SHARK Tactics

[Flex]

One of the most huge sharking tactics if your playing a lesser player with a spot, if they want one.. Give them a "tip" LOL.. Once they get into the student teacher mindset, they never win.. I know guys that I used to help out, that have gone away and come back to be much stronger players then me, but they can't seem to get past that ole student teacher thing. Can't win to save there life.

DJ

Just the other day I matched up for fun with a fellow who gave me some lessons a while ago. The time before this he told me my stance was all wrong, to which I made no reply. My stance was fine for the shot I was taking. But why engage him? So this time, my game was to beat him, and beat him good. Guess what? There were 3 of us, the winner stays on the table. I never lost to my former teacher... His "tips" notwithstanding, I beat him fair and square on a tight pocketed 9 footer. Kinda put some cheer into my heart.

Flex

 

[PlynSets]

Just don't stare into my eyes while I'm down on a shot unless you plan on whispering sweet nothings into my ear.

Man, I'm really getting a lot of mileage out of this one!!!

Well if you don't mind me whispering while ya shoot, I suppose I could take the subconcious shark to a conscious level.

DJ

 

[Rude Dog]

Or how paranoid someone might be. Or, after a loss, someone is looking for a reason they lost other than they just got beat. "I got sharked" is a good reason when you're looking to soothe your ego. Trust me. I am a pool player here. I have enough excuses that my ego never has to worry about a thing. If anyone here is running out of excuses and needs a good one just let me know.

Okay, I need one. I've completely run out. The last one I used after getting beat to a pulp was, "Yea, so what if she's 80 years old, she shot like she was 65."

 

[PlynSets]

Just the other day I matched up for fun with a fellow who gave me some lessons a while ago. The time before this he told me my stance was all wrong, to which I made no reply. My stance was fine for the shot I was taking. But why engage him? So this time, my game was to beat him, and beat him good. Guess what? There were 3 of us, the winner stays on the table. I never lost to my former teacher... His "tips" notwithstanding, I beat him fair and square on a tight pocketed 9 footer. Kinda put some cheer into my heart.

Flex

Well there ya go.. Sharks (like everything else in life) aren't "garaunteed." Point in fact they are a very low % of the game in terms of working.. But they are a percentage.

You could do everything in this thread to me while I'm playing and I don't think it'd bother me too much.. I might miss a couple balls in a whole set becuase of it, but if you did it on every shot, it's not like I'm going to miss every shot becuase of the shark.

The trick is to try and become "immune" to them, so that they don't work.. Apparently you have overcome the "tip" shark with this particular person? Not to say it's not going to work on you from someone else, or that it won't work FOR YOU on someone else.. LOL

DJ
DJ

 

[ScottW]

If anything, I tend to shark *myself* more often than anyone else does. I'm a goofball, and I know it... and when I play a match with a friend, especially a friend who is equally goofy, we'll joke around and banter back and forth, laughing, etc. during our match. And this banter makes me miss balls, because I'm not thinking about the shot so much when I go down for it - I'm still laughing inside at whatever funny remark I or my friend just made to the other.

I've got this one guy who this happens with all the time - I *know* I'm a better shot that him (though he's not bad) - but every time we play a league match, he and I are yukking it up like it's the end of the world - and I always blow it. The day I can not be all Mr. Friendly with him during our match, and keep my head in the game is the day I'll tear him up.

Now, strangers, or folks I simply a) don't know that well or b) just aren't friendly enough with, I don't have this problem at all.

 

[Flex]

Well there ya go.. Sharks (like everything else in life) aren't "garaunteed." Point in fact they are a very low % of the game in terms of working.. But they are a percentage.

You could do everything in this thread to me while I'm playing and I don't think it'd bother me too much.. I might miss a couple balls in a whole set becuase of it, but if you did it on every shot, it's not like I'm going to miss every shot becuase of the shark.

