US Open Miscue The Game

VVP

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Not that this is so for the pros, but some of the "penny ante" tournaments I go to, some guys want to practice the whole time before their match. Wont let anyone else get some swings in on the limited practice tables they have. I dont worry about it. I usually beat those guys anyway.
Getting in stroke is 99% mental anyway. I spend my time before a match grooming the mental side. Put the earbuds in, get relaxed, and listen to subliminal messages or self hypnosis recordings. Some of you may think its garbage, but I assure you I dont go to the table tense or apprehensive. My percentages show my best chance for a B&R (8 ball) is the first or second game.
The trapshooting pros take your kind of approach. They would go into a quite mode about 10 minutes before their turn and watch targets that are being shot and work on their breathing and eye exercise and do some stretches. I heard a commentator said that Biado was doing push ups and sit ups right before his match in the US Open finals. All you need is to get the muscles warmed up. A pro will learn nothing new on a practice table. Practice time on the actual table you will be playing on is of course useful to get a feel for the table.

I heard that Shane practice 3 hours before he plays. I think this is a bad thing because it can cause mental fatigue mostly as he gets older. A calm brain is your friend in any sport.
 

Tin Man

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The trapshooting pros take your kind of approach. They would go into a quite mode about 10 minutes before their turn and watch targets that are being shot and work on their breathing and eye exercise and do some stretches. I heard a commentator said that Biado was doing push ups and sit ups right before his match in the US Open finals. All you need is to get the muscles warmed up. A pro will learn nothing new on a practice table. Practice time on the actual table you will be playing on is of course useful to get a feel for the table.

I heard that Shane practice 3 hours before he plays. I think this is a bad thing because it can cause mental fatigue mostly as he gets older. A calm brain is your friend in any sport.
Almost all pro players like to hit balls before a match. We can theorize all day but generally the worlds best have figured ought what works for them.
 

VVP

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Almost all pro players like to hit balls before a match. We can theorize all day but generally the worlds best have figured ought what works for them.
I believe Efren plays cards or chess before a game he does not knock himself out practicing. Interesting to know how many Filipinos or Taiwanese practice for hours before a tournament.
 

Tin Man

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I believe Efren plays cards or chess before a game he does not knock himself out practicing. Interesting to know how many Filipinos or Taiwanese practice for hours before a tournament.
Efren may have played cards between matches when there were hours to kill, and he may not warm up if he's playing at Derby and has played 4 matches that day already. But if he is coming in cold against a top player for a big set I would think he hits a rack or two of balls.

I can't say that for certain. What I can say for certain is that the vast majority of competitive pool players hit a few balls before a big match.

I'm not even sure what people are arguing about. That the warm up I witness with my own eyes every tournament I go to doesn't actually happen, or that all of the best players in the world are doing it wrong? Just bizarre.
 

KAP1976

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Pool players love comparing this game to golf. “We’re just like golf. It’s just like golf,” practically like parrots.

Well, guess what professional golfers have access to before and after every round? Practice green and driving range. And guess what practically all of them do before every round?
 

VVP

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Efren may have played cards between matches when there were hours to kill, and he may not warm up if he's playing at Derby and has played 4 matches that day already. But if he is coming in cold against a top player for a big set I would think he hits a rack or two of balls.

I can't say that for certain. What I can say for certain is that the vast majority of competitive pool players hit a few balls before a big match.

I'm not even sure what people are arguing about. That the warm up I witness with my own eyes every tournament I go to doesn't actually happen, or that all of the best players in the world are doing it wrong? Just bizarre.
I am not arguing. I totally agree that you should be allowed to WARM UP before your match. The problem is if conditions do not allow tables to be available for all player to warm up equally then rules must be adhered to that gives everyone an equal chance. You can warm up by exercising, which while not ideal as playing on a table,, gets to the same goal of warming up your muscles. You presented the problem at the US Open but what is the solution?

Just curious, do they at least give you couple minutes to practice on the game table before you play?

Anyway, my problem is people talk in glowing terms of Shane practicing his break for 3 hours before his game. Any sport psychologist will tell you that over practice can lead to diminishing returns. Pros need to be mentally prepared for a match. They already know everything in terms of playing the game.
Earl also believes that at 60 years old he needs to practice 7 hours a day. I am positive he would be better off just practicing about 2 to 3 hours a day.
 

