This was pretty embarassing

C

cuetechasaurus

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
I went to go play in a weekly barbox 8-ball tournament. Its a race to 1, double elimination. You lag for the break each match. I knew a couple of people from there, mainly because I play against them in the BCA every season.

Most of the people at the tournament are bangers, but there were a few capable players present. When I went to sign up, the tournament director told me that they don't allow 'A' players in. I told him that I'm not that good of a player compared to real 'A' players.

He told me he would let me in, but I had to give a handicap to the rest of the field, by automatically starting me off in the loser's bracket. I said ok with no complaints, even though I knew I probably had no shot at winning the tournament. There were enough players to run out on me if I made a single mistake.

When my match got called up, the room was abuzz, everyone was watching, because they had all heard that I'm this great player. People kept making comments saying things like "I can't wait to watch this guy play, I heard he's real good!" and I kept responding by saying "I'm not really all that good..." But of course people kept saying "Suuuure! You're probably just being really modest!"

I win the lag, and of course I get a super-mud rack and don't pocket a ball. I hit it real hard and solid, and nothing even went past the side pocket. I immediately hear comments like "What kind of break was that?" My opponent has only a tough shot, and misses. I have a shot on solids, with an opportunity to break out my only cluster, which hopefully will leave me a runnable table. I make the ball, break up the cluster, and go 2 rails and scratch in the side. My opponent runs out a difficult layout.

I smile and shake his hand. I hear someone make a wisecrack saying "He's an 'A' player?". I gather my things and leave.

I would have to say that was one of my most embarrassing moments in pool.
 
embarassed?

look for the silver lining. before that happened, you probably couldn't have got much action with the people in that room. might be a different story now. :thumbup:
 
I know the feeling

I used to play in a weekly BB 8 ball tourney with APA rules and handicaps. I'm an APA 7 but after about 3 months or so of playing in this tourney I'm playing as an APA 11!! I think I play strong BB 8 ball but some of these races were ridiculous. I was spotting other 7's 4 games on the wire(9-5 race) the worst part was the 10-2 races when I played a skill level four or so.

I had an experience similar to yours in one of the 10-2 races. I play this girl, who really liked the game and wanted to get better. She didn't really know much about patterns or anything just making balls at the time. First game I break and run to the eight, get bad shape on it, try and bank it in the side it goes two rails in the other side.....0-1 her......I win about 2 games then this girl runs 7 balls and misses the eight but the only shot I have is a funny angle into the side with the eight hanging in the pocket. I hit the tittie and miss and concede so, I lose 2-2 in a race where I have to get to 10 to win.....:o
 
I had the same thing years ago...or close to it.

It was a small 8-ball tournament and the same guy kept winning it. I was invited to it and upon my arrival I found out I had become "The Great White Hope" to all the players assembled. I was the one who would take the guy down. Heck I ended up almost matching him in the Calcutta! I was floored because I knew that there were so many better players than me in the city. Why would they think I had a chance against this guy?

As luck would have it I played the guy for king of the hill. I broke but the table was tight. On making my fifth ball I missed bumping one of my last two remaining balls to a better position and was forced to cut my last ball before the 8 up the length of the long rail. I missed it and he won.

The looks on the crowds faces was one as if I dumped the game purposely. Yes I finished second but they acted as if I was supposed to beat this guy head to head every time when I was the one that should have been asking for weight. I felt bad even though I shouldn't have.
 
Recently I visited a room I don't usually go to and saw a couple of familiar faces. One's a regular at my usual spot. They were having a 9 ball tournament. I thought I was entering an 8 ball tournament, and when I found out it was 9b races to 1, I didn't wanna enter. I'm not all that enthusiastic about tournaments anyway.

But this guy was like "are you kidding?! you're not gonna enter? For god's sake I'll pay your entry fee" ...I guess he thought I could shoot, I played him in another tournament a while ago. Then he turns to his dad and introduces me and says DAD. BACK THIS GUY.

