What drives you guys?
- Thread starter SUPERSTAR
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Superstar,
Get thee to a single-shimmed table immediately (or a loose double-shim). The only thing exciting about straight pool is running balls, and you are handicapping yourself right from the get-go by playing on such a difficult table.
I firmly believe that correct straight pool (let alone enjoyable straight pool) simply cannot be played on such a table.
- Steve
Get thee to a single-shimmed table immediately (or a loose double-shim). The only thing exciting about straight pool is running balls, and you are handicapping yourself right from the get-go by playing on such a difficult table.
I firmly believe that correct straight pool (let alone enjoyable straight pool) simply cannot be played on such a table.
- Steve
So i go in, and seeing as it's the last chance for me to play for probably 2 weeks, i figure to try and take it seriously.
So i just keep on getting jammed up.
Raining outside, and the balls are just fighting me the whole way.
So i finally get to the 3rd rack, and next thing you know, i have 2 people in there walking up to me, and asking me to settle a bet on how much a cue weighs for a certain individual.
So i take the time to do that, and then in the process, they start arguing about strokes, and who can do what, and i miss, and that run goes nowhere.
Like anybody cares that i am trying to practice, but if i ask them to leave me alone, i'm the bad guy. Why do i even try.
When i finally get them off the table, i am just disgusted with how people have absolutely no respect sometimes.
Gotta love the world of pool.
So anyway, i am not thinking right, and i am torturing myself, and then i am punishing myself, and then i get over it, and start to get to the second rack with some frequency, but the balls are all sorts of disgustingly slimed up with the humidity.
So then i get on a run of 35, and miscue.
Then it's nothing but turkeys for an hour with the balls just wanting to crucify me, or me just committing suicide, and then i finally give off the vibe for people to leave me alone, and they do.
So when i finally have some peace of mind, i finally pull myself together and run an 84, only to have this happens.(85 if you count the break shot, 83 if you count the scratch)
Typical stuff, but considering that the rack before was all sorts of tied up.
I was lucky to negotiate my way out of it, just to HAVE a break shot.
When the scratch happened, a couple of people were shaking their heads like that's a rough way to go out, but i guess they didn't know that from the angle that i had, with the rail kicking like it was, it was huge.
But at least i held it together for a little bit.
We'll see how long this lasts.
So i just keep on getting jammed up.
Raining outside, and the balls are just fighting me the whole way.
So i finally get to the 3rd rack, and next thing you know, i have 2 people in there walking up to me, and asking me to settle a bet on how much a cue weighs for a certain individual.
So i take the time to do that, and then in the process, they start arguing about strokes, and who can do what, and i miss, and that run goes nowhere.
Like anybody cares that i am trying to practice, but if i ask them to leave me alone, i'm the bad guy. Why do i even try.
When i finally get them off the table, i am just disgusted with how people have absolutely no respect sometimes.
Gotta love the world of pool.
So anyway, i am not thinking right, and i am torturing myself, and then i am punishing myself, and then i get over it, and start to get to the second rack with some frequency, but the balls are all sorts of disgustingly slimed up with the humidity.
So then i get on a run of 35, and miscue.
Then it's nothing but turkeys for an hour with the balls just wanting to crucify me, or me just committing suicide, and then i finally give off the vibe for people to leave me alone, and they do.
So when i finally have some peace of mind, i finally pull myself together and run an 84, only to have this happens.(85 if you count the break shot, 83 if you count the scratch)
Typical stuff, but considering that the rack before was all sorts of tied up.
I was lucky to negotiate my way out of it, just to HAVE a break shot.
When the scratch happened, a couple of people were shaking their heads like that's a rough way to go out, but i guess they didn't know that from the angle that i had, with the rail kicking like it was, it was huge.
But at least i held it together for a little bit.
We'll see how long this lasts.
Barry Doc said:I'll never speak to you again while your practicing 14.1
To your credit , I will say that I've never seen you play so much 14.1 since
I've been coming to the room.
We can chat about AZ anytime.
It's the new cloth.
When it gets nasty, i will most likely quit till next year, cause they don't just get filthy, it's like filthy to the 10th power.
Instead of arguing your point about how boring the game is why don't you just accept the fact that everyone is different and likes different things and leave it at that? What kind of conversation is this? You trying to prove your point against people trying to prove theirs? No matter how boring you think the game is that will never change the fact that I like it......and vice versa.
MULLY
MULLY
mullyman said:
Not trying to prove anything to anyone.
Just trying to understand what drives the people that really REALLY enjoy the game.
Trying to adopt a different outlook on the game, if that's possible, so that i might better myself at it.
