Unsolicited advice in the pool hall

When I was younger, 14 or so, I would go to the bowling alley and play pool with my twin brother. There was always an older gentleman named Mr. Houser there during the day setting up practice shots and working on different things. We would always leave a table in between us so we wouldn't get in his way while he was practicing. Sometimes he would stop and watch us play every other game or so. We would be talking on the way there and hoping that Mr. Houser would be there when we got there to play.

At the end of his practice sessions, it never failed, he would come over after he put his cues away and give us both pointers and suggestions on how to do things. We never asked him and he never asked us if we wanted them. These tidbits were like gold to my brother and me.

It's little things like this that people remember when they first start playing pool. They appreciate it more than some of you guys might ever know. I'm 29 now and my passion for pool is very strong because someone cared enough about me to show me how to do things the proper way on the table. I've always played with people much much older than myself because of this. You don't have to give them a full blown tutorial in 10 minutes......just a little nugget.

When the teaching generation is gone; the game will be gone. I hope there are some out there that will open their mouths and give advice even when they aren't asked for it. It's the correct thing to do.....for the future player and for the good of the game that we all share and love.
 
Allen Brown said:
When the teaching generation is gone; the game will be gone.
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Actually, I think the current younger generations generally have actively and extensively devalued teaching and learning. They live in an academic vacuum and have established a culture of anti-intellectualism. This applies to pool as much as it does anything else.

I appreciate your attitude, but I think it is more the exception than the rule and it leaves me wondering if that is your attitude only about pool or if it extends throughout your life. Rhetorical question: What have you accomplished by the age of 29 with that attitude? Again. It is rhetorical.

Thankfully I don't think the game hinges on this. But many other things certainly do.

Pool will still be here regardless of teaching. It may not be played to the level at which one might wish but it will be here. And there will still be those with innate talent that do very well anyway. Many other more important things will likely suffer worse and with greater consequences far before this game does.



.
 
I've been playing a couple of nights a week with a young kid (seems like a young kid to me, anyway). He's a good shot. I suggested to him that if he really wants to improve all of his games, and have a lot of fun doing it, learn some straight pool...and that's what we play. We start with a bit of 8 or 9 ball, and then play straight pool.

I'm not too worried about the younger generation. They're about the same as I was at their age. I'm about the same that guys my age were when I was a young kid. The old farts are still old and farting. Nothing much changes.
 
Cracktherack said:
The problem at our poolroom isn't free advice..............to an extent. It's shot by shot commentary from right beside the table, whether it's 9 Ball or One Pocket. I don't mean in a whisper quiet voice either. They will sit in chairs at the top of the table and continue along with what "they" would have shot or how "they" would spin the ball. Quite often one will say "Now, see that shot he just pulled. That's a stroke shot right there. He hit that like Ear Strickland."
You can lay your cue on the table, stare at them and insert ear plugs and still, they don't get it. I guess my next move is to soak the seat cushions down with a bottle of water before they sit down. There is a 0% probability that an innocent person will get wet pants. Every last one of them that sits in these chairs will pull the same stunt. The ones that are hard of hearing, talk even louder.
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Exactly.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk
 
The problem with giving advice, is that it presumes a position of superiority, and though that may in fact be true, most people do not like the feeling of being spoken down to.
 
(((Satori))) said:
How I feel about it usually depends on where the advice is coming from. You can get a sense for why they are offering you advice and if it good then I'm ok with it.
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denzilla171 said:
The problem with giving advice, is that it presumes a position of superiority, and though that may in fact be true, most people do not like the feeling of being spoken down to.
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Good post!

This is what I meant when I said it depends on wheee it is coming from.

If somebody is cool and just wants to offer you advice because it will help you then Im ok with that. They aint looking down on you but instead just wanting to share knowledge they have.

Another good form of jnsolicited advice is when a friend learns something that has helped ghem and they are all excited and they want to share it with you so you can benefit also. These are cool.


Whats not cool is when you are doing something different than someone else and they want to tell you how they do it. Its kind of like they just want to tell gou you're wrong. Or sometimeseople are just awkward and its like they feel inferior and giving you advice helps them feel better about theirself. Its like they are just let oking for something in you that they are better at and they must let you know about it. They dont want you to benefit from the advice, they just want you to know that they are better than you in some way. Its weird but its really where some people come from with their unsolicited advice.


So like I said, it just depends on where the advice is coming from.
 
I have learned a lot from better players giving me tips and advice. Sometimes I asked, and sometimes they just volunteered the help.You don't have to be a pro, or a certified teacher to actually pass on something that could benefit someone.
One thing is for sure, if a guy or gal is beating my brains out, and they want to help me even just a little, my ears are wide open.
I take the cotton out of my ears, and stick it in my mouth. :)

As far as offering advice without being asked for it, I keep my yap shut unless asked.
 
"Advice is a valuable thing. Don't give it away carelessly and freely."

Many people need to achieve a calm state of mind. Don't take anything away, don't put anything it, just leave things be.

Cheers.
 
I've always had a rule of not giving advice unless asked when it concerns pool. When I do give advice it's usually not a shot, but something that takes quite a bit of practice.
 
