot or will not put 3 hours in per day then adjust your plan to a time schedule you can meet.

3) Dance with the Devil - One thing conspicuously missing from your list is playing money games. Personally gambling it is not my thing but if I were ever to drop all my other commitments, assemble the requisite capitol and draw up a personal plan to develop my game to it's highest potential level it would have to make up part of my plan. This would both be to widen my playing experience and to develop my mental toughness. (Of course it can have the opposite effect, destroying confidence if you loose too much.)

Just some food for thought, hope this helps you with your plan. I'm in So. Cal. too so if you want to get together for a game or 3 let me know.

 

[FastMikie]

Getting back on topic? Well I guess there's a first time for everything;-) Alright, I'll give it a try:

1) Define your target better - "Finish "in the money" in at least 5 local tournaments" means a very different thing if you are including rooms like Hardtimes Bellflower in your list of local tournament locations.

2) Define a schedule you can meet - You stated earlier in the thread "I wish I did put in 3 hours of focused practice every day.". If you know you cannot or will not put 3 hours in per day then adjust your plan to a time schedule you can meet.

3) Dance with the Devil - One thing conspicuously missing from your list is playing money games. Personally gambling it is not my thing but if I were ever to drop all my other commitments, assemble the requisite capitol and draw up a personal plan to develop my game to it's highest potential level it would have to make up part of my plan. This would both be to widen my playing experience and to develop my mental toughness. (Of course it can have the opposite effect, destroying confidence if you loose too much.)

Just some food for thought, hope this helps you with your plan. I'm in So. Cal. too so if you want to get together for a game or 3 let me know.

Good points, all... Thanks for taking the time for serious reflection. Here's some feedback on your points.

1. I've been to Hard Times (played my first-ever game of one pocket there, with Cecil Tugwell... can you imagine what that was like?). But I'm really a hermit, so getting out for a tournament is a big deal for me. I just quit APA team play
because of all the negatives so I'm looking for fresh meat in tournaments and would like to see what's in the San Diego area. I figure I'll attack LA when I am the undisputed ruler of San Diego.

2. A realistic target? I'm an optimist. I want to keep my goals higher than I can probably achieve. Stretching is good, for me.

3. You may be right that gambling could help my game, but I am philosophically opposed to gambling. I figure that if I ever bet on my game it would be because I know absolutely that I will win, in which case I am taking advantage of some mental defective stooge, or.... I am the mental defective! In either case, it ain't pretty. I used to hustle pool for money (and win) when I was in college (40 years ago), but that was when my integrity was not fully developed. Right after college, I got a job and never played any focused pool again until just over a year ago. So after workin' my butt off for 30 years, I'm not really excited about risking my nest egg by gambling it away. I'm into pool as an art form, not a source of income.

 

[AuntyDan]

1. I don't know the San Diego scene, but to split between the difference between SD and LA you may want to check out Danny K's in Orange. They have a handicapped singles tournaments 3 nights a week and at lunchtime on weekends. Not as hard-core as Hardtimes but tougher than a lot of more casual rooms. It's my favorite room I've been to so far in the So. Cal. area.

2. There's a fine line in setting goals. Set them too low and you don't motivate yourself enough, but set them too high and you give yourself a perfect excuse to fail and quit. It all depends on your personality and I don't know you well enough to make that call. Of course even just setting a goal at all is a step many of us never take, so you are ahead of the game there.

3. That's fair enough, I have similar views myself. Just be aware that this may limit you if you want to measure your progress by tournament victories.

 

[FastMikie]

1. I don't know the San Diego scene, but to split between the difference between SD and LA you may want to check out Danny K's in Orange. They have a handicapped singles tournaments 3 nights a week and at lunchtime on weekends. Not as hard-core as Hardtimes but tougher than a lot of more casual rooms. It's my favorite room I've been to so far in the So. Cal. area.

2. There's a fine line in setting goals. Set them too low and you don't motivate yourself enough, but set them too high and you give yourself a perfect excuse to fail and quit. It all depends on your personality and I don't know you well enough to make that call. Of course even just setting a goal at all is a step many of us never take, so you are ahead of the game there.

3. That's fair enough, I have similar views myself. Just be aware that this may limit you if you want to measure your progress by tournament victories.

Danny K's seemed like a good room. I was there only once, several months ago, for a lesson with Sensei Roy Yamane. That went well, but it is still a long way to drive. And, of course, there's that hermit thing...

;o)

 

[AuntyDan]

Danny K's seemed like a good room. I was there only once, several months ago, for a lesson with Sensei Roy Yamane. That went well, but it is still a long way to drive. And, of course, there's that hermit thing...

;o)

From what I can see of your house and given the wonderful So. Cal. freeways I can understand why you might never want to leave home.

What does Tony Sorto think of your plan? Given he is teaching you perhaps he'd be in the best position to judge it.

 

[FastMikie]

From what I can see of your house and given the wonderful So. Cal. freeways I can understand why you might never want to leave home.

What does Tony Sorto think of your plan? Given he is teaching you perhaps he'd be in the best position to judge it.

You know "El Maestro" Tony Sorto? (why am I not surprised?) ;o)

I'm not sure that Tony has ever seen my Plan for Excellence in Pool. He is one of those rare, purely natural players, with a true gift, who "don't need no stinkin' plan"...

 

[DaveK]

I don't know about pool, but here are a couple of stories about an autistic in golf by the name of Moe Norman. There are varying reports saying he had a childhood accident with a sled, and another with a car, but he was kinda like "Rainman" who could flat out play golf and was a genius for the game.

Moe Norman had never been diagnosed as autistic as far as I know. That said, I believe he was somewhat autistic, just my opinion. In a recent documentary about the man, a relative said the sled accident changed his personality, and this could easily explain how he acted and spoke (he often repeated himself repeated himself). For those who have never heard of Moe, he holds quite a few course records in Southern Ontario Canada, a few of which are 59s (yes, Moe has several 59s to his credit !!! ). Moe told the story that the PGA folks (in the 1950s) didn't like him 'playing the holes backwards'. This is absolute classic Moe. Just for fun (that's his way ! ), after being told something like "this hole is a 3 wood - pitching wedge" , Moe would tee off with his wedge popping one 100 yards out into the fairway, then drill a 250 yard 3 wood straight at the pin onto the green. Ya, the man could play ... and he was highly entertaining and put on a fine exhibition, truely amazing how he could make a golf ball fly.

Back to pool ... but thanks for bringing up Moes name DM.

Dave

 

[DaveK]

I like the one where he asked a guy what the distance of the hole was and the guy tells Mo "Its a driver and a 9 iron".....Mo pulls out a 9-iron and tees off and then hits driver into the green and gets birdie.... Arrogant...but entertaining...........

NO NO NO, Moe was NOT arrogant in any way. The man was just having fun ! Yes, there is a challange to playing a 350 yard par 4, but try it Moes way (he calls it "playing backwards" ) if you want a real challenge. And he was that good that he needed to do some wierd things to keep himself interested and amused, imo. But Moe was not arrogant in any way as far as I know.

Dave