Should I quit this game? Your opinion

Tim5000 said:
I've done the video thing, and have studied the principles for decades as well as studied the pros for years at tournaments and on tv. I can pretty much do what ever I want with the cue ball, I think my problem is missing too many cut shots due to something with my aiming/dominent eye. On my videos of myself my nose seems to be over the shaft rather than my dominent right eye. I've heard some say your eye should be over the shaft, and I've heard some say you should be centered over the shaft (nose and chin directly over top) Any thoughts on this theory?
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I'm pretty sure that you can have your nose centered over the stick. Thats how I do it and it works pretty good. I've read in a book that you either have to have your dominate eye over the stick or have your head centered over it, so I think your ok!

Cut shots are very hard to guage, some can just see it easier than others.
 
Don't give up on it. I think you'll regret it later if you do. I started playing regulary again about 10 months ago after 12 years away from the game. I thought it'd take me awhile to get my game back but I have to say I've been fairly pleased with the strength of my playing. Having said that, in the last 2 weeks I seem to have regressed horribly, not hit a plateau as usually happens before your game goes up a notch. I just seem to be playing some horrible pool. I was down about it last week but now I'm just more determined to iron out whatever bugs are there & get back to winning games.

I'd hate to walk away from pool again, I wasted a lot of years by not playing. It's only when I started again that I realised how much I really do love the game.

So don't quit, relax a little & enjoy it. The good times will come.
 
Tim5000 said:
I've done the video thing, and have studied the principles for decades as well as studied the pros for years at tournaments and on tv. I can pretty much do what ever I want with the cue ball, I think my problem is missing too many cut shots due to something with my aiming/dominent eye. On my videos of myself my nose seems to be over the shaft rather than my dominent right eye. I've heard some say your eye should be over the shaft, and I've heard some say you should be centered over the shaft (nose and chin directly over top) Any thoughts on this theory?
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Have you ever had anyone take a look at your alignment? I have found that many people (including myself until late last year) tend to ignore this aspect. It doesn't matter what your looking at while shooting, it is what the tip of the cue is pointing at.

Focus on your fundamentals. Anyone can get to a B level. I think it is after that peoples limitations become obvious, a lack of coordination will begin to show up in an inability to perform consistently from rack to rack.
 
Tim5000 said:
I've done the video thing, and have studied the principles for decades as well as studied the pros for years at tournaments and on tv. I can pretty much do what ever I want with the cue ball, I think my problem is missing too many cut shots due to something with my aiming/dominent eye. On my videos of myself my nose seems to be over the shaft rather than my dominent right eye. I've heard some say your eye should be over the shaft, and I've heard some say you should be centered over the shaft (nose and chin directly over top) Any thoughts on this theory?
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I think its obvious you can not do what you want with the c/b, at least with any consistency. If you could you would be better than a C player. You'd leave yourself much better position and miss less balls.

Watching video and understanding what to look for would help as well. That includes lessons with video and the instructor explaining what is wrong, why, and how to correct.

Its not necessary you're dominant eye is over the shaft. I'm not saying which is better, centered or favor you're dominant eye. No one on a forum can, but instruction with basic alignment is a step in the right direction.

Do yourself a favor, find a good instructor. Some people have a mind for the game others need more help. Wouldn't it be fun to do most of what you want and feel confident doing it? If you've played 20 years and seriously studied the game you're missing out on a lot of fun. My evaluation may sound a bit harsh but I am just trying to save you time and frustration.

Rod
 
Tim5000 said:
Let me clarify... I played 20 years off and on maybe 2 times a year, that's it. I didn't practice or take it seriously then.

2 years ago I decided to take it up seriously, that's when I started my true practicing and learning.
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Tim...You can PLAY pool 8 hrs a day and not get any better. It doesn't matter if you've played for 20 yrs or 20 days. Invest in some quality instruction, and find out what you DON'T know! :eek: :rolleyes: Truth be told, it's what you learn AFTER you know it all that really matters! You might be very pleasantly surprised! I have worked with several students in the Cincy area, and I'm willing to come down and work with you, if you're interested. PM or email me if interested...:D

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com
 
If you love the game, try different things to develop your game. If it it too frustrating for you, take up something else.

I used to play this guy who had been playing for many years. He would practice for hours on end, like 6 to 8 straight. His desire to improve was unbelievable. He would practice the same shot for hours on end. BUT, when the shot counted (ie. for $$), he would miss it every time. He just didn't have the mental capacity to handle the pressure and focus.

