Question for those of you who only play when gambling....

[bmsclayton]

several reasons

Not showing your game for free is part of gambling. I will play my friends at bars or home or a pool hall I don't gamble at. Most pool players pretend they never play anymore and tough to do that when everyone at the pool hall watches you practice. Also if you are practicing and playing good it kills your action.

I also don't like paying to play at pool halls at $4 an hour when there are other places I can just practice on an all day special, or .50 a game etc. I don't have a big bank roll and like to protect it.

I am just a c/d player but gamble anywhere from $10-$100 game 1-4 nights a week.

It ias tough to really concentrate for me too without gambling. Same thing if I watch a game with or without a wager... big differance.

 

[Cory in DC]

Not showing your game for free is part of gambling. I will play my friends at bars or home or a pool hall I don't gamble at. Most pool players pretend they never play anymore and tough to do that when everyone at the pool hall watches you practice. Also if you are practicing and playing good it kills your action.

I also don't like paying to play at pool halls at $4 an hour when there are other places I can just practice on an all day special, or .50 a game etc. I don't have a big bank roll and like to protect it.

I am just a c/d player but gamble anywhere from $10-$100 game 1-4 nights a week.

It ias tough to really concentrate for me too without gambling. Same thing if I watch a game with or without a wager... big differance.

1. If you're a c/d player, wouldn't you benefit from practice?
2. Gambling 1-4 nights a week, locally I presume, you are you still able to sneak up on anybody? Doesn't everyone know your game by now?

 

[poohatur]

Stuck on Gambling

I'm not saying this is the case for all people, but I feel like I've lost some buddies of mine to the lure of gambling. For them, it came to the point where they just couldn't concentrate or even have fun anymore if it wasn't for some type of cash game. I believe money on the line can bring a different edge to your game in terms of concentration, but hopefully it doesn't become the only reason one plays. Keep having fun.

 

[bmsclayton]

not really

1. If you're a c/d player, wouldn't you benefit from practice?
2. Gambling 1-4 nights a week, locally I presume, you are you still able to sneak up on anybody? Doesn't everyone know your game by now?

Not sneaking up on people, I know all of the people I gamble with. They rarely see me play and being a c/d player I play bad alot. sometimes I am capable of playing not so bad. I wouldn't want that time to come while I am setting up a game. If they do see me at league or a little tourney I am less likely to play as good as I would gambling in a long session and with the money on the line.

Yes I would benefit from practice but as I have stated in other threads..

I am lazy
have two small kids
two jobs
a wife
bad eyes
I am old
tired all the time
ugly
drink too much
mary Jane
etc...

like to gamble though

 

[the420trooper]

Almost nobody tries as hard as they can for free; this is most true when playing one pocket.

I like to shoot long straight back banks. I'm pretty good at them, but the real percentage for those shots is probably 60% at best. For free, I will let 'er rip.

For a dollar a game, I'm going thin off the side of that ball and playing safe.

Minimum bet is whatever is necessary to make you play your "real" game, not the shits-n-giggles version.

 

[bmsclayton]

I agree

Almost nobody tries as hard as they can for free; this is most true when playing one pocket.

I like to shoot long straight back banks. I'm pretty good at them, but the real percentage for those shots is probably 60% at best. For free, I will let 'er rip.

For a dollar a game, I'm going thin off the side of that ball and playing safe.

Minimum bet is whatever is necessary to make you play your "real" game, not the shits-n-giggles version.

100% correct. That game is the toughest to play for real unless you are gambling. banks also. I'll fly at anything for free.

 

[scratchs]

I'm not saying this is the case for all people, but I feel like I've lost some buddies of mine to the lure of gambling. For them, it came to the point where they just couldn't concentrate or even have fun anymore if it wasn't for some type of cash game. I believe money on the line can bring a different edge to your game in terms of concentration, but hopefully it doesn't become the only reason one plays. Keep having fun.

I too have lost a few friends to the action..they got to were they'd only
play if I'd gamble a little..its sad..I told them I didn't want to take their money..
they stopped laughing around two hundred loser..the last young
man got mad..when I told him he could keep his four hundred..
I coached these guys..an it pissed me off that they wanted to play
for money..they both knew I really didn't like playing for cash any more..
they just thought they'd get me..I still see them once in a while..miss
the old times with them..their both decent B players..
Having fun is more important to me these days..

