Playing Under the Influence

[juanbond]

When you play for fun or practice (i.e. excluding tournaments and big money games), what substances are you commonly under the influence of, if any?

Reply to the thread and let me know your thoughts... If you are on heavy prescriptions, how have you learned to deal with their effects on the pool table? If you are a recreational user, is it to enhance the fun of pool, or simply out of addiction?

Don't worry, your votes are private and confidential.

 

[pete-biker]

For me it goes with tobacco and alcohol and that's all. Not to forget huge amount of coffee...


Ok, let's be honest...sometimes after a long period of not having had enough time to sleep i might need some painkillers to help with headache and stiff neck, but those are always those "light" non-prescriptive ones.

 

[Cornerman]

When you play for fun or practice (i.e. excluding tournaments and big money games), what substances are you commonly under the influence of, if any?

Reply to the thread and let me know your thoughts... If .

I like to drink. I don't make any bones about drinking while playing a tournament.

Fred

 

[lewdo26]

I'm a smoker, so there is my answer. I won't drink playing a tournament or cheap money games. But nervous as I get, maybe I should!

 

[inseng]

When you play for fun or practice (i.e. excluding tournaments and big money games), what substances are you commonly under the influence of, if any?

Reply to the thread and let me know your thoughts... If you are on heavy prescriptions, how have you learned to deal with their effects on the pool table? If you are a recreational user, is it to enhance the fun of pool, or simply out of addiction?

Don't worry, your votes are private and confidential.

Coffee only these days
I used to be a heavy drinker and was of the school of thought
that i needed at least a six pack to play well
Once i quit drinking and discovered poolrooms over bars it was
the best thing that ever happen to me and my game

 

[supergreenman]

This is how it works for me. Tournaments, and matches I'm sober. Depending on how tired I am or what time of day it is I may drink an energy drink of some sort (most often Red Bull) and don't kid yourself, this is a drug and I'll often think twice about it.

If I'm practicing I'm totally sober, otherwise what's the point.

If I'm out with my friends having a good time then there will be alcohol and maryjane invoved and I'll be taking a cab.

Pool related effects of drugs that I've noticed are:

Caffine: Alertness is heightened how ever the ability to maintain concentration is diminished, nervousness and anxiety can be hightened.

Pot: very unpredictable. Often improves vision. Can improve feel, or weight or have the opposite effect, toss a coin it's a crap shoot. The abilty to plan a run out or strategy can be severly impaired. In the end I believe the negative effects outweigh the benifits therefore I don't partake before playing tournaments and important matches.

Alcohol: Stupid juice what more can I say. the only positive it has is that it's a depressant and takes away your nervousness, however that is quickly replaced by diminished motor skills and diminished ability to play patterns and strategy.

 

[Gerry]

If it's for $$$, meaning gambling or tourney, just coffee and a few smokes maybe. Practicing at home....I'll have a drink or 2 while working on something.

I was just talking to a friend last night on the phone about the Pro and top road dogs and what they use. I was stunned to hear a couple of the names, but not surprised after thinking about it. Mostly I think it would be as normal as any cross section of the country.....a bunch smoke weed....others go a little harder!...thats all I have to say about that.

Gerry

 

[Hal]

what is cannabis?

 

[claymont]

Aspirin / Ibuprofen is the only thing I use for performance enhancement now. That's because of the joint and neck issues I have now. I do have a rum and coke occasionally when I shoot in my league sessions, but that's just for enjoyment, not to try to enhance my performance.
In the 70's and early 80's I smoked MJ for pleasure and enhancement. Sometimes it worked, mostly it didn't, just another excuse if I lost. Alcohol was the same.

 

[Gregg]

I on occasion will smoke some grass to practice or shoot with a buddy. Same as drinking.

That said, NOTHING will bring my game down worse than drinking and drugging.

Anybody who thinks that pot or alcohol (lets say more than a few drinks) will improve their game is delusional. It does not.

 

[Sore_Aintya]

Anybody who thinks that pot or alcohol (lets say more than a few drinks) will improve their game is delusional. It does not.

I don't know. I have a friend that is in his late 70's, and I swear the more the guy drinks (beer), the better he gets.

I used to always have a double shot of jack that I would "sip" during tourneys. Its slowed me down, and relaxed me a bit, without getting me sh!t faced.

I am curious though who the degenerate is that voted for Meth.

 

[ShootingArts]

twernt me

I didn't vote for meth, anything at all for that matter. On the other hand I'm not silly enough to think that most of the folks that play for a day or three at a time aren't getting a little help from something.

Hu

I don't know. I have a friend that is in his late 70's, and I swear the more the guy drinks (beer), the better he gets.

I used to always have a double shot of jack that I would "sip" during tourneys. Its slowed me down, and relaxed me a bit, without getting me sh!t faced.

I am curious though who the degenerate is that voted for Meth.

 

[Sore_Aintya]

...I'm not silly enough to think that most of the folks that play for a day or three at a time aren't getting a little help from something.

Hu

Yea, but the only thing Meth will help you at is losing 100lbs you don't have to spare. Rotting yer teeth out of yer head. Making you age 20 years for every 1. Endangering everyone around you. The list goes on and on.

I have a guy across the street from me that is a Meth dealer. I have called the county drug task force on him countless times. Nothing is ever done, and I'm worrying about the day he pisses off some crazed junkie and they come shoot up his house and one of my daughters catch a stray bullet.

I live in a small hick town though and everybody seems to be related. I share a property line with one of the towns police officers and have mention it to him many times as well. His general reply is usually something along the lines on how nice my yard looks!

 

[ShootingArts]

agreed

I hate speed in general and meth in particular. Lost a few friends along the way to both and my son got tangled up with meth while playing rodeo clown. I don't know if I could tolerate a dealer across the street. You might try passing it up to the state level.

Bad news is that many areas have given up on controlling meth makers and only give them a token slap on the wrist. In my younger days I would have explained to the dealer that there were safer places to do business than across the street from my family. Tough to deal with it when your family is there.

Hu

Yea, but the only thing Meth will help you at is losing 100lbs you don't have to spare. Rotting yer teeth out of yer head. Making you age 20 years for every 1. Endangering everyone around you. The list goes on and on.

I have a guy across the street from me that is a Meth dealer. I have called the county drug task force on him countless times. Nothing is ever done, and I'm worrying about the day he pisses off some crazed junkie and they come shoot up his house and one of my daughters catch a stray bullet.

I live in a small hick town though and everybody seems to be related. I share a property line with one of the towns police officers and have mention it to him many times as well. His general reply is usually something along the lines on how nice my yard looks!

 

[Sore_Aintya]

I figured the county would jump right on it, considering we are a block from the elementary school.

For the longest time I thought he was just selling pot. It is blatantly obvious he is dealing because of the amount of traffic he gets all day long. 25-100 cars a day and nobody stays for longer then 5 mins, I'm not ignorant. I used to sell weed when i was younger so I wasn't to uptight about it, but the traffic need to slow down for sure.

Then one day early this year at the PH on league night, I was talking to a guy I knew from way back. He told me how he was battling a Meth problem and so on. Some how the conversation went to me telling him about the pot dealer across from me and he said "Oh, that's Jerry. He ripped me off on some Meth a month ago"... He went on to tell me about how he don't smoke pot only Coke and Meth. Another kid comes up and says "Yea, Jerry is my uncle."

I could go on and on about this dirt bag and the seedy people that visit him daily, and have some videos to prove it (in case the cops finally decide to get off their asses!).

 

[Cornerman]

Alcohol: Stupid juice what more can I say. the only positive it has is that it's a depressant and takes away your nervousness, however that is quickly replaced by diminished motor skills and diminished ability to play patterns and strategy.

I think that if anyone drinks to somehow make their game better, then they're fooling themselves. I didn't realize the question was about taking any kind of drug to improve their game, tournament or otherwise.

Me, I just like to drink. Even if my game falls off.

Fred

 

[Sore_Aintya]

Ah, that would be ME, although today's 'snappers' are synthetics. You might be surprised at the list of players that did (and still do)use snappers.
Desoxyn, Preluden and the 'real' Black Mollys were prevelent in pool.
Doug

That's not what comes to mind when people hear the word "meth" these days. Today the word is associated with battery acid, lighter fluid, ammonia and the likes. Things you wouldn't ingest by themselves, but put them together and people think they are fine.

 

[Chris]

Things you wouldn't ingest by themselves, but put them together and people think they are fine.

Like sodium or chlorine?

 

[Bibleman]

Performance Enhancing Drugs

Contrary to opinions promoted by America's lunatic drug crusaders, many of the best competitors in pool use performance enhancing drugs.

1. Alcohol. I saw guys like Lassiter and Taylor knock down a bottle of whisky while they were playing and never miss a beat. They could drink enormous amounts of booze and shoot the lights out. The old idea of getting a good player drunk and robbing them on the table is a myth. You are more likely to go broke on the bar tab than get them drunk enough to lose.

Greenleaf could drink alcoholics under the table and still run hundreds in professional play. Iron Joe Procita said he saw Greenleaf demolishing the field while he was so drunk that he had to hang onto the table to keep from falling down.

The main benefits of booze are relaxation and enhanced aggression. The long term effects of excessive alcohol intake are far worse than any illegal drug.

2. Speed. I class all stimulant drugs such as meth, crack, cocaine etc as speed.

Speed enhances confidence and stimulates pattern recognition. A player can shoot better under the influence of speed until the drug session goes to exhaustion and the speed player ends up depressed and helpless at the end.

Most matches never last long enough for the immediate downside of speed to appear. Speed gives a player the confidence to shoot out and win and they can last for days before collapsing.

The danger from speed comes from long term addictive use which can be very destructive. (Not as destructive as a jail sentence though.)

3. Heroin, tranquilizers and depressant drugs are — Downers.

Downers can enhance performance by reducing nervousness. They can also put you to sleep if you take too much or do them too long.

Many downers are addictive which can become a big problem.

Downers combined with speed are probably the most effective performance enhancing cocktail.

4. Marijuana, LSD and psychedelics. Marijuana and LSD can increase performance levels to an extraordinary degree. They can also cause a loss of concentration in some players.

For those who benefit from psychedelics these drugs offer the least risk for the buck and the most potential benefit. But beware that those unfamiliar with psychedelic states may be too overwhemed by the drug experience to perform well.

Nevertheless, I have seen players take down the best Johnston City had to offer while flying high on LSD. They were good players, to be sure, but they posted maximum speed performances that would have made Timothy Leary proud!

The bottom line on drugs is that the worst risk is getting busted. That causes a hundred times the damage that drug use by itself could ever have.
Bibleman

 

[bruin70]

i guess in the pool world there's no such thing as being "high on life".