Not saying that is yor problem, but 20 years is a long time to not improve much.

Re. your question on the dominant eye theory, I don't know what others do, but my chin is always directly centered over my cue.

If you decide to keep on keeping on, best of luck to you!!

Russ...
 
TIM,

get a pool buddy! in that way, your game would improve dramatically. just make sure that person knows how to play or plays better than you, otherwise you would get sucked by his game (kinda contagious so to speak). also, try betting on something. playing under pressure improves your game. practicing alone and practicing with someone differs greatly in outcome. shoot balls in a manner that suits you best. disregard the orthodox style if it makes you miss balls. if you miss balls by concentrating or taking too much time to shoot, then aim at a much higher pace or vice versa. good focus is either fast or slow. in my case, my accuracy lessens when I take too much time focusing on the shot. try this, then tell me if it improves your game. ;)
 
Hats off to you

Hi. I hope you are not trying to play with that hat on! I couldn't
resist. (I hope you are laughing) I also suggest that 1st Bert
Kinister tape. When I first saw it a long time ago, I could not
believe he could make those shots. Then after a while they
got pretty routine, but it takes a lot of practice to get to the
point where you can hit them as accurately as he does on the
tape. Also, if go that route, don't get hung up on the long
draw. He actually says in a later video that he wishes he never
put that shot on there, since it caused so many folks to get
hung up on it.

Anyway, it's a great game, and you will derive much more
pleasure from it, once you start controlling the cue ball after
making a shot.
 
Hail Mary Shot said:
TIM,

get a pool buddy! in that way, your game would improve dramatically. just make sure that person knows how to play or plays better than you, otherwise you would get sucked by his game (kinda contagious so to speak). also, try betting on something. playing under pressure improves your game. practicing alone and practicing with someone differs greatly in outcome. shoot balls in a manner that suits you best. disregard the orthodox style if it makes you miss balls. if you miss balls by concentrating or taking too much time to shoot, then aim at a much higher pace or vice versa. good focus is either fast or slow. in my case, my accuracy lessens when I take too much time focusing on the shot. try this, then tell me if it improves your game. ;)
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Some good advice in here.
 
There is no quick-fix to pool. However, alot of good players experienced a jump in their ability to play in a very short amount of time. You plateau for a while, and then all of a sudden you go up one or two balls, maybe even three. When that happened to me, I made the grave mistake of quitting the game after I met this girl, thinking that my game would be "waiting for me" if and whenever I wanted to start playing again. To make a long story short, I have never really gotten my groove back. So if and when you ever make that jump, don't take the game for granted and quit. You gotta maintain it.
 
In my early years of playing (16-18) I went to a b player really fast and then fell off again back down to a z player it felt. I lived in an area with some STRONG A players though so I constantly had them lecturing / helping me. One of them made a comment that really has stuck to this day when I have a retarded bout and it was "Remember it's all about finesse. The harder you shoot the more inaccurate you get. If you want more cue ball action then stroke it with more finesse"

And it works for me. When I cant seem to make a ball properly or I'm twisting when I first get on the table I back off calm down and start finessing some balls softly to get relaxed and stretched out then the rest falls into place.

We dont know how your stroke is. We dont know if you're gripping the hell out of your cue. We dont know if you stand where you dont have a solid foundation and can move. We dont know a lot of stuff. It's like building a castle. If your foundation blocks arent strong the castle will fall every time no matter how long you work on it. What we all know is that the 50 an hour or 75 an hour good instructors charge can be worth way more than the money. It can change the game and your experience with it. Like I believe Jennifer Baretta said was the better she got at the game the more fun it was to play.

Dont give up. Just change your strategy because it's not working. 2 years is too long to not be a B player. The game isn't hard.

Chris
 
Thanks Everyone!

Thanks to all for the encoragement and advice! I will be trying your suggestions, many of them are good, common sense things that I'm sure will help me!
 
you can be too hard on yourself

Tim5000 said:
We all know how frustrating pool can be sometimes, but I'm beginning to think I am just not physically and mentally able to advance my skills to the next level. Maybe I'm too impatient, or maybe I should get on with my life and forget about the game. Here are the facts and stats...

