Good point -- you're right. Thanks for the correction. I have always admired the guys that can play fast and I wish I could. Whenever, I try to play faster I end up making stupid mistakes. I'm still working on getting the whole rhythm thing figured out.
Playing Nine Ball Ghost....Feel Free to Critique
- Thread starter BasementDweller
- Start date
Good point -- you're right. Thanks for the correction. I have always admired the guys that can play fast and I wish I could. Whenever, I try to play faster I end up making stupid mistakes. I'm still working on getting the whole rhythm thing figured out.
I agree with your first comment regarding my lazy position down to the six ball. I definitely need to plan better and play precise shape. Your second comment about playing closer to the 8 ball - I don't agree with. I suppose I could have played for the middle of the end rail but I wouldn't want to aim to get any closer than that. If I was to hit it real bad and end up right on top of the 8, would you then say - "you shouldn't have tried to get so close to that 8 ball"? Having said that, I have taken note and I need to play more precise shape.
Jaden beat you to it on that 1st shot that you mentioned (see post #6). I agree with what you said though - I should have come around 2 rails. Your second suggestion I'm on the fence about. A 3rd choice would be to just play it 2 rails under the 8, then I could have slid over for the 9. I wouldn't want to be straight on that 8 though, then it would have been tough to get to the 9. Going 3 rails makes it almost impossible to have a difficult path over to the 9. Not sure about that one.
It's a 9 foot old AMF table. Mark Griffin said he thought it was a Grand Prix (I think that' what he said). It has 860 Simonis on it but it does play slow. I sort of set it up that way on purpose because the center slate is cracked and I did my best to repair it but it doesn't roll perfectly. I've checked on the net for those counters and I haven't been able to locate one. The only thing I have come across are the square ones. At this point, I really want to upgrade to a Diamond or a Gold Crown depending on what I can get my hands on.
Only time will tell....stay tuned.
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it doesn't matter what speed anyone plays at. top players who play quickly pay no less attention, and are no more carefree than slower or seemingly more methodical players. the precision they try to achieve in their positional play or shotmaking is no different in either case! pace of play comes from their development of a preshot routine at a pace that they are comfortable with, that allows for them to concentrate and perform the task at hand. for more naturally gifted players (ie. ronnie o'sullivan, or an earl strickland) a quicker pace of play is easier, however keep in mind that individuals such as these are exceptional talents, one in a million, and should not be emulated. ronnie or earl play the way they do, not because they copied someone, but because they came into their own through practice and natural ability.
don't waste your time trying to copy others, find your own game, whether it's faster or more methodical, by achieving goals in what you want to accomplish shot by shot. if ie. you need to stun a ball around two rails and leave the cueball in the middle of the table inside a 10" circle, take as much time as you need to visualize, feel the shot, and steady your nerve, before you execute.
i used to love trying to emulate quicker players, they seemed to make the game look so easy. but in doing so i found that in high pressure situations, it was difficult to pace myself, and found i played too fast, especially when it mattered the most, nearing the end of a rack. sometimes things worked out ok, but sometimes they didn't, and there's no excuse for not being able to get out after all the hard work was done.
also, even when you've figured out everything there is to do with a shot, many times it pays off to intentionally drag it out a bit, give yourself time to steady your nerve, before you get down to execute. just because you may know what to do, doesn't mean your body is ready to do it. pool is like a mini biathlon, run around the table, get down, steady your nerve, get up, and do it all over again. keep practicing and goodluck!
When you get to be my age and you have caught the point of the side pocket another thousand times, you will see the peril in slamming the ball in the side and going three rails. If you are trying to impress your friends that is a cool shot. If you are trying to get the money, you run the risk of doing exactly what you did in the video.