The trick is to try and become "immune" to them, so that they don't work.. Apparently you have overcome the "tip" shark with this particular person? Not to say it's not going to work on you from someone else, or that it won't work FOR YOU on someone else.. LOL

DJ
DJ

There are some guys out there whose living depends on what they make at the pool hall. They hate to lose. One of them begged me to play with him for more than a month. Every time we'd play he'd take my money. Not a lot, but he'd take it. So he offered me the breaks, the 4,5,7, and 8. Race to 7 for 10 jelly beans. In the very first game, he realized he'd gotten a bad matchup. There were about 20 guys watching. He knew I was going to win. What did he do? He started sharking me, nonstop. After the first game was over, I called the match off. I bet there were quite a few side bets going, and he was sure, before we played, that he'd win. Imagine he had bets with 5 or 6 guys for various amounts. And that he saw he was going to lose. And he was going to lose. I started playing safe on him on the 1 ball in the first game. He's the kind of guy who runs a rack without missing a heartbeat. So I played him to win. His response: try to shark me to death.

Since then, we haven't played. The next day I said hello to him, but he didn't answer. I wonder why...

Flex

 

[Jimmy M.]

Okay, I need one. I've completely run out. The last one I used after getting beat to a pulp was, "Yea, so what if she's 80 years old, she shot like she was 65."

Try this one: The guy kept staring into my eyes and all I could think about while I was down on the ball was how badly he wanted my wang! I wasn't sure if that's what he wanted but then he started puffing air at me during my last stroke and I KNEW!

 

[pete lafond]

I heard one guy while his opponent was shooting say to his friend so that his opponent would hear, "Did you ever look at an object ball and see double." His opponent missed miserably after that.

 

[BillYards]

Try this one: The guy kept staring into my eyes and all I could think about while I was down on the ball was how badly he wanted my wang! I wasn't sure if that's what he wanted but then he started puffing air at me during my last stroke and I KNEW!

Hahaha! I love it!

 

[PlynSets]

There are some guys out there whose living depends on what they make at the pool hall. They hate to lose. One of them begged me to play with him for more than a month. Every time we'd play he'd take my money. Not a lot, but he'd take it. So he offered me the breaks, the 4,5,7, and 8. Race to 7 for 10 jelly beans. In the very first game, he realized he'd gotten a bad matchup. There were about 20 guys watching. He knew I was going to win. What did he do? He started sharking me, nonstop. After the first game was over, I called the match off. I bet there were quite a few side bets going, and he was sure, before we played, that he'd win. Imagine he had bets with 5 or 6 guys for various amounts. And that he saw he was going to lose. And he was going to lose. I started playing safe on him on the 1 ball in the first game. He's the kind of guy who runs a rack without missing a heartbeat. So I played him to win. His response: try to shark me to death.

Since then, we haven't played. The next day I said hello to him, but he didn't answer. I wonder why...

Flex

I want to clarify my position on these things.. I don't "condone" what most would call "sharking." I don't stand in anyones line of sight, I don't jingle change, I don't talk while there shooting, nor do I accidentally spill beers on the table while the other guy is shooting on key balls (saw that happen once as well.. LOL), Nor do I have some big breasted chick walk back and forth to the bar in front of the table getting drinks either.. Point in fact I think I have damn near perfect etiquette while playing games. I don't get mad (visibly) when I miss, and I pay with a smile on my face when I lose, I don't "boast" when I win..

I just think a few of these "subtle" things can and do work, and some of them are so subtle the other guy is never going to know it happened anyways.. I rarely use them (rarely have too), but I do consider them to be "tools" in the tool box that occasionally you have to dust off and put them into the game when the time calls for it.

The only reason I posted them was perhaps a couple people on here are struggling beating that guy they absolutely hate (for personallity reasons? maybe mental hangup? who knows) and it might give them a 55% chance of winning instead of a 50% chance.. An "edge" so to speak.. Reason #2 is if your aware of them, then your far less likely to fall victim to them.. You can have your friends do it to you while your practicing to become immune to them etc.. etc..

