Unsolicited advice in the pool hall

Straightpool_99

Straightpool_99

I see dead balls
Silver Member
Another thread inspired me to start this one. Throughout the years I have on many occations offered unsolicited advice to people playing in my poolhall. You see so many people do things horribly wrong, that it is like listening to grinding gears, and many times I have broken down and tried to say things. It has always backfired. Such advice is almost never welcome, and usually the worse the player you are trying to help, the less welcome advice can be. Being that terrible is rarely an accident....Believe me, they have heard anything you want to say a million times before, but they are either stupid or pig headed, and your advice is as likely to be successful as a sand shop in the Sahara desert. Even the most polite and tactful advice will be ignored or even ridiculed by idiots like this.

I have also, on occation, tried to fix my friends games and that too went wrong. I have this friend who pots balls well but has terrible cueball control, because he lines up to the side of the ball and swoops his stroke. Well I spent an evening showing him how to hit center ball, straight. With such corrections you will always play poorly for a while, until you get used to the new technique. My friend finally started to hit shots without unwanted sidespin for the first time in 10 years, he could even consistently make a straight in shot which he always dreaded, but he missed a few more shots than usual for a few days and immidiately changed back. To this day he is *****ing about how my advice made him play poorly for 2 days. You just can't help some people.

Basically what I've learned is to shut up, unless asked. Stay quiet in the chair and watch the mayhem of flailing cues, out of control cueballs flying off the table, people shooting every shot wrong etc. After a while it gets kind of entertaining in a morbid way. Eventually you have to let go of the need to save the pool world. If someone asks you, that is a different story, but I'm starting to think that even then I should shut up. I went my frustration and ideas on this forum because people are here to discuss things, but even this is proving pretty futile lately. People in general don't really want to be good at pool, and if they do, they don't want to work for it. They want a quick fix and shortcuts to success that takes no work. Maybe learn how to jump and massê to impress their friends. I have no time for such nonsense anymore. I will play anyone who asks and be quiet throughout and try to play the balls the best way I know how. That's the only safe way to make pool better. It is also a great way to preserve your sanity and calm state of mind.
 
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Straightpool_99 said:
Another thread inspired me to start this one. Throughout the years I have on many occations offered unsolicited advice to people playing in my poolhall. You see so many people do things horribly wrong, that it is like listening to grinding gears, and many times I have broken down and tried to say things. It has always backfired. Such advice is almost never welcome, and usually the worse the player you are trying to help, the less welcome advice can be. Being that terrible is rarely an accident....Believe me, they have heard anything you want to say a million times before, but they are either stupip or pig headed, and your advice is as likely to be successful as a sand shop in the Sahara desert. Even the most polite and tactful advice will be ignored or even ridiculed by idiots like this.

I have also, on occation, tried to fix my friends games and that too went wrong. I have this friend who pots balls well but has terrible cueball control, because he lines up to the side of the ball and swoops his stroke. Well I spent an evening showing him how to hit center ball, straight. With such corrections you will always play poorly for a while, until you get used to the new technique. My friend finally started to hit shots without unwanted sidespin for the first time in 10 years, he could even consistently make a straight in shot which he always dreaded, but he missed a few more shots than usual for a few days and immidiately changed back. To this day he is *****ing about how my advice made him play poorly for 2 days. You just can't help some people.

Basically what I've learned is to shut up, unless asked. Stay quiet in the chair and watch the mayhem of flailing cues, out of control cueballs flying off the table, people shooting every shot wrong etc. After a while it gets kind of entertaining in a morbid way. Eventually you have to let go of the need to save the pool world. If someone asks you, that is a different story, but I'm starting to think that even then I should shut up. I went my frustration and ideas on this forum because people are here to discuss things, but even this is proving pretty futile lately. People in general don't really want to be good at pool, and if they do, they don't want to work for it. They want a quick fix and shortcuts to success that takes no work. Maybe learn how to jump and massê to impress their friends. I have no time for such nonsense anymore. I will play anyone who asks and be quiet throughout and try to play the balls the best way I know how. That's the only safe way to make pool better. It is also a great way to preserve your sanity and calm state of mind.
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If you think pool is bad for this, try golfing. Guys that hit every tree and can't break 100 know everything there is about the golf swing and can't stop themselves from spewing advice at every tee. It gets old. Let's leave instruction to the instructors.
 
