The last tournament I was in had a little sharking. I had to draw the cue back far enough otherwise I would be hooked which would of left me a kick shot. My opponent says very loudly to his partner (doubles tournament) " There's no way he'll come up short and hook himself" right as I'm shooting. Naturally that's what happens. I turned around and said " You really need to stop talking while I'm shooting". He got all defensive and said' "It's not my fault you screwed up!". I said " That's obvious sharking on your part, besides, I'm going to make this kick anyways". I proceeded to make a perfect kick on the 8 to win. Later in the match the same guy refuses to admit to a foul when my partner saw him foul clear as day. After the match, the guy has the balls to say my partner doesn't know what he's talking about and that he would never be that cheap. What a clown eh?
shark moves
- Thread starter lsabado
- Start date
Stand right infront of the guy's line of sight when he's down on a ball, when you feel that he's just about to pull the trigger slowly move out of the way...
See if he makes a ball there..
He can't really get mad at you, you were just moving out of his line of sight when you noticed he was shooting in that direction.
Learned that trick from a seasoned pro... still haven't used it.
See if he makes a ball there..
He can't really get mad at you, you were just moving out of his line of sight when you noticed he was shooting in that direction.
Learned that trick from a seasoned pro... still haven't used it.
i just played in a small tournament thurs. night, less than 20 guys entered at the local bar. it was a double elimination, the first guy i played kept stepping in my line of site on every long shot chalking his cue, i walked up after the first game and asked him kindly if he could not do that, he replied that he didn't realize he was doing it and apoligized. the second game i broke and ran out, he didn't get up, the 3rd and possible final rack if i won, he got up and started doing it again, i stopped in mid preshot and went to the one person they said was the judge, he said he would speak to him which he done, he sat down and started whispering to his buddy, on my 3rd shot his buddy started doing it, i justed stopped stood straight up and stared at my opponent for 20 or 30 seconds, someone must have went and told the judge because he came over and kindly asked the man to leave, which i told him wasn't the way i wanted to win, so the judge stayed there while i finished the rack and won the match. luck have it i got him in the finals, he broke in our best of 9, when i got to the table, everytime i was in my backstroke he would start chalking the house stick he was using to break with really hard to make it screach, after 3 games i had my wife go get the judge because every shot i took him or his buddy would do something to try and distract me, the judge came over but he didn't do anything while he was there, soon as he was gone he started again, much to my surprise a bystander called him on it and told him if he couldn't win fair he had to resort in sharking, they exchanged words while i just stood and watched, when they were done i got back into my preshot and just on the backstoke he blurted out "better not miss, i'm too pissed to lose now", before i could say a word the guy who stood up for me went directly at him, the jackass put up his cue like he was gonna use it as a weapon, the guy grabbed it out of his hands unscrewed it walked to the front door of the bar and threw it into the parking lot. needless to say i was disqualified cause they thought that guy was with me, so i didn't get to win the whole 250 dollars. after he was gone i was told by several people that he was related to the judge, and they went out in the parking lot and awarded him the prize money. can't wait till next week, if they let me enter i'm gonna be there just to shark him, it's not about the money now, i hate people like that.
What works for me to keep people from sharking is to confront them. I ask: "Are you sharking me?" (Basically I let them know that I know what they are doing. They will of course deny everything.)
Also if I am about to shoot and my opponent is making noise or whatever, I will stand back up and stare at them until they stop, then get back down on my shot. If they start making noise again, I will get back up and stare at them. Eventually they get the point that the game will not proceed until they quiet down.
If someone can't learn to not shark and I have a choice of playing them or not, I will not play them. There are plenty of players around who play a fair and square game. And even though I usually win against those who shark, I would rather play people who win with skill - not by trying to make their opponent play worse. (Rather play the better players.)
Also if I am about to shoot and my opponent is making noise or whatever, I will stand back up and stare at them until they stop, then get back down on my shot. If they start making noise again, I will get back up and stare at them. Eventually they get the point that the game will not proceed until they quiet down.
If someone can't learn to not shark and I have a choice of playing them or not, I will not play them. There are plenty of players around who play a fair and square game. And even though I usually win against those who shark, I would rather play people who win with skill - not by trying to make their opponent play worse. (Rather play the better players.)
You Think It's Intentional ?
I can never think of anything appropriate to do or say when someone is sharking me.
Doug
I can never think of anything appropriate to do or say when someone is sharking me.
Doug
lsabado said:
Responding to a shark move is a sign of weakness in your game. One has to deal with all sorts of distractions playing the game and if you can be side tracked from your mission by these minor things your in for a miserable pool playing career. If the sharker can't get a rise out of you his first thought is "I'm in trouble here because this guy can't be sharked". My suggestion is to re-focus and go about your business ignoring these maneuvers.
JoeyA said:
i just spoke to the owner of the bar and he say's i'm welcome back any time and that particular gentleman has already been barred from there over 6 months ago, he isn't there the night of the tournament so he has no idea how long he's been coming back in. and also the judge was just a fill in for someone who was sick. as for the guy that spoke up, he and his wife are going out to dinner with my wife and i tonight on me of course, then we're coming back to my place to shoot he wants to learn alot more than he says he knows so i'm gonna give him all my old videos. hopefully made a good friend out of a bad situation.
desi2960 said:
Sorry to burst your bubble on this one, but a friend of mine (solid B player, runout style) told me he was in a tournament and his opponent saw he was running out for a match win and right as he was in his backstroke his opponent RAN, or rather LUNGED, at the table and shouted "STOP!" Needless to say, my friend missed the ball.
