Was I wrong at league the other night?

catscradle

catscradle

<< 2 all-time greats
Silver Member
This league I play in has a lot of people in it that just don't know much about pool etiquette, for that matter neither does the management or the wait staff wondering around. Every week I put up with it and try to wait for people to stop chattering right next to me or get out of my line of sight, etc. This week we were playing a team of fairly accomplished players who've been around the game a while and should know better and I was expecting better. Well I didn't get better and I put up with it all night and I was having a tough night anyway. During my last game, I'm over a critical shot and the most experienced and best player on their team is down the other end of the table, maybe 8 or 9 feet from me, chattering away loudly about my opponent's last shot. I just lost it, I stopped and waited and made a snide remark when they finally stopped; but by then I was so pi$$ed that it was over. I got the first 2 of a 4 ball run that should have got me out, but missed the third one, a difficult bank because I got lousy position because I was po'd. I had another couple of lousy shots, but it was too late to make a tough shot by then. After the game I let into the guy and he hollered back at me about everybody does it here or something like that. I wanted to reply with something like "if everybody jumped off a bridge ..." or "you've been around you should know better...", but I didn't really get a chance because my nearby teammate jumped in accusing him of sharking (which I don't think he was doing), then they were off and I was out of the "discussion".

At any rate, part of the problem was my level of play that night against a player I should have at least played even, but was I wrong to expect better just because the guy has been around and was I wrong to be po'd.?

Cats. <== Had his fur up!
 
This is just my opinion and it won't be agreed on by many...

Professional bowlers bowl all their lives in noisy bowling alleys. Their elimination rounds are played in noisy conditions. But when and if they make the t.v. show, they expect quiet conditions. I have seen a LOT of professional bowlers get pi$$ed of at a spectator for some bit of noise they made, usually after a bad shot was thrown. Good gosh man, focus for crying out loud. You've bowled with noise before. Don't blame poor 'ol Joe Blow over in the stands for your bad shot.

It's the same to me in a league being held in a bar. There's the possibility of loud music. There is always people walking by the table on the way to the head. There's the waitresses going to and fro serving drinks. And of course, there is always the a$$hole that talks too loud (more often than not has had too much to drink). It's just part of the bar scene. You just gotta get used to it and accept it for what it is, a bar. You need to find a way to block this crap out or it's gonna bother you from now on (it may even get to where it bothers you more). All I can say in the way of advice is, try and stay focused on the task at hand and make the table and your body as one entity. Good luck!!!

Maniac
 
  • Like
Reactions: MFB
Yes, a lot of folks need to learn better etiquette.

Yes, a lot of wait staff in pool-centric rooms and bars need to learn when to walk past a table and when to wait. :)

But -

You *let* this stuff get to you. You let it affect your mental game, and pool is a HUGELY mental game.

You had every right to ask the other player to chill out while you were shooting. But IMHO you also need to get yourself to that mental state where you just zone that sort of stuff out. There's two participants in a shark (even unintentional sharking) - the guy doing sharking, and the guy letting himself get sharked. Sharking only works if both folks participate. Don't participate! :)
 
I've only been involved with two or three leagues, so I'm definitely not an expert on the subject, but I can say that none of the leagues I've played in were subject to overabundant etiquette. The people who took it seriously were always having to put up with the ones who didn't, and some of the ones who did take it seriously would try to shark people because they knew that they could get away with it. I think there is a positive side to this, though.

When I started playing seriously, I had to play in a bowling alley (the only place around that had pool tables), but this place could've more accurately been been called a daycare about half the time because there were usually about 20 young children running around with virtually no supervision. Between the "mister, can I have a quarter" requests, the crashing pins, crashing balls, kids playing tag, and their drunk parents staggering back and forth between the bathroom and bar, concentration was very hard to muster. I didn't have any real control over those things, though (just as you don't have any real control over your league opponents), and I eventually learned to block them out.

Nowadays I will occassionally finish a rack to find my opponent staring at me expectantly, only to find out that they've been talking to me for the last two minutes and I haven't heard a word of it. I can also probably count on one hand all the times I've been successfully sharked over the years. Granted, there are times when you can't help but notice that someone is trying to shark you, but I would recommend trying to turn the situation around and use it to build your concentration and mental toughness. It's a good feeling to just ignore the would-be shark and run out. Then they get to go home knowing that not only did they employ an unethical tactic, but they got beat while doing it.

Oh, and I would also recommend wearing a hat if you don't already. Depending on your stance, the bill may block out a good portion of what's going on in the background.

Good luck!
 
Last edited:
if i am really into my game and concentrating on what i am doing, you could set off a m80 on the next table and it would not bother my shot. if you are going to play in bars there is going to be noise, so get into your game, keep your head down concentrate on your shot and all those distractions will go away. chuck
 
ScottW said:
Yes, a lot of wait staff in pool-centric rooms and bars need to learn when to walk past a table and when to wait. :)
Click to expand...

Amen! Every pool room owner should make this part of their initial training for wait staff, imo. I don't know how many times I've had a waiter or waitress walk right up to me when I'm down on a shot, hold out their hand (the one with my Newcastle in it) and say "that's three-fifty". Arrrggghh.
 
Aaron_S said:
Oh, and I would also recommend wearing a hat if you don't already. Depending on your stance, the bill may block out a good portion of what's going on in the background.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

This sounds like good advice if you can stand to wear a hat while you play. I've always worn a hat to keep the glare of the table light from causing a glare in my glasses. I never even considered that it must also block out distractions.

Maniac
 
catscradle said:
This league I play in has a lot of people in it that just don't know much about pool etiquette, for that matter neither does the management or the wait staff wondering around. Every week I put up with it and try to wait for people to stop chattering right next to me or get out of my line of sight, etc. This week we were playing a team of fairly accomplished players who've been around the game a while and should know better and I was expecting better. Well I didn't get better and I put up with it all night and I was having a tough night anyway. During my last game, I'm over a critical shot and the most experienced and best player on their team is down the other end of the table, maybe 8 or 9 feet from me, chattering away loudly about my opponent's last shot. I just lost it, I stopped and waited and made a snide remark when they finally stopped; but by then I was so pi$$ed that it was over. I got the first 2 of a 4 ball run that should have got me out, but missed the third one, a difficult bank because I got lousy position because I was po'd. I had another couple of lousy shots, but it was too late to make a tough shot by then. After the game I let into the guy and he hollered back at me about everybody does it here or something like that. I wanted to reply with something like "if everybody jumped off a bridge ..." or "you've been around you should know better...", but I didn't really get a chance because my nearby teammate jumped in accusing him of sharking (which I don't think he was doing), then they were off and I was out of the "discussion".

At any rate, part of the problem was my level of play that night against a player I should have at least played even, but was I wrong to expect better just because the guy has been around and was I wrong to be po'd.?

Cats. <== Had his fur up!
Click to expand...

If you let the guy "get in your ear" it's not his fault.
Learn to ignore anything that isn't on the table.
 
catscradle said:
At any rate, part of the problem was my level of play that night against a player I should have at least played even, but was I wrong to expect better just because the guy has been around and was I wrong to be po'd.?

Cats. <== Had his fur up!
Click to expand...


You were wrong to be po'd if it ruined your game.
 
If you are competing in an environment such as a pool hall or bar you deal with what you have, if talking,music or people walking around the table bothers you...you are in the wrong place to be competing, that is part of the game. Lack of focus is a personal issue for you and that is what you need to work on. In fact you should play more in environments that have distractions and embrace the fact you CANNOT change the distractions and accept them and in time they should become less and less noticeable. Blaming distractions for losing is an excuse for losing and not taking responsibility for you own performance failure.

Wherever I compete I always embrace the environment....

By the way, it might be a good idea to say, "Hey I'm sorry" to those that you yelled at.
 
Try playing pool tourneys in a Karaoke Bar like I play at. Every night after 9PM, which is about when you start getting to the later rounds. Once you can concentrate and block out someone slaughtering Sweet child of mine by Guns 'n' Roses you can block out some raised voices nearby. People hate playing there because of it, but I like it because it makes you concentrate harder.
 
I wouldn't apologize.

We're not talking about spectators here, we're talking about the other pool players. There is a difference between chatting lightly on the side and standing in an opponents line of view talking super loud.

Next time do it back to him and see how quickly he gets pissed off. It's usually the ones who do that type of stuff who get the most mad when it's done to them.

Complaining about background noise, waitreses, etc is one thing but a fellow player shouldn't be acting like a tard in a tournament.
 