Look we all mostly know this , anyone giving advice that has not been asked for looks like a complete dic 99.99% of the time whether it be pool, golf, or ANYTHING else.
 
BmoreMoney said:
Look we all mostly know this , anyone giving advice that has not been asked for looks like a complete dic 99.99% of the time whether it be pool, golf, or ANYTHING else.
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When I started playing pool I would have loved to have someone show me all the things I did wrong. I have a video (just a couple of minutes long) from back then, and I cringe when I look at it. I did get some help from a guy I knew, but I'm pretty sure I would have taken advice from better players if such were offered. To this day, if someone says I'm doing something wrong, I always listen. I may not take their advice every time, but I'll always hear them out. It took me this long to truely understand why the good players never offered to show me anything. I always thought they were just being jerks or afraid of competition,lol It's pretty much pointless to try to help, unless the person actively seeks you out, and has the right attitude.
 
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I will give unsolicited advice to others but only when we are playing together. I play against many people and if I see a way that I can help them I will try.
 
long, long, time ago and not so very far away . . . .

Shoppers Pool Hall was my second home, or maybe my first home, for many years. When Jessie took over the place I had been coming to Shoppers pretty much daily and I just kinda came with the tables and fixtures. I spent a lot of money there and brought in a lot of people that would never have been there if I hadn't brought them. The place was a real pool hall in a fading part of town, few youngster came that I didn't introduce to the place. I don't know if Jessie suspected I was underage, the issue never came up.

Jessie didn't give lessons, when somebody asked he thought they wanted his hard earned knowledge the easy way. He said he would give all the lessons they wanted, for ten a game. The only time he came out from behind his counter to help someone was purely in defense of his tables, equipment, and other customers. The people he gave advice to were Awful, and yeah that is with a capital A.

One day he came over and gave me a little advice. The next day he came over and gave me a little more. About the third day when he came over to suggest how to shoot a shot I gave him a pretty angry look, after a year or two of shooting I felt like I was quite a bit better than the other people he gave advice to.

Jessie saw that look and never gave me a piece of advice again. However, once or twice a session he would come out from behind the counter and tell the person I was playing with how to shoot a shot. Never failed that when I had a chance to shoot the shot later in that same session or the next I'd look over to the counter and see Jessie grinning. This went on for several years and after awhile Jessie and I were well aware that the people I was playing didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of executing what he was telling them sometimes.

Jessie was able to deliver a lot of instruction without injuring a young man's pride. Aside from that Jessie was a friend and I spent many an hour sitting at the counter listening to his stories or talking. I moved out of town and when I came back Shoppers was gone. I never saw Jessie again. Rest in peace Jessie, you may be gone but never will you be forgotten.

Hu
 
I don't have to shlep all the way to the pool hall for unwanted and unsolicited advice. I can simply log on here. :p

Joking aside, I don't offer advice unless asked. Besides, why knock my own action? ;)
 
TATE said:
If you think pool is bad for this, try golfing. Guys that hit every tree and can't break 100 know everything there is about the golf swing and can't stop themselves from spewing advice at every tee. It gets old. Let's leave instruction to the instructors.
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Ditto. I learned a long time ago to shut my yapper on this one. Talk about dirty looks, and cold shoulders. :smile:
 
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.
 
I play mostly with one buddy and my wife and adult sons. I'm generally open to random advice, and one of my sons is, but my wife and my other son basically are not.

My wife taught me a few years ago not to say anything, but at the same time I was teaching my youngest son to play and he was drinking up everything I was showing him. It was REALLY hard to turn the advice switch on and off like that! To confuse things more I still had my daughter at home (11-12th grade), and she wanted the advice when she wanted it, and didn't when she didn't... :rolleyes:

The human dynamic is complex, but I think advice in the pool room falls into what us IT Security guys call a 'deny all, permit by exception' rule. If you're actually in a teaching role (instructor), semi-teaching role (parent), you can work that out - but otherwise...
 
Straightpool_99 said:
Another thread inspired me to start this one. Throughout the years I have on many occations offered unsolicited advice
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I knew where this was going right at that point. Really. :grin:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lauren-cahn/surprisingly-valuable-adv_b_6061798.html

http://attitudereconstruction.com/2013/07/stop-giving-unsolicited-advice/



The human dynamic is complex, but I think advice in the pool room falls into what us IT Security guys call a 'deny all, permit by exception' rule. If you're actually in a teaching role (instructor), semi-teaching role (parent), you can work that out - but otherwise...
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I really like that. :thumbup:



.
 