DDiabolico

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I don't get what OP wants to say. In the US Open every player had 2 minutes before the match for 'practice'. For a top player 2 minutes are enough to get a feel for the table and to warm up a bit. Most of them even have some special shots they're setting up to get warm, get a feel for the cloth and the rails, etc. Of course, for an amateur playing in this tournament for the 1st time 2 minutes of 'practice' time are pretty much useless, but would 10 or 20 minutes really be better?
 

lfigueroa

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At the DCC you can play 3 different events, which means you get to hit a lot of balls. You can warm up before your match if you want, and often there is an open table you can use for a few minutes here and there. I've never felt that I was iced at DCC.

The US Open not only didn't have an opportunity to practice, they had a rule against it. Even if you were at your table with 20 minutes to kill, they wouldn't let you hit balls to warm up. They were enforcing a two minute limit.

I'm not complaining, I'm just clarifying that this was not similar to anything else that's been run. With Matchroom there are many situations where people accept things "For the greater good". It wasn't a big issue for me, but it was definitely different.

That's fine if you're playing in all three events at the DCC -- but not if you've chosen to play in just one.

I think at The Open they're just trying to keep a level playing field, given the number of players involved.

Lou Figueroa
 

lfigueroa

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I don't get what OP wants to say. In the US Open every player had 2 minutes before the match for 'practice'. For a top player 2 minutes are enough to get a feel for the table and to warm up a bit. Most of them even have some special shots they're setting up to get warm, get a feel for the cloth and the rails, etc. Of course, for an amateur playing in this tournament for the 1st time 2 minutes of 'practice' time are pretty much useless, but would 10 or 20 minutes really be better?

I think this is on the money.

Being able to quickly adapt to different table conditions is a skill in and of itself that players need to develop. I have played in more than one tournament where from round to round you are shuffled from a GC to a Diamond, or from a table with old cloth to another with newer cloth, and you need to immediately adjust as best you can. And if you don't like the tournament rules, or can't adapt, don't go.

Lou Figueroa
 

DDiabolico

DDiabolico
In our league we normally get around 10-20 minutes table time before the match day starts and we often share the table with a team member or an opponent 'playing' Scotch doubles. Before all balls are off the table we take them out again and shuffle them around. No one around here is a professional and no one demands table time for her/himself. It's just about getting the stroke arm going.
I played in a few tournaments where practice was completely forbidden during the whole day. Hitting balls on an empty table could get you disqualified, even if the table has been empty for a long time.
 

Danimal

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At some of the old US Opens the players would warm up on the tv table, then sit for 45-50 mins while the Barry Show went on before staring the match!
 

Tin Man

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I am not arguing. I totally agree that you should be allowed to WARM UP before your match. The problem is if conditions do not allow tables to be available for all player to warm up equally then rules must be adhered to that gives everyone an equal chance. You can warm up by exercising, which while not ideal as playing on a table,, gets to the same goal of warming up your muscles. You presented the problem at the US Open but what is the solution?

Just curious, do they at least give you couple minutes to practice on the game table before you play?

Anyway, my problem is people talk in glowing terms of Shane practicing his break for 3 hours before his game. Any sport psychologist will tell you that over practice can lead to diminishing returns. Pros need to be mentally prepared for a match. They already know everything in terms of playing the game.
Earl also believes that at 60 years old he needs to practice 7 hours a day. I am positive he would be better off just practicing about 2 to 3 hours a day.

The OP pointed out that the US Open this year was unique in that officials stopped players from warming up even when the opportunity was there. This was the only tournament I've seen in my lifetime where this happened, scorekeepers and refs stopping players from warming up.

It is fair for everyone, yes. There are times at other tournaments where the opportunity to warm up isn't always present, true. If you don't have the chance to hit balls before a match there are things you can do to maximize your chances of a good performance, of course, and I think it's a healthy conversation to have.

But the main point of this thread was that it is unprecedented to see warm up capped at 2 minutes, and to see players waiting for 15-20 minutes by their open table for their match while being forbidden to hit balls. None of the players liked this. Zero. I didn't care for it myself. If I don't get a chance to warm up because we need to keep the tournament moving that is one thing, but I don't think anyone understood this rule.

The question is whether we would like to see this rule in the future. I am not a fan of it. It's not a deal breaker, and I'm not suggesting the US Open was a failure. This was a relatively manageable hurdle. It was just a strange rule that players hadn't seen before that none of us liked.

For those who feel differently, can you explain to me the benefits of this rule? If you are a tournament director and players are waiting by their open tables, is there a good reason to prohibit them from warming up? When all the players oppose a policy it might be a good idea for the reasoning behind it to be explained.
 
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