 

[foxcues]

For me it`s the money aspect that makes me focus.I don`t have anywhere near the focus for $20 as I do for $1000.
I think it came from being competive my whole life.I started racing motocross at age 5 and raced until I was 18(I have over 500 trophies),I played baseball and football in middle school and when I got to highschool I took up golf.We had a local skins game 7 days a week at my home course and my father and brothers used to play in it.
It wasn`t much($5 a round,you did a draw for a partner and played teams and played 50cent skins also).My father would put me in it.
As a kid I could make an extra$30-70 a week so thats all I did was play golf,race motocross on some sundays and go to school.
My father said to me one day on the golfcourse"I noticed that unless your playing for money you just don`t get interested in the game and your game drops bigtime".I never thought about it before that.
As for tournaments I don`t play in alot.I just cant seem to get focused.I know I should look at it as I`m playing a set for the winnings but for some reason I just can`t relate to it that way.I wish I could.
I don`t go to the poolhall and practice,I go to find action.I have a 9ft diamond at the house and don`t practice much at all on it.
The OP said that the weaker players would benifit from the practice and that is true but I will tell you what one of the best players ever told me on a road trip.
I said to Buddy Hall that I would love to play his speed and he said to me He would love to play my speed.I said "in golf?'He said "no in pool."
I sat there for a minute and thought about it and ask what he was talking about.Buddy said "you play the perfect speed,You get action everywhere you go and hardly ever have to give up weight.When you play my speed almost everyone wants weight and it hard to find action playing even".
I had never thought about it that way.
This is how it is for me,others may see it different.

 

[cueporn]

Nice story Jam, thanks.
.
A good friend of mine is a player who very rarely practices or plays at all unless he is in action. He has been this way for so long, his eight ball game is noticeably weaker than his nine ball game.

For him, its simple. Action is the reason he gets up in the morning.

He has more natural talent than anyone I have ever seen. When in stroke, he is literally out from anywhere, just flat out amazing. But, to get in the zone, there HAS to be cash on the line. Anything else is like kissing your sister.

Exactly how I feel. After awhile playing for money is the only thing that gives the thrill. It takes effort to play your best... if the thrill and the cash is the best motovation thats okay. Gambling for bigger money just changes you. I couldnt think of going to the poolhall just to play, unless money is on the line. I can do well in tournaments, but one bad set or one lopsided with rolls and I am out. Gambling I am not out until I am out of bets, which doesnt happen. There is no pressure like playing for cash,its about competition and challenges really. Otherwise its a pretty boring game.

 

[CreeDo]

I'm not one of those guys, but I've got a theory. Maybe.

Some players just find practice boring. Even though they're good at pool, shooting alone just doesn't engage them any more than, say, reading the paper.

"Yeah but it's not all about fun, what about self-improvement?"
A lot of players are just subconsciously happy with their current level.
At this point they're just craving action and competition, that's the end goal, not pool improvement, not even the money necessarily.

I heard/read somewhere that some heavy gamblers basically have a psychological issue or chemical imbalance that makes it hard for them to feel pleasure or excitement. For some reason their body is reluctant to administer those little squirts of seratonin or dopamine or whatever it is that allows us to enjoy things.

Gambling is one of the few things capable of getting them excited, so they sit around hoping for action (that or go broke at the casino all the time). It's one of the few things in life that gives them pleasure.

 

[scratchs]

I'm not one of those guys, but I've got a theory. Maybe.

Some players just find practice boring. Even though they're good at pool, shooting alone just doesn't engage them any more than, say, reading the paper.

"Yeah but it's not all about fun, what about self-improvement?"
A lot of players are just subconsciously happy with their current level.
At this point they're just craving action and competition, that's the end goal, not pool improvement, not even the money necessarily.

I heard/read somewhere that some heavy gamblers basically have a psychological issue or chemical imbalance that makes it hard for them to feel pleasure or excitement. For some reason their body is reluctant to administer those little squirts of seratonin or dopamine or whatever it is that allows us to enjoy things.

Gambling is one of the few things capable of getting them excited, so they sit around hoping for action (that or go broke at the casino all the time). It's one of the few things in life that gives them pleasure.

I think you have a few valid points..I know a few like that.

I'll add that most the time I'm sitting in front of a pool table
drinking coffee while I read this forum or post..thats sad..lol.

 

[The Saw]

Just a question out of pure curiosity.

Why do some players only play when gambling? I see some people who don't even practice.(minus hitting balls for 20 minutes after they are done with their action)

I will see the same people come in and sit for hours upon hours, either trying to make a game, or waiting for someone to ask to play. They won't get up and practice, just sit. Most of the time, they aren't high level players. B players at best, and will show obvious disappointment when they play badly. Some will even scoff at the very idea of playing for "free," even though their game isn't nearly on the level in which they should think there should be some extra incentive to get on the table.

So, my question is: What is the thought process of those of you that will come sit in a pool room for hours at a time, sometimes not even playing that day, that will only hit a ball if they are gambling? I just don't get the point of sitting around all day when you could at least be practicing even if no one is willing to play that day.


I'm not opposed to gambling, and I'm in action fairly regularly.(though not as often as I once was)

Also, I understand those that have a table at home or some other place to play/practice and only show up at the pool room when they are looking for action. No need for those explanations.

I can also understand players at a high A or Open class speed who feel their playing time is worth more. This question is mainly for the B players and below who will only hit balls when gambling.

Also note, I'm not judging, just a question out of curiosity.

With a lot of them, its like clocking into work.... Why work when there is no work?

When I played 30+ hours a week and was in action most of that time, I didn't feel the need to hit balls or practice. Make game, screw the cue together, call heads. Just hitting balls around would do more harm than good for me at that time... If it pays as good as a job, it should be treated like one.