I play 10 ball races to 9 every Saturday with the same guy. We don't gamble.
I beat him 9-3 9-5 or so every set every Saturday.
Once in awhile I show him the right way to shoot a shot he messed up on and am met with a lack of interest.
And I don't do this every time I see a mistake I know that's annoying.
Maybe once or twice in 3 sets when it's so bad I can't help myself.
Is it his ego or just human nature?
He knows I play a couple levels above him.
Funny thing is after playing this game for 56 years I would love to share and pass along some knowledge but it seems nobody wants it.
All they have to do is ask.Offering it unsolicited is a big no no.
Too bad.
 
measureman said:
I play 10 ball races to 9 every Saturday with the same guy. We don't gamble.
I beat him 9-3 9-5 or so every set every Saturday.
Once in awhile I show him the right way to shoot a shot he messed up on and am met with a lack of interest.
And I don't do this every time I see a mistake I know that's annoying.
Maybe once or twice in 3 sets when it's so bad I can't help myself.
Is it his ego or just human nature?
He knows I play a couple levels above him.
Funny thing is after playing this game for 56 years I would love to share and pass along some knowledge but it seems nobody wants it.
All they have to do is ask.Offering it unsolicited is a big no no.
Too bad.
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I'm not trying to sound insulting, but if you keep offering him advice and he shows no interest, you should ask yourself the same question. Is it YOUR ego or just human nature? Again, no offense.
 
What I find even more maddening isn't the person giving the unsolicited advice, but more so the person who asks for advice, then tells you that you're wrong! You know I might be....but if you are asking me for advice, at least hear me out and try it. Might be surprised to see there's a reason you've been drilling balls into rails for the past 10 years.
 
easy-e said:
I'm not trying to sound insulting, but if you keep offering him advice and he shows no interest, you should ask yourself the same question. Is it YOUR ego or just human nature? Again, no offense.
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Thats a good question that I have thought about before.
I am egotistical about the game because I do know it well.
Sometimes I just can't stand it and I have to open my mouth even though I know I shouldn't.
I'm almost 69 years old and sometimes I just don't care and i do it anyway.
You know how old guys get.
Maybe I should just be quiet and let him make the same mistakes over and over.
 
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djv122385 said:
What I find even more maddening isn't the person giving the unsolicited advice, but more so the person who asks for advice, then tells you that you're wrong! You know I might be....but if you are asking me for advice, at least hear me out and try it. Might be surprised to see there's a reason you've been drilling balls into rails for the past 10 years.
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I know the feeling. And on the rare occasions that I show someone how I would play a shot I always say "Have you thought about this way?"
And then I get "I always shoot it this way"
In my my head I'm thinking you have been doing it wrong or the hard way for ever and it rarely works.
But out loud I say just try it this way next time and see if you think it's better.
:banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
Same subject different game.
Golf.
When i first started I was more than miserable. I would shoot in the 120's.
But I listened to better golfers that i played with. If we had a couple minutes before teeing off on a hole they would show me how to hold the club,ball position and stance on basics like chipping around the green. Or how to get out of the sand.
Fast forward a couple of years and I could have a couple high 80's rounds here and there but most of the time I was a mid 90's golfer.
Not great but good enough for a week end hacker.
 
I would stop playing with someone that constantly gave unsolicited advice during a game. If you're teaching someone, then you're teaching them. If you're playing someone, even if it's just a friendly game, it is EXTREMELY disrespectful to interrupt the match and to launch into a lesson. Could you imagine any pro doing that? Show your opponent the respect he deserves. If you have something helpful to say, save it for after the match and you might find a more receptive audience.
 
No offense but unless you are a pro yourself who are you to be giving advice? If I don't know you how do I even know if the advice you are giving me is right and worth following? Me personally I'm all for the pro's in my pool hall offering advice but other than that I'm all set. If I want help I'll pay one of those pro's for lessons. This is just my opinion
 
measureman said:
Thats a good question that I have thought about before.
I am egotistical about the game because I do know it well.
Sometimes I just can't stand it and I have to open my mouth even though I know I shouldn't.
I'm almost 69 years old and sometimes I just don't care and i do it anyway.
You know how old guys get.
Maybe I should just be quiet and let him make the same mistakes over and over.
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I may be moving to Denver this fall, and I'd gladly listen to any advise that you offer. Any good rooms out there?
 
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