Some bar players do not have a clue!

Billy_Bob

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
More on bar players and strategy for your amusement...

Tonight I was playing 8-ball in my local small town bar (did not feel like driving to where the better players are).

Anyway I shoot a difficult combo shot with just the right speed to leave the second ball blocking the corner pocket and not drop into the pocket. I was pleased with my "speed control" and skill at shooting this shot.

Well another player was watching and said "You got robbed!".
I said "Well maybe that is what I intended to do..."
He said "Yea Right!"
Etc.

Anyway this guy had no idea why on earth anyone would intentionally not make a ball into a pocket nor did he have any idea that it is sometimes a good strategy to intentionally block a pocket.

Next time I intentionally block a pocket, maybe I should say...
Jeeze! Did you guys see that? That ball should have gone in!
I got robbed! (Then storm away from the table...)
 
I agree, I like to shake my head and agree in that type of situation. I have found that one of the best plays in bar 8-ball is the "accidental safety", which is pretty much the same type of play that you made. You just have to look frustrated and maybe curse at the table a few times to pull it off usually. You don't want to be one of those "dirty players" :) who's playing safe, intentionally blocking pockets, etc...

Also, make sure you fire in every shot as hard as you can, especially if you're trying to impress people and let them know exactly how good you really are:D
 
Did you hit a rail buddy?????
Edit: Gosh I had to add more. A short post just doesn't look right with the new format. You think AZ is trying to promote long winded chatter like you hear in barbox pool. Anyway I'm off to the pub to teach them the rules. Later
 
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Not too long ago I played a guy 8 ball (normally I only play 9 ball) at a local rec and beat him almost every game. It was really easy. At the end, about two hours later when leaving he said "man you sure got lucky with easy leaves today". I smiled and in the back of my mind I filed it away as easy money.
 
if i am playing a safe shot where i intend not to make the ball and of course in eightball if you make your shot and want to play a safe you have to call safe right, but i wasn't going to make the ball and players here they don't like safes being played on them so i didn't say anything i just called my ball but hit it sloppy to block the pocket like you did and i said man i hit that bad, missed that baby by a mile. Leading the opponent to where i was calling the shot but didn't know what i was doing to escape from this kind of stuff lol.
 
Dustin_J said:
I have found that one of the best plays in bar 8-ball is the "accidental safety", which is pretty much the same type of play that you made. You just have to look frustrated and maybe curse at the table a few times to pull it off usually. You don't want to be one of those "dirty players" :) who's playing safe, intentionally blocking pockets, etc...

/agree

I have mastered the accidental miscue when I don't have a shot. Leave em safe without pissing them off :)
 
Man you guys are living in the dark ages. Do people still play that way? I have been finding just the opposite - players think you are a chump if you don't play safe.

But that is where the APA is bad for pool. They penalize their players for playing safe. They have to always go for a shot even if doing so is stupid. It justs keeps the players dumb.

Jake
 
jjinfla said:
Man you guys are living in the dark ages. Do people still play that way? I have been finding just the opposite - players think you are a chump if you don't play safe.

But that is where the APA is bad for pool. They penalize their players for playing safe. They have to always go for a shot even if doing so is stupid. It justs keeps the players dumb.

Jake

I'm glad to hear that at least where you are, morons are finally starting to appreciate strategically sound pool.

The APA doesn't "penalize" anyone for playing safe. It raises your skill level if you opt to play safe instead of missing shots, because this is in fact a mark of a better player. I think people who think of a higher skill level as a penalty are playing APA leagues with the wrong mentality. I'm an SL5, and I can't wait to get up to 6, and then 7. I'll wear my high skill level as a badge of pride, and enjoy the added challenge of playing more difficult races. I think this mentality is the reason I have so much fun playing APA, when a lot of other people seem to dislike it so much.

-Andrew
 
jjinfla said:
But that is where the APA is bad for pool. They penalize their players for playing safe. They have to always go for a shot even if doing so is stupid. It justs keeps the players dumb.

Jake
That's not my experience in the APA. Just last night my opponent and I exchanged about 16 safeties in a row. It was great! :)
 
Could it be BOOZE, and THINKING do not mix well. most BAR make money off BOOZE, and not Pool at $.50/game Pumped in with Two Quarters a Game..... IMO....:p
 
Billy Bob... half of the battle when playing in a bar is the overcoming the "Mind F**k" that you always get when listening to the comments made by the uneducated (in pool rules) locals. Battling the "MF" should not be undertaken lightly... or by underexperienced players. It is a serious business and can result in severe brain trauma.

Next time you play there, you should mentally prepare yourself better... else the men in the white smocks could be called to escort you (in a coat with no sleeves) to a padded room in the big stone house on the hill.
 
Crispy Fish said:
That's not my experience in the APA. Just last night my opponent and I exchanged about 16 safeties in a row. It was great! :)

then somebody didn't read the rules,,,more than 11 safties is a draw,,,re-rack and start over,,,,,,jflan
 
PoolSleuth said:
Could it be BOOZE, and THINKING do not mix well. most BAR make money off BOOZE, and not Pool at $.50/game Pumped in with Two Quarters a Game..... IMO....:p

All the bar's around here "Open" the tables on league night. They all
have some sort of league playing almost everynight to keep the bar tabs
going.:)
 
Billy_Bob said:
Anyway I shoot a difficult combo shot with just the right speed to leave the second ball blocking the corner pocket and not drop into the pocket. I was pleased with my "speed control" and skill at shooting this shot.

Did you make the shot? It sounds like you did.

Fred
 
Speaking of rules disputes....

I was playing a nineball ring game with several fellas who are all BCA Masters. We were playing two-foul rules, which means that if a player fouls, the incoming player has the option of making the player that fouled shoot again from where things ended up. This prevents people from playing intentional safeties without taking anything away from the incoming player, but without giving the incoming player ball in hand which would be unfair to all the other players in the game.

So here's the dispute: I broke, made a ball, and was hooked prison style, so I made an intentional foul, where I left the incoming player hooked, but with the option of letting me have a second, and though still hooked, much easier attempt at a hit/cheeseride.

Since it's the incoming players discretion on playing the shot I left or having me shoot again, I see no harm, and this is how I had played many times before without any complaint. Well I immediately had 5 BCA Masters getting all excited over the shot. They were telling me I had to make an "honest effort" at hitting the low ball... for money.

Let's just say I was dumbfounded. Not by the dispute, but rather the calibre of players making it.
 
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SphinxnihpS said:
Well I immediately had 5 BCA Masters getting all excited over the shot. They were telling me I had to make an "honest effort" at hitting the low ball... for money.

Let's just say I was dumbfounded. Not by the dispute, but rather the calibre of players making it.

Next time, you won't be dumbfounded. Although your play makes complete sense given the pass back option, "honest effort" seems to be the standard as far as I've seen across the country.

Fred
 
APA is a joke!

I played in the APA about 5 years ago. Wound up being a seven in the eight ball league after three months. I did not ever try to hide my game as all too many members of the APA do. It got to be really pointless when most of the league score keepers had no clue when another team's player was executing a defensive shot. They usually thought said player "missed" and never knew that a safety had just been overlooked. So much for the "Equalizer" system being fool proof.
 
PoolSleuth said:
Could it be BOOZE, and THINKING do not mix well. most BAR make money off BOOZE, and not Pool at $.50/game Pumped in with Two Quarters a Game..... IMO....:p

A co worker bought a redneck, neighborhood bar that had "dancing" on the weekends. We were in there visiting and he nodded toward the 2 pool tables. He said that they paid for all of his overhead. He would often prime the tables by throwing some quarters on them and say have a game on me just to get some action going.
 
One time after beating a guy in a bar. He was all pissed off and told me my win should not have counted because I was "hitting the balls to soft, like a pussy". I wanted to grab him by his little greasy pony tail, and smack him up side the head with my pool cue. But he was way bigger then me.... :mad:

Mack
 
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