What's wrong with

Shut the hell up and sit down, and that's before I get mad ... lol
 
control yourself

It sounds simplistic, but it's not that easy....
One thing we know is that we can't control everything outside of ourselves, but we can try to control ourselves.....If you can focus to the point where you can't really hear what's going on around you...then I believe you are in that "zone" that all poolplayers want to be in....Besides, seems to me if you are looking for things that bother you while you're shooting, you will find them everywhere.....and what do you think some people will do if they know you are bothered by the various things and they can affect your shooting abilities?
 
HIRUN526 said:
If you are competing in an environment such as a pool hall or bar you deal with what you have, ...

Wherever I compete I always embrace the environment....

By the way, it might be a good idea to say, "Hey I'm sorry" to those that you yelled at.
Click to expand...

I for the most part have adapted to this place. When the all girls team literally screams about a game won, I just wait it out then continue. When we play a team of young semi-drunk kids, I wait them out. The problem is I expect better of a team of people I would call "pool players" not matter what environment they're in. I don't get mad at the inconsiderate help, or the punks, or the loud jukebox, it's people who should know better that get on my nerves. I kind of looked forward to playing this team and expected better.
 
GTeye said:
I wouldn't apologize.
....
Click to expand...

I have no intention to, though I will apologize to my opponent himself, he didn't deserve the grief. However, the other guy I have no intention of even speaking to except as is absolutely required. If he would apologize to me... but that won't happen in a thousand years.
 
Me personally, I am of the mind set, the noise and people walking around, should not come into play.

Block it out. Learn to ignore it and dismiss it as white noise. I use to let it get to me, and I found over time, that waiting someone out, to either move away from the table or to stop talking, threw off my game more then just letting it go.

I now play what a good author dubbed Shhhhh Pool in the book playing off the rails. I try not to say a word, or listen to the others around. It improves my concentration and I have less outside bull lto deal with..
 
catscradle said:
[...] This week we were playing a team of fairly accomplished players who've been around the game a while and should know better and I was expecting better. Well I didn't get better and I put up with it all night and I was having a tough night anyway. During my last game, I'm over a critical shot and the most experienced and best player on their team is down the other end of the table, maybe 8 or 9 feet from me, chattering away loudly about my opponent's last shot. [...]
Click to expand...

You're not gonna like this response ;-)

Our league night is comprised pretty much only of reasonable serious players-- 48 people playing on a dozen tables.

It's not really like a tournament. People are serious about it, to be sure, but it's also somewhat raucous. I might have the people next to me joking loudly. There may be five people flipping coins two tables away to see who gets to buy a round of cherry bombs. It's no big deal. That kind of stuff doesn't bother any of us, so far as I know. People walk back and forth in your line of vision all the time. It's actually worse, imo, to be down on the shot and realize somebody stopped abruptly to wait for me to shoot.

There is an etiquite. My opponent's going to be usually sitting down quietly when I'm shooting. But he might be off to get a drink or talking to someone else. What he won't do is be in my space or talking to me.

mike page
fargo
 
Im confused

Sounds more like you are playing in a bar league than a serious pool league. If that is the case just try and have fun. Most people are not playing in a bar league to get better or to be a champion. Most people are just going to drink and have fun with thier friends. I would suggest if you are getting this upset then you are taking the game too seriously compared to the people you are playing against. If everyone else is drunk/ drinking and laughing and yelling it just sounds more like a party.

Note...to those of you that complain about waitresses behavior during pool. Please remember, they work on tips and volume. Waiting for a polite time all night to give someone a bill will decrease thier tips and their commisions. Waiting will cut their pay by a LOT! They have to get the money as quickly as possible to move on to the next customer. Would you feel better if every drink was $2.00 higher? or if there was a $10 cover to go to all the waitresses? The wait staff might only have 3-4 hours to make all thier tips for the night and spend 4 hours making nearly nothing after league is over. Being pushy is a natural evolution of the system of paying $1.80/ hour plus tips. Give the waitress a $100.00 tip every time she waits for you to finish shooting. Believe me, you will never be interrupted again. Never.
 
You're burning focus seems like a flickering candle. Blinders and earmuffs. Never show the enemy weakness and never listen to any voice that isn't screaming WIN. Take responsibility for your poor play. The reason you were po'd wasn't because the other team was making noise, you were po'd because you weren't in the zone. If you were shooting lights out would you have heard a single word of it?. Blinder and earmuffs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top