That's all.
if you can run 50 balls as you say ...find some tough competition and play to 100 ...learn the safety play ....the knack for looking for dead balls in the stack...learn about the ghost ball theory(ray martins book)i started playing in 1949 at age 14 and played for the nxt. 20 years ...growing up in nj with many top players..straight pool was king at that time..so i understand why you may find it boring...ive just begun playing again (about 2 yrs ago) after 30+ yrs. and found another player who has been playing 14.1 for 50 yrs...so it`s fun for us ..we play fouls on all balls and 3 scratches and take off the points ...we don`t talk at the table unless we are shooting ..we don`t want music or the tv ( thankfully the room we play in is seperated by the bar and in a room of 25 tables ..the 8 diamonds are mostly used by serious players ( mostly 9 ball ) hopefully you will play more 14.1 ..as you obviously have talent...
SUPERSTAR said:
I wonder if your game wouldn't take a fall if you focused moreso on it? Perhaps you're good at it because you don't get all uptight about your runs?
I was starting to like you in the NPR section, but now you run 50 without caring???!!! Now I hate you!....in a lovable sort of way.
Jeff Livingston
jerseybillG said:
Well, the number 1 problem i face now, is that i really don't have time to invest like i did when i was younger. So any competition is marred by time restraints.
There were years as a kid, where i spent more time at the pool hall then i did at home or anywhere else for that matter.
Those days are gone.
The only real reason i can think of that i moved away from 14.1 was that i was way more interested in action. And you could get 9 ball games for 5 or 10 a game, and 1 pocket games for 10 or 20, but straight pool was like a dead issue action wise.
Aside from those initial years where people were playing it cause Jimmy was around, when he left for Florida, it kind of died off.
Table time took up to much of any potential winning, and there was no real profit as a result, and i was more into trying to profit, then i was ever into loving the game.
Maybe that's a part of the problem, associating pool with action, instead of just focusing on pool itself.
chefjeff said:I wonder if your game wouldn't take a fall if you focused moreso on it? Perhaps you're good at it because you don't get all uptight about your runs?
I was starting to like you in the NPR section, but now you run 50 without caring???!!! Now I hate you!....in a lovable sort of way.
Jeff Livingston
I think that depends on the person. But with me, if i focus more, i play better, period. It's just that i need reasons to focus. Therein lies the problem.
Not caring isn't something associated in my mind with focus. It's associated with playing pool for 19 years, and having been down every road possible.
There comes a time where you just play, and that's it. You don't bother to get uptight, or upset at things, because pool is no longer the only thing in life. And you've seen all the highs and the lows, and stressed out about everything there is to stress about in pool, and it no longer phases you anymore.
Plus, I am not the type of person who cares about milestones.
I used to be, but i don't anymore.
BUT people translate who you are as a player, by your milestones, so despite not caring about them, there are reasons for people wanting to accomplish them.
You finally learn to let it go. If i play good, i play good.
If i play like junk, then i play like junk, but i will no longer waste energy on dwelling on the "why?" of such things.
Sure i get mad sometimes when someone craps a ball in or is consistently getting rolls making my life more difficult, but as far as my game is concerned and what i am capable of, i don't really focus on it. I know what I'm capable of, it's just a matter of if that translates into my play at the table or not.
When you are learning pool, it's like an addiction. It IS an addiction for lack of a better word, and you take it very seriously because your investing everything you have into it, so a 50 ball run might be a serious issue, like it was when i first ran over 50 balls like 17 years ago. But that gets old, especially when you've already run more then 50. Then it's like...so what.
I'd dare say, that if the pool culture where i play was all about 14.1, that i would have multiple multiple high runs over 100.
But considering that in the past say...10 years, i might have realistically played like 25 games of straight pool and practiced it like 25 times. It's not that big of a deal to me. We will see if that status ever changes.
understand the profit angle...my first 20 yrs. (in my prime ) we played ether 6 ball or 9 ball on the week-end and it afforded my girl/later wife lots of extra $ ...one xmas eve i played 8 ball on a barbox and took home $600...for 4hrs. would eqate to $1000 or 2 today .....but those days are gone ...and today i`m happy to run 20/30 balls i`m still fasinated by the game...
SUPERSTAR said:
So you ran more than 50 balls 2 years into your pool playing career? I find that hard to believe. I'm an A-class player that has been shooting pool for close to 25 years now and have spent the past 3 years, at least, devoting my time to straight pool and I've only run more than 50 twice.
Look, straight pool is a great game if it appeals to you. Obviously it doesn't. I don't think there is anything anyone can say to you to make you feel different about it. Personally, I don't see the appeal of 9-ball and I can't even begin to see the appeal of 8-ball. But that's just me and I'm fine with that. I spent my entire youth playing 9-ball and I've done everything with that game that I think I'm capable of. There is no interest for me in 9-ball anymore. Straight pool on the other hand beats me down every time I step to the table. I lost a game last night 75-30 and my highest run was 11. That's all the incentive I need to go back again tonight.
MULLY
mullyman said:
Well if you want to get technical, it's probably like 2 years and 3 months. So i should have said, 16 years and 9 months ago.