The fact of the matter is though, they do exist, and they do work on some measurable percentage. These aren't superstitions, or voodoo.. Granted some of them on this thread are pretty out there (the breath thing kinda threw me for a loop, but hey I'll try it tonight as an experiment LOL..) but there are things a player can do, to upset the natural balance of a set.. Subtle things that the other player most the time would never even be aware something happened. He just felt a little "uncomfortable" about a shot, and pulled the trigger anyways kinda deal.

At the end of the day though there's only two kinds of people Sharks n Fish or "bait." I think I'd rather be the shark all things being equal.
DJ

 

[Flex]

At the end of the day though there's only two kinds of people Sharks n Fish or "bait." I think I'd rather be the shark all things being equal.
DJ

I'd rather be the former too, just don't think I need to intentionally try to throw my opponent off by jingling, scraping, coughing, tapping, staring, shifting, and so on. Perhaps if I know he gets upset by someone who likes to cheese the 9, I'll do it whenever possible. That's totally different, and a legitimate part of the game. Maybe I'll slow my game down a bit, chalk more carefully, aim meticulously, especially if I know it will throw him off. That's all legitimate. But the burp while he's in the middle of his backswing isn't my style.

Thanks for the clarification!

Flex

 

[Flex]

I was in alton last year for the midwest nineball tourney and the guy i was playing told me that the rack was crooked and its wasnt he told me like 5 times, i was getting angry and then i finally told him to rack it then. I should of asked him if he was afraid of a kid or if he woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I lost the match because thats what i thought about the whole match.

He definitely was sharking you. Since you offered to let him rack, once he did, you might have played the same thing on him. "It's crooked!" Or peer over the rack very carefully, looking for any spaces between the balls. Get your cue out to see if the rack was straight both up and down and across. Do it back to him. In a friendly way, of course, and with a smile.

Flex

 

[bogey54311]

If you're unaware that you're being sharked then it isn't working anyway. You're probably better off not being aware because, once you are aware of what they're doing, then it could bother you.

i couldnt dissagree with this more.
knowlege can only help.
when you see this happening, you can nip it in the butt.
tell them to sit and shut the F%^& up.
tell them its not getting to ya, your just sick of them talking/figiting.

sometimes, i like it when they complain/shark. i know i got em.


chris G

 

[Gage]

Can sharking be explained with science?

I am not too familiar with the whole sharking scene since I rarely gamble and have only played in a few 'big' tournaments, but I think most of what has been described in this thread can be explained with two different psychological phenomenons. First, the act of making a shark and noticing the effect of the shark resembles something in science known as observer bias.

The related social-science term observer bias is error introduced into measurement when observers overemphasize behavior they expect to find and fail to notice behavior they do not expect. This is why medical trials are normally double-blind rather than single-blind. Observer bias can also be introduced because researchers see a behavior and interpret it according to what it means to them, whereas it may mean something else to the person showing the behavior. See subject-expectancy effect and observer-expectancy effect.

In simple terms, people tend to notice when a shark "works" way more often than when it doesn't, therefore tending to believe that it works without actually performing an experiment. Who really knows why the person missed the shot, it might not have been related to the shark at all. But sharks CAN work due to another psychological phenomenon known as the placebo effect. In essence, the shark merely works because the other person noticed it and they think that it works.

In my opinion, to get around sharking, it is good to notice the shark, but realize that it has little to do with your shooting abilities (unless they start shaking the table or something dramatic like that).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Placebo_effect

 

[Flex]

Quote: Gage

"In my opinion, to get around sharking, it is good to notice the shark, but realize that it has little to do with your shooting abilities (unless they start shaking the table or something dramatic like that)."

Perhaps not with your shooting abilities, but quite possibly with the way your mind and emotions get involved.

