Pool and drink

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vincett

Active member
So, I am trying to understand why and the concepts of alcohol affecting the ability to play.

I am not talking about being drunk/drunk. Just talking about light drinking/drinks. But whenever I have some drinks in my system. I cant seems to play as well as I should ? However, other friends of mine can and some even play better.

Is there any explanations for such ?
 
vincett said:
So, I am trying to understand why and the concepts of alcohol affecting the ability to play.

I am not talking about being drunk/drunk. Just talking about light drinking/drinks. But whenever I have some drinks in my system. I cant seems to play as well as I should ? However, other friends of mine can and some even play better.

Is there any explanations for such ?
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For some, a few drinks can tend to decrease the tension / pressure / nervousness that many players experience when playing a competitive match, which can be detrimental to playing up to their normal skill level.

However, it is a very fine line not to cross, not to mention a crutch that could result in feeling you can’t play a competitive match without drinking. This can become an issue especially in a situation where you may be playing a match or matches for many, many consecutive hours.
 
vincett said:
So, I am trying to understand why and the concepts of alcohol affecting the ability to play.

I am not talking about being drunk/drunk. Just talking about light drinking/drinks. But whenever I have some drinks in my system. I cant seems to play as well as I should ? However, other friends of mine can and some even play better.

Is there any explanations for such ?
Click to expand...
I used to hunt for guys that thought they played better in 'beer gear'. I've seen a few who played ok behind the juice but it was rare. I like a couple beers but if playing serious its generally water/tea.
 
When I first started drinking, I had been playing for ten years. I guess playing would be a bit incorrect, I didn't play a ton of tourneys, I played with students of the game and practiced on my own, trying to learn as much as possible. When I did play tourneys, it was a forgone conclusion that I would step on my dick and throw away matches. When I started drinking, I also started playing in bars and figured out that I was much better than I gave myself credit for.

I can't really say whether I 'played better' drunk, but I definitely won more...way more...than when I was sober. So, for me, any decrease in measurable skill was more than offset by confidence and reduction of worrying about the consequences of a win.

I've learned that there are other ways of achieving those things, they just take practice.
 
Mr garczar i agree 100% i see guys drunk and stoned i been there done that in the past, playing straight you get the best results.
 
sciarco said:
Mr garczar i agree 100% i see guys drunk and stoned at 72 i been there done that in the past, playing straight you get the best results.
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back in the day if i was tight/nervous i'd have one shot of tequila and a Bud. that's it and coffee/tea/water from there on. that took the 'edge' off but didn't get me off kilter. won a lot using that method. one thing i could never do is smoke ganja and play. couldn't play dead in a western behind that shit.
 
I play Thursday nite league in Ontario Canada the 51st state lol over half the players are either stoned or drunk,they drink shots and beer like water hey the owner likes it.
 
vincett said:
So, I am trying to understand why and the concepts of alcohol affecting the ability to play.

I am not talking about being drunk/drunk. Just talking about light drinking/drinks. But whenever I have some drinks in my system. I cant seems to play as well as I should ? However, other friends of mine can and some even play better.

Is there any explanations for such ?
Click to expand...
For those of us who suffer from an essential tremor, alcohol mitigates that condition quite effectively.
When stress is very high, the symptoms of a tremor while playing can be debilitating. There are prescription
drugs people use for this as well.

Obviously, alcohol affects different people at different rates and ways, and I doubt there are any arguments to
be had in support of cognitive ability being helped with quantity ................................ ie; it's a slippery slope.

td
 
I enjoy having a couple taps on pool night, taps are 16 oz. The one league runs long so I most always have a third. I feel I do play better after one, a little smoother. I do know that a few times I have had 4 and can notice at that point making mistakes I shouldn't have so now if my 3rd has run out, I don't get another. What's big for some at our one league is the bar has a bucket special where they give you a bucket with ice and 5 bottles of beer for the price of 4. Most of those players get two buckets per night for that then stick around the bar afterwards. I'm too old for that, just can't drink like I used to. Not only that it's about a 40 min drive home for me.
 
garczar said:
back in the day if i was tight/nervous i'd have one shot of tequila and a Bud. that's it and coffee/tea/water from there on. that took the 'edge' off but didn't get me off kilter. won a lot using that method. one thing i could never do is smoke ganja and play. couldn't play dead in a western behind that shit.
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now thats funny !!!!😂😂
 
When I used to drink, I would find that one drink (or maybe two beers) would loosen me up somewhat. Most of the time, I wouldbe playing after a day at work, and often would still be wound up from the stress involved, so having one or two could help me stop being wound so tight.

Problem is that nothing like that is exact. And even a little too much would move me into the area where I wasn't as good as I would have been without the drinks. And of course, there was the issue of one tastes good, two tastes better, etc, etc...

I stopped drinking over a year ago. It took me a while to get used to playing without having a drink, more of a habit as much as anything else. And sometimes I still have to deal with the after-work stress. It is less of a challenge, a year later.
 
I don’t play well even on one beer. I suspect most others don’t either. Most folks I play that are drinking I beat pretty easily. Only one player in history had to have the drink to counteract a neurological disorder he had and that was big bill from Canada who was a snooker player. People who say they play good while drinking are delusional. Good compared to what I always ask them.
 
mnorwood said:
I don’t play well even on one beer. I suspect most others don’t either. Most folks I play that are drinking I beat pretty easily. Only one player in history had to have the drink to counteract a neurological disorder he had and that was big bill from Canada who was a snooker player. People who say they play good while drinking are delusional. Good compared to what I always ask them.
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Willie Mosconi said in an interview that people said I beat Ralph Greenleaf because he was drinking….but every time he beat me he was drinking also.
 
just like everything in pool everyone is different. some a beer or two helps them relax. I had an old friend that since passed a way that had won tournaments and was black out drunk. Didn’t know he won until the next day lol me I don’t drink when I’m playing. It doesn’t work well for me. I want to be on that edge.
 
There are a few known pro players that nearly always we’re drinking while they were playing matches, even in big tournaments. I’m guessing those same players likely needed drinks on a daily basis even when not playing pool.
 
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