And i never said that it was easy, or technically correct 14.1 in any way.
For all intensive purposes, it was a hack/butchery of pool, and it was 52 balls to be precise, and it was a total fluke. I hit a gear and was playing over my head, crashed into everything the wrong way, and kept on coming out smelling like a rose. but it wasn't like i "earned it." Not even close. But it still happened.
It might have helped if i had said that i didn't run over 50 balls again for about another year after that, and then after that, i really never bothered to keep track.
But i will say, when i first started, that i was in the pool room from 12 or 1 in the afternoon, till like 4/5/6 in the morning, for approximately 3 or 4 years. like 5 days a week except when i had to work the crappy part time job or was with the girlfriend. ALL my spare time was spent in the pool hall.
So maybe the learning curve was quicker then someone who maybe goes and plays a couple of nights a week.
I for all intensive purposes, LIVED there, and i did pick up the game rather quickly.
To be perfectly honest, i think that with the right training, and the right environment, and 12 hours or more a day of play/competition and basically throwing the rest of your life down the toilet, you can take a novice that has some talent, and have them turn into a decent player in about a 1 1/2 years to 2 1/2 years. By decent, i mean a solid A-/B+ level.
Not everyone fits that bill, but for the ones with the right aptitude, it really doesn't take more than that.
And just to clarify, i was 1 of 3 individuals who came up in the room, who the owner thought had some talent, fostered it and encouraged it.
One of those individuals doesn't play pool anymore, and the others name is Corey Deuel.
Both myself and the guy who quit are open level players when we are playing our best.
As for Corey.....
But, you are so right about the 9 ball being a junk game.
The only reason i play it anymore, is cause 1) i don't have the discipline to play 14.1 all the time, and 2) 1 pocket is strictly a betting game and 3) the only tournaments that are ever held, are all 9 ball. So if i want to compete in a tournament format, what else is there?
Anyway, I will seek the answers that straight pool has to offer me.
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alstl said:
The game i most enjoy?
Probably bank pool.
But it's not a big game in Philadelphia. But it's one shot, call the pocket and it has to go clean, otherwise, it doesn't count. I think i like that aspect of the game the most cause it effectively takes the luck out of the game. The only luck is if you sell out shots and position when you miss. Basically in every other game unless specified, you can get lucky if it goes in the hole even if it crashed off of 50 balls
2nd is One Pocket for some type of wager that is good enough to keep my interest, otherwise, it's like watching paint dry, but i am a thinker by nature and i enjoy the strategy of the game. (i play a lot of chess)
3rd would be Back pocket 9 ball. Simply because of the nuances and intricacies of the game instead of the normal brain dead 9 ball.
4th would be 10 ball as it is just a little bit more difficult to negotiate then 9 ball.
5th would be 8ball cause there is at least some strategy to it but it's just too damn easy for a less skilled player to hang with a superior player. It is a great equalizer.
And last would be 9 ball which is a brain dead game. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 or 1,2,3,4,5-9 combo or 9 on the break you win or 1,2,3 play safe.
It's not that complicated.
You can train a chimp to run 9 balls. Takes no brain thought power whatsoever.
I believe i covered all the major disciplines aside from 14.1
14.1 is in the air.
I assume that after i'm all said and done, it will go whatever spot it has earned.
Ok.
Went in tonight, and hit balls for a couple of hours.
In that time, the 3 highest were 57, 43, and 42.
And this was on tables that despite having new cloth on them, were playing like swamps cause the door was wide open, and it was like plowing through tall wet grass.
It was really brutal. The balls were all sorts of filthy.
BUT, despite that, i did enjoy myself...for a little while anyway.
I think i know the reason for my overall displeasure with the game.
I think today just reinforced it.
It's not actually the game.
I enjoy playing the game and challenging myself, when i am alone.
Problem is, that people just can't shut the F up when i am practicing, and i constantly have to field people talking to me, or asking me questions, or just bothering me in general.
I'm actually wondering if anyone who plays this game has had a high run, when they weren't alone, or when they were in a game with someone else, where people actually had enough respect to leave them alone.
I also know that this happens a lot probably because it's in my home room.
Whenever i go to other rooms, people for the most part leave me alone, and watch. But i never went around to other rooms to play 14.1 It was always for a tournament or action.
So i think i understand it now.
I kind of DO understand where people are coming from.
It's just that to be in that frame of mind is not accomplished that easily, and it get shattered repeatedly when people distract me.
I don't really want to be an ass when i try to practice 14.1, but guess i will have to be.
I'm gonna get a t-shirt made up that says "shut up and leave me alone"
It might be the only way i get piece of mind.
Went in tonight, and hit balls for a couple of hours.
In that time, the 3 highest were 57, 43, and 42.
And this was on tables that despite having new cloth on them, were playing like swamps cause the door was wide open, and it was like plowing through tall wet grass.
It was really brutