Table Manners?

Rio19

Rio19

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Hello All..

Got a question. I am at the pool hall/ bar on league night to watch a friend play . The place is tightly packed and only had three bar boxes line up in row with one another.

I witness one of my friends teammates lose it because someone moved ten feet away from him and it happened to be in his sight line. The rest of the match he is complaining about that one shot and how it threw his entire game off .

Mind you he was playing one of if not the strongest player in the bar so to me it looks like

was laying down. He went from twenty points down to losing by two balls.

After the match he continues to complain loudly about table manners even though he is disturbing the other matches.. Only in the Danville APA...

So my question is does movement from across the room really affect how you play or was he full of crap and laying down?
 
Rio19 said:
Hello All..

Got a question. I am at the pool hall/ bar on league night to watch a friend play . The place is tightly packed and only had three bar boxes line up in row with one another.

I witness one of my friends teammates lose it because someone moved ten feet away from him and it happened to be in his sight line. The rest of the match he is complaining about that one shot and how it threw his entire game off .

Mind you he was playing one of if not the strongest player in the bar so to me it looks like

was laying down. He went from twenty points down to losing by two balls.

After the match he continues to complain loudly about table manners even though he is disturbing the other matches.. Only in the Danville APA...

So my question is does movement from across the room really affect how you play or was he full of crap and laying down?
Click to expand...

I'm sure your friend was distracted, but part of the process in becoming a good player is learning to block this sort of stuff out. Most seasoned players are able to maintain focus regardless of background noise and movement.

Your point that your friend is not very keen on ensuring that others enjoy the same courtesies he seems to expect is significant, too.

The truth, however, is that in league matches, noise and background movement are facts of life.
 
yes - it is distracting. your brain/eyes are naturally drawn to any sudden movements, it's part of our defensive mechanism.

I believe it's an old hustler's trick to stand way back from the table, but in the line of sight and make a sudden movement just as the player is starting their final stroke...

if it's your opponent that's doing it, you've every right to get pissy... but if it's a player on another table or a non-player in the bar.. you've got to deal with it - be observant of anybody in your line of sight before you get down on the table and wait for them to move or ask them to get out of the way...

just my thoughts...


Bob
 
Playing in bars distracting? Juke box, loud talk, screaming, loud laughter, sometimes fights around the table, and drunks bumping into your cue when shooting. Most of the time someone 10' from the table has no idea he/she is distracting a player. Only time that I got distracted was in a very quiet poolroom when on Black Butes. If someone dropped a cue I'd be sitting on the light. But boy I could see those balls real sharp. Johnnyt
 
I agree with all you guys. However when I am shooting my focus is on the OB I never see the folks walking around because I don't pay attention to them. The only thing that bothers me is someone talking close to me about what they would do or I should have played this shot that way and even then I block it out. I guess I am different or I have super focus.
 
Rio19 said:
Hello All..
Got a question. I am at the pool hall/ bar on league night to watch a friend play . The place is tightly packed and only had three bar boxes line up in row with one another.
I witness one of my friends teammates lose it because someone moved ten feet away from him and it happened to be in his sight line. The rest of the match he is complaining about that one shot and how it threw his entire game off .
Mind you he was playing one of if not the strongest player in the bar so to me it looks like was laying down. He went from twenty points down to losing by two balls.
After the match he continues to complain loudly about table manners even though he is disturbing the other matches.. Only in the Danville APA...
So my question is does movement from across the room really affect how you play or was he full of crap and laying down?
Click to expand...


I'm sure it interrupted him but it sounds like he escalated the whole thing in his head by replaying the situation and not to just stop and let go. Move on.
He needs to take a chill pill and stop blaming others for his psychological shortcomings.
 
It happens... To all of us.

What many pool players fail to recognize is that not everyone in the world is giving them, and them alone, their undivided attention while they are down over a shot.

Somebody might be walking to the bathroom, or to go get a drink, or have a smoke, etc...

We just have to learn how to zone in and tune all the other stuff out.
 
I ask em to move...

A player walking over and in front of the line of shot typically isn't an accident, it's a shark move. But, it's nearly impossible to call, cuz it's a bar, and furthermore, your efforts are better spent focussing on the shot, rather than the guy in the sight line. If I think someone is Sharking me, I will ask them politely to move, before I shoot...and I'll wait til they move.
This way, I've removed the ability for me to use it as an excuse if I miss.
 
Ten feet away? Dude needs to quit his crying. Unless somebody is bumping me, there should be no excuses. You're in a bar, not a morgue, there will be movement, music and all kinds of things. Deal with it or play at home.
 
I do not think you can realistically expect everyone in the facility to freeze while you are down on your shot. Especially in a bar, there are going to be a lot of shots where there will be movement in your line of sight.
 
Distractions happen. Good players have learned to tune out a lot of the distractions typical to their usual playing environment, but there are going to be atypical occurrences from time to time. Sometimes it's a loud noise or sudden movement, other times it's a bit of a conversation or an awareness of the temperature or humidity. Nobody is completely immune, especially if you're not playing well or are tired. If you play pool long enough, some distraction will eventually cost you a match. If you don't learn to get past it and refocus on the game, they will cost you several matches.
 
From across the room? Looks like he's got other issues to deal with, one of which is the ability to focus. :smile:
 
Yup

fastone371 said:
I do not think you can realistically expect everyone in the facility to freeze while you are down on your shot. Especially in a bar, there are going to be a lot of shots where there will be movement in your line of sight.
Click to expand...


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unless someone bumps into me i'm ok. I can concentrate fine in noisy spots, sometimes better than a room that you can hear a pin drop in. One other thing that would get me is if there was a loud bang(like a bottle getting dropped right when i pull the trigger) that would get me as well, happens in York Hall for Mosconi cup-that place would be brutal to play in, wow.
 
Ten feet away sounds like a lot, but if you're on one end of the table, that's someone standing
just a couple of feet off the other end. That's pretty close. A lot of players will say something if
people are just standing that close to the table, nevermind doing something distracting.

If I think someone's doing it as a move, I will call them out on it... recently in a league match,
our player was shooting and someone on the opponent's team walks around to the other side of the table.
He stands there watching our guy take practice swings for the shot. On the final backswing, this dude
does this sudden very fake exaggerated "let me just yawn and stretch and rub my hair" arm motion.

I brought it up to the LO (who is their team captain) and everyone looked at me like I'm the biggest tool
in the universe. But I know what I saw and serious players have a right to expect better.
Even if it is a league match in a bar.

That being said, you have to let it go and not use it as an excuse to lose.
 
If I missed a shot it's only because I missed, nothing or nobody in the world can cause the ball not go where I wanted it to go, unless , of course someone physically bumped into me while I was stroking.
All else is just an excuse!
 
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