I went 2-2 in the tournament and both wins were three inning masterpieces full of botched shape and failed kicks. Got knocked out and played in a lousy mood the rest of the night.

The kid and his dad seemed to have this look on their face like... "huh. well that was pointless."
 
I don't know if it's embarrassing but it sucked either way. :)

I'm playing a team mate in a league match , but he's on another team this night. Kinda the same story as the others , he's a weaker player then I am and when they anounce the match up everyone saying to him "Oh man, he's going to kill you !" , "I gotta see this ! " , laughing and hooping it up.

Well it's 8 ball and he has to race to 2. Yeah , 2. ;) Normally I don't pay any attention to thier race cause mine is the only one that matters but stuff happens fast sometimes.

So anyways , I break and run down to the 8. Leave a super thin cut (bad shape) , make the 8 and carom off another ball and scratch. Now he's on the hill.

Second rack he breaks , makes a couple balls or so. I get up run 4 or 5 and play a decent safe. He kicks and slops in a ball , makes a couple more. Eventually , he's down to like 3 left , shoots and catches the tit on the side pocket leaving perfect shape in another ball , misses that one so bad it banks cross corner after hitting the CB on the way which lined him up on the 8 which he makes. It felt like the match lasted 12 seconds. He's jumping up and down hooping and holloring about beating me. Everyones looking at me like yeah , WTF dude ?

I felt pretty bad about it for the rest of the night.
 
Be glad you are embarassed when you play badly. I play in a weekly tourny where I am rated a 4 (which is to a 5 in BCA 9 ball) Some times I play way above my head for afew racks which leads to a bunch of sand bagging coments. Or as CJ Wilye said "If you are a 4 I am Santa Clause." Than I go back to suck mode only to have them say" So that's why your a 4 "

Larry
 
RRfireblade said:
Second rack he breaks , makes a couple balls or so. I get up run 4 or 5 and play a decent safe. He kicks and slops in a ball , makes a couple more. Eventually , he's down to like 3 left , shoots and catches the tit on the side pocket leaving perfect shape in another ball , misses that one so bad it banks cross corner after hitting the CB on the way which lined him up on the 8 which he makes. It felt like the match lasted 12 seconds. He's jumping up and down hooping and holloring about beating me. Everyones looking at me like yeah , WTF dude ?

I felt pretty bad about it for the rest of the night.
Click to expand...


Is your 8 ball league not call pocket?? :confused:
 
here's how mine went...

I had been playing in leagues for a few years at a club that had tough 9' Olhausen tables with unforgiving pockets when a buddy of mine called to ask if I'd be interested in playing an in-house 8-ball league at another club. They had older 9' Brunswicks - I said okay.

My game typically is a blend of absolute brilliance (he said humbly), the kind of play that belongs on ESPN, along with some inevitable mediocrity, the kind of stuff that makes you want to jump off of a bridge.

I get to this new pool hall where nobody knows me and for the first 5 weeks I am in dead stroke, shooting lights-out, running racks, kicking like a mule, making blazing bankshots, and safing like Efren. At least that's how it felt to me - and apparently that's how it seemed to all of the teams we played. There were near physical altercations, lots of sandbagging allegations, calls made to the APA office, the club owner jawing with my captain, etc. I'm loving it! Can all this be attributed to the switch from tight Olhausens to the old Brunswicks? Whatever it was, I was in the zone and you guys know what I'm talking about, that feeling like you have the cueball on a string and the pockets are 2 feet wide with suction - where's Johhny Archer; I want to show him a few things...?...lol...

Then came week 6 - I'm sitting with my buddy and teamate, Mike, who is a low pro-player. I'm keeping score for a match in progress when this young 20 something handsome kid trips over Mike's foot (on purpose) and Mike shouts out "Phil; how've you been. I haven't seen you for a long time. What have you been up to?" Phil says he's been away playing in a couple of tournaments in Puerto Rico and got back in town a few weeks ago. then Mike asked him "What brings you in here tonight?' Phil, standing right next to my left shoulder responds "I left work early to come here because the word is out that you have a phenom on your team and I wanted to see for myself." I looked up at Phil and asked "Did they say he was slender and good looking?" (I'm kinda the polar opposite) Phil peers down at me and says "Not exactly" and we three howled with laughter. I told Phil, who by the way is an A player, that this was simply a case of mistaken identity. That because nobody at this club knew who I was and I was on a bit of a tear that they thought I was the second coming of a pool god and that this was definitely an error.