Lets reverse this for a minute.
Many times I have sat on the rail with players that were way under my speed and we would talk about someone we were watching and how the player handled a shot and position.
Most of the time I would be the one telling the guy next to me what i thought.
But I always listened to the lesser players opinion because every now and then they would see something I did not see and i would learn from them.Never assume your way is the best .
 
I loathe players at my level or lower that think they are A players and offer unsolicited 'garbage advice' when I am playing or practicing. Sometimes I think they are practicing their weak shark game HaHa

I generally just give them a blank stare and say thanks but no thanks. Most get it. One's that don't are tools and are treated as such.

I really appreciate useful, simple tips and suggestions from the very good respected players I know. I have done the same with golf which has many fundamentals. I found after 47 years of play it's the simple/minor things, not changing someones whole set up, grip, stance and swing that can make a big difference. Unless they are just taking up the game and have no clue. Then I suggest a package of 6 lessons from a good teaching 'Pro' to get a idea of golf's fundamental base.

Best rolls,
-Kat
 
I welcome advice if I ask for it, especially from experienced and knowledgeable players.

However I sometimes find it obnoxious when people provide unsolicited advice right after a tough loss. It just salts the wound. Also, I sometimes feel like guys are trying to shark you by providing unsolicited advice- by telling you all the things you did wrong they are hoping you will be less confident and more self-conscious the next time you play them. It can also come across as condescending.
 
Past threads here like this one, conversations with friends in the pool hall, and the very few times in the past I have offered unsolicited advice combined a few years ago to lead me to the decision to try not to ever give unsolicited advice. Something I have pretty much stuck to ever since.

However, I have on rare occasions with friends and teammates asked if they would mind if I could share something I thought might help them after watching their game for a while and in those 2 cases they both said please go ahead.

Basic rule though is don't do it. It's way more likely to alienate someone more than help them and that's even when it's good advice, and not all advice is good advice anyway especially when it has to do with pattern or position play and someone is significantly less skilled and may not be ready for it.

Edit to say I myself am happy to listen to well intentioned advice, which makes it harder for me to understand why almost no one else seems to be.
 
there is a guy at the room that is about 30 years old six foot three or so and about 220 pounds and looks in good shape.
I was on the next table clocking my break with a smart phone with the Predator break app on it.
Now i do know this guy and he asked me to clock his break. I set the phone on his table and he breaks the rack.
How did i do he says?
I look at the phone and it's about what i expected.
It says not bad for a 10 year old girl i say.
He cracks up and admits he needs help.
He broke the balls at a crushing 12 miles per hour.
I helped him for awhile and got him up 5 or 6 miles per hour.
At least his break is average or so now.
Sometimes a little humor helps.
i had a guy ask me how he could improve his game.after watching him play i told him to take up bowling.
 
I've been known to give inebriated advice on all manner of subjects....seriously though there are some things that I'm proficient at, not necessarily pool yet, but I try not to give advice unless asked.
 
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measureman said:
there is a guy at the room that is about 30 years old six foot three or so and about 220 pounds and looks in good shape.
I was on the next table clocking my break with a smart phone with the Predator break app on it.
Now i do know this guy and he asked me to clock his break. I set the phone on his table and he breaks the rack.
How did i do he says?
I look at the phone and it's about what i expected.
It says not bad for a 10 year old girl i say.
He cracks up and admits he needs help.
He broke the balls at a crushing 12 miles per hour.
I helped him for awhile and got him up 5 or 6 miles per hour.
At least his break is average or so now.
Sometimes a little humor helps.
i had a guy ask me how he could improve his game.after watching him play i told him to take up bowling.
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Why didn't you ask him if his husband played pool?
The last time I did something like that I woke up at the end of a long white tunnel with Grandma, and Elvis standing next to me. :)
 
I was the instructor for a billiards PE class for four semesters. There was not a single request on how to shoot better from the approximately 60 students. They were there for an easy A and an hour of playing pool.

I thought there was an interested student who asked how the pros hold their cue. Woo Hoo, I thought to myself. As I demonstrated a proper bridge and stroke, she interrupted with "No, how do they hold it when they walk around the table!"

Later, I tried to help her with making shots. I discovered that she wasn't even close shooting just the cueball into a pocket. She was too embarrassed to continue the drill in front of others.
 
measureman said:
there is a guy at the room that is about 30 years old six foot three or so and about 220 pounds and looks in good shape.
I was on the next table clocking my break with a smart phone with the Predator break app on it.
Now i do know this guy and he asked me to clock his break. I set the phone on his table and he breaks the rack.
How did i do he says?
I look at the phone and it's about what i expected.
It says not bad for a 10 year old girl i say.
He cracks up and admits he needs help.
He broke the balls at a crushing 12 miles per hour.
I helped him for awhile and got him up 5 or 6 miles per hour.
At least his break is average or so now.
Sometimes a little humor helps.
i had a guy ask me how he could improve his game.after watching him play i told him to take up bowling.
Click to expand...
Hope it wasn't 14.1
 
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