Imagine you are on the match winning ball, you're both on the hill, it's a tough cut shot with a natural scratch possible, you're playing for something significant, and your bozo opponent has been drinking, is doing the Tom Cruise dance, twirling his cue stick, and right when you're getting ready to start your practice strokes, stops the dance, grabs his stick with two hands halfway up the shaft, and makes like he's going to break your neck with it if you make the shot. Do you really think that wouldn't put any pressure on you, and that you'd shoot normally?

Flex

P.S. That very situation presented itself to me in a bar some time ago, playing 8 ball on a bar box. Only thing different is that we weren't playing for anything. Before this though, the drunk had got in my face and said I was a cop, and that he was a criminal. He looked like he might have been too... By the way, I fired the 8 ball into the corner, but made doggone sure I dropped the cue ball into the side pocket.

 

[Billy_Bob]

The best way to shark someone is to run the table. If they can't do this, they many times will "give up" psychologically. For being able to run the table, practice is the best thing.

For sharking, here are a couple of books...
(I don't shark BTW, but good to learn what your opponent is trying to do to you!)

Book: The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship - Potter - 1947

Book: Sun Tzu Was a Sissy : Conquer Your Enemies, Promote Your Friends, and Wage the Real Art of War - Bing - 2004

A couple of other interesting books...

Book: How to Hustle Your Friends at Pool - Tully - 1980

Book: The Hustler's Handbook: How to Play Pool for Fun and Profit - Allen - 1993

 

[moccabee]

You all missed the best Shark of them all... If your opponent is running out from everywhere and not giving you a chance at the table. Stop him and say the following:

"I have been watching you shot and I'm curious... Do you breath in or out when you stroke?"

Try it on your next opponent and watch him miss...

 

[Flex]

Ask your opponent where he places his fingertips on the butt... What are the exact pressure points he uses.

Just kidding. If you try this stuff on somebody and it throws them off, watch out.

I had a fellow recently tell me I was doing something totally wrong, that I should do X instead of Y. He was offering it as if it were the way to shoot. Perhaps for him. Not for me. Maybe it was his way of cinching certain shots. That's fine, but the advice was bad, and I think intentionally so. I just played along with him, and thanked him for the tip. For a moment, I entertained the idea of laying one of those devastating psychological sharks on him, but decided against it. I figured if he thought he was screwing me up with his baloney and that I was buying it, I'd be better off. Just let him think it was working. It didn't. I ran out on him.

Plus, one never knows what can happen when playing with complete strangers. Better to live another day.

Flex

 

[DelaWho???]

Talc on the Table.....

I think that the guy who leaves a snowstorm of talc on the table after each shot is the worst......Now I have to plow the cue through a snowbank and make the shot.....

The other thing I constantly hear at the barbox is "That's a lot of green" or when I have 3 or 4 on the table to their 1 .... "Better not miss"....... or "Ya got me dude" right before I shoot the 8....

I figure when I'm getting sharked my opponent is worried about me.

I find this very amusing because I am after all...

McCue BANGER McCue.....

 

[Double-Dave]

Here's a short version of a long story.

A friend of mine is an older but still very accomplished player, against whom sharking always seems to have an adverse effect. He was playing in the 14.1 European Senior Championships against a Croatian guy who was known for his sharking, this fellow was an army general and a psychologist so he thought he had mind-games down to an art.

It starts with the leg.....the Croatian was known for ALWAYS waiting for his opponent to hit first. They stroke for 10 seconds,....30 seconds.....a minute.....by this time the officials were peeing their pants and couldn't/wouldn't intervene...after two minutes the Croatian guy finally hits his cueball and of course loses the leg. After that the craziest things happened (lots of people watching) my friend among others things called the 16 in the corner-pocket, called a ball that was allready pocketed and smashed open the rack, fysically blocked his opponent from coming to table and so on. Each action did result in a foul, but still my friend made it to 99 at which point he made 4 or 5 fouls each followed by potting a single ball (so he went 99 - 98 - 99 - 98 - 99 - 98 - 99). He then won the match, and of course will never in his life visit Croatia.

What makes this a little extra special is the fact that in happened in a big Championship, not some money-match.