I ended up in a match with a SL4 and I got smoked. I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn and the cue ball played like it was shaped like an egg.

Since then I've been back to playing with my usual blend of greatness and mediocrity. But nobody can take those 5 magical weeks away from me - nobody!

I'll bet Phil must have been thinking about whether he'll ever recover those lost few hours of work that he traded in to go see a phenom.

How embarrassing. :embarrassed2:

Brian kc
 
If you are an A player and you enter a race to 1 tournament, is it surprising that you would get eliminated?
 
Sure, you can laugh NOW!

It's a bch to let your fans down. I wish I had a story to add
but i've never been mistaken for an ,"A," player.:sad:
The only thing I've ever been an,"A," in is ,"Holes." WE all
got one . Sometimes we is one.
 
My most embarrassing moment was when I played in the PA State 8-ball back in the late 90's. Back then, I was a total hack. I really had no business playing in a big event like that. Anyways, I drew one of the tournament favorites the first round and I was so nervous, I couldn't get a tight rack. The event had those plastic "bar racks" and my hands were so unsteady, I couldn't lift the thing up without bumping one of the back balls. Eventually, I gave up and told him to rack his own. I was so embarrassed, I nearly puked.
 
I played a BCA 8-ball league into the 7th week unbeaten (30 games in a row). I was easily in first place in the league and was starting to get a reputation as a monster player among the bangers. :) I had to play the easiest team in the entire league on week 7. I won my first four games and was playing my last game of the night. I had a long straight-in 8 ball that only needed to be rolled into the pocket.

I made it and rolled the cue ball into the pocket right behind it. Oops.

The streak ended at 34. :o
 
Know the felling !!!

cuetechasaurus said:
I went to go play in a weekly barbox 8-ball tournament. Its a race to 1, double elimination. You lag for the break each match. I knew a couple of people from there, mainly because I play against them in the BCA every season.

Most of the people at the tournament are bangers, but there were a few capable players present. When I went to sign up, the tournament director told me that they don't allow 'A' players in. I told him that I'm not that good of a player compared to real 'A' players.

He told me he would let me in, but I had to give a handicap to the rest of the field, by automatically starting me off in the loser's bracket. I said ok with no complaints, even though I knew I probably had no shot at winning the tournament. There were enough players to run out on me if I made a single mistake.

When my match got called up, the room was abuzz, everyone was watching, because they had all heard that I'm this great player. People kept making comments saying things like "I can't wait to watch this guy play, I heard he's real good!" and I kept responding by saying "I'm not really all that good..." But of course people kept saying "Suuuure! You're probably just being really modest!"

I win the lag, and of course I get a super-mud rack and don't pocket a ball. I hit it real hard and solid, and nothing even went past the side pocket. I immediately hear comments like "What kind of break was that?" My opponent has only a tough shot, and misses. I have a shot on solids, with an opportunity to break out my only cluster, which hopefully will leave me a runnable table. I make the ball, break up the cluster, and go 2 rails and scratch in the side. My opponent runs out a difficult layout.

I smile and shake his hand. I hear someone make a wisecrack saying "He's an 'A' player?". I gather my things and leave.

I would have to say that was one of my most embarrassing moments in pool.
Click to expand...

I know the feeling, as im a old man of 71yr and i go out to visit and BS with some of the guys in a town few miles away. eight ball tourny, well i decide to play just for the heck of it. well TD says lots of the people want play unless i rate you a 6. high rating is a 7. i agree ---so once you get a rep---you cant out run it. but i played ok won 3 sets but lost 2. but had fun!!!! OLD MAN STICK
 
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