If you think sharking doesn't work, you must not really play that much pool. On the other hand, if someone is wearing blinders and has his ears plugged, perhaps those strong arm style tactics would have less of an effect. For the rest of us mortals, the ultimate solution to this sort of tactic afterwards is to let your friends know what a jerk so and so is. By the way, the jerk I'm referring to in this post one evening pulled out a blade like the one below, and was playing with it on the money table, feeling the edge, and making sure people saw it, without saying anything, quietly closed it and slipped it back into his pocket. A real nice guy...
Flex
Attachments
Tournament directors can help eliminate sharking by announcing at the start of the tournament that: 1) sharking will not be tolerated; 2) the first sharking incident results in loss of one game; 3) the next sharking incident results in loss of the match. And the tournament director needs to have the courage to enforce these rules. After somebody is penalized, the entire room gets wind of it and there is no more sharking. If your opponent is sharking you, stop shooting immediately and ask the tournament director to keep an eye on your game. That will embarrass the guy, as well as bring his sharking to a halt. Try not to get emotionally involved by confronting your opponent, even if you are bigger/tougher than him. The adrenaline won't help your game, usually. If you're not in a tournament and the guy is sharking you, then you need to decide whether it is worth it to confront the guy or suffer through his antics. You might just want to quit and find a more enjoyable way to live that part of your life.
lsabado said:
Sharking hardly as any effect on me. There would have to be breasts out before I would care. If they talk to you, talk to them and do not shoot until the conversation is over.
After any verble "confrontation" with an opponent, the end result is usually that I was the one with the level head, and now I am the one that is POed. That can be worse than just ignoring it in the first place.
But then again, I've been yelled at for sharking when I was just sitting there about 20 feet away off to the side of the guys shot and day dreaming about this woman accross the room... I wasn't even moving. Some people are just to quick to blame their suck on others...
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I have a three step process for dealing with sharking:
1st offense. Stop what I'm doing, give them a good healthy glare, and restart my preshot routine.
2nd offense. If in a tounament, I call the TD. If in action, I stop what I'm doing, state in a voice loud enough for bystanders to hear, "if you wanna beat me its gonna be on the table, not by sharking!" and retart my preshot routine.
3rd offense: If I'm ahead and he has any chance of winning his money back, I quit him. If the game is a lock, I simply put my head down, ignore him, and try my best to bust him.
1st offense. Stop what I'm doing, give them a good healthy glare, and restart my preshot routine.
2nd offense. If in a tounament, I call the TD. If in action, I stop what I'm doing, state in a voice loud enough for bystanders to hear, "if you wanna beat me its gonna be on the table, not by sharking!" and retart my preshot routine.
3rd offense: If I'm ahead and he has any chance of winning his money back, I quit him. If the game is a lock, I simply put my head down, ignore him, and try my best to bust him.
You have class ironhead,merry christmas to you and your family.ironhead_79 said:
cheesemouse said:
Finally someone speaks with some common sense. Tap tap tap.
Reminds me of a golf bet I had with my buddy. He could shark me all he wanted during my shot. Needless to say, he shot me the moon, peed on the green while I was putting, acted like Steve Martin by laying on the ground and hollaring like a baby, etc,. etc. etc. What a day! At times I laughed so hard I could not play.
By the end of the day I was burning up the fairways, sinking every put, and loving every minute of it.
- and he went home broke, quite, and sorry he ever took the bet.I suggest playing with all the distractions you can muster and practice maintaining your concentration. This is very very difficult, but over time nothing will bother you.
After you get good at this, you can ask your opponent if wants to get into a sharking match. Anything goes! You have to be prepared to act silly and at the same time be able to bring home the bacon.
Over time you will realize that your sharking opponent is the one with a weakness, and that is that he can't beat you no matter what. Then he is doomed.
PS I also liked Mr. Wilson's solution!
I have always had problem with people moving in front of me, wiping their cues down, talking and so on for the longest time.
In the last two weeks, I started playing with a guy who would "shark" unintentionally. I mean, this guy would sit on the table next to ours and wiggle his legs, he would move his arm up and down stretching himself as I was aiming. He honestly does not know that what he was doing was "sharking." It is for this reason that I did not want to ruin our fun practising by confronting him.
He can run out a table but he is not really that good of a player, but I was missing all kinds of easy shots.
I then said to myself I should just keep my visual without the four rails of the table.
I have been practising with this guy for a few times now. I still get distracted and miss easy shots when he moves in front of me and such, but I am getting much better.
I played in a local tournament this past Tuesday, and I noticed that I did not get distracted as easily.
I kept remaining myself to focus on the rectangle formed by the four rails and nothing beyond that.
In the last two weeks, I started playing with a guy who would "shark" unintentionally. I mean, this guy would sit on the table next to ours and wiggle his legs, he would move his arm up and down stretching himself as I was aiming. He honestly does not know that what he was doing was "sharking." It is for this reason that I did not want to ruin our fun practising by confronting him.
He can run out a table but he is not really that good of a player, but I was missing all kinds of easy shots.
I then said to myself I should just keep my visual without the four rails of the table.
I have been practising with this guy for a few times now. I still get distracted and miss easy shots when he moves in front of me and such, but I am getting much better.
I played in a local tournament this past Tuesday, and I noticed that I did not get distracted as easily.
I kept remaining myself to focus on the rectangle formed by the four rails and nothing beyond that.
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