I'm 46 years old, playing about 20 years, was always a casual "D+" player. Two years ago I decided to see what I could do with my skills. So I started practicing 3-5 hours a day every single day 7 days a week for 2 years straight. Now I am a "C" player at best, usually place in bottom 1/3 in local tournaments and consistently score 325-375 on the Hopkins Skills Challenge, and can only beat the 4 ball ghost about 50% of the time! This seems like a very slow progression to me. What does everyone else think about this? I would appreciate anyone's honest opinion.
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One thing I will say is that it sounds like you are hard on yourself to play better.I have been through this.Pool isn't something that a drill sergent can teach.It takes a pretty healthy diet of confidence to advance your game to the next level.If I have done it once,I've done it 12 times.I've been playing/practicing and be out of stroke a little and start being hard on myself.This can discourage you very easily and it throws me out of stroke for days,weeks,even months.Desire to play gets to a low and its hard to get it back.Usually I'll take a break (which is great for your game),give myself time to forget any bad habits and get right back to playing.Its not unusual for me to feel as if I'm playing better,hell I am.Confidence feeds the player.Anytime you can maintain that, its easier to see growth.Most books,if not all, that discuss the mental game will say to "keep a positive train of thought".There is a reason for that.
 
cubc said:
Dont give up. Just change your strategy because it's not working. 2 years is too long to not be a B player. The game isn't hard.
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Hmmm, don't know about that one :p

I think we've all felt the frustation before. I'll have a bad session where I seemingly can't make a ball and wonder what the hell I'm playing this game for. But it always pulls you back in...

padriii8cw.th.jpg
 
Don't quit the game yet! :eek:

As other posters have said, if you are able to, you should take some lessons. An instructor can help identify and correct any flaws in your fundamentals, and work with you on the other areas of your game. :)
 
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Thinking back a few years, there was a time when I hit a wall and couldn't seem to take my game to the next level. It took time and practice, and a new cue, but it did happen. Not that I'm an A player, but it was a very noticable gain.

Try a new cue!!!!!!!!

Russ....
 
Tim- I will try and help you out here on another tangent other than pool/Billiards, all the advice here
is Great. What I think is you just might need some time off, if its months, years so be it, when it feels
good youll know...

So here goes, I devote a HUGE amount of time also to competitive racquetball. I was a former sponsored player
playing tournaments all the time at an "Open" Level, which basically is a low level pro and can play pro qualifying
tourneys when they come around.

Fortunately I was always pretty good at sports including pool and other stuff I tried, I moved up the rball rankings very fast (similar
to the lettering level) but hit a HUGE stallpoint in the "A" Level, two levels below open. I went through the same things you
are , nothing going right, different amounts of motivation, mental blocks, and eventually a "this game sucks" attitude.
I kept going year after year and although only 4- years I've made huge jumps it seemed like an eternity. Some take longer than others
and some jump way faster.

My point is that nothing comes easy for certian people and certain activities. I was so use to wining everything until rball
taught me a big lesson in losing. I wondered why I couldnt succeed at the level I wanted to even till today. I just have
to accept that I will be the best I can at any moment. THere are guys that play way above me will less experience, and
guys with tons that play 2-3 levels below me. Take the game as it is, easier said than done, accept what you can and cant do , and
most likely your game will steadily improve.

Hope this helps...
 
If your goal is to become a pro, you are probably not going to make it. But as far as quitting the game? I would say play as much as you enjoy playing. Don't let pool become a chore. If you don't enjoy practicing as much as you do, slack off and enjoy it. I have watched some great players who had a lot of talent, put so much pressure on themselves to become better and better that they quit enjoying pool. So they burned out and many quit playing. I have been stuck in "B" player staus from B- to B+ back and forth for longer than you have been playing. I still play and still like the game. I have accepted the fact I can rarely beat a real A player in tournaments. I play because I like it. Pool gets in the blood. Just don't let it turn into blood poisoning. It is just a game.
Chris
www.cuesmith.com
www.internationalcuemakers.com
 
chilli66 said:
Don't give up on it. I think you'll regret it later if you do.

I'd hate to walk away from pool again, I wasted a lot of years by not playing. It's only when I started again that I realised how much I really do love the game.

So don't quit, relax a little & enjoy it. The good times will come.
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Tim, this is good advice. I put down my guitar about 10 years ago because I just couldn't get to the level I wanted to play at. If I had of stuck with it, there ain't no tellin' how good I would be now. As far as pool goes, I'm probably gonna not get any better than I am at this juncture in my life, but I'm okay with it (I'm probably a C player on a good night).
You know, if all the C players and lower quit the game, the billiards industry would fall flat on its face.
Just hang in there and enjoy the game. You don't have to be a world-beater to enjoy it. I love the game and enjoy it even if I'm gettin' my head handed to me (which is often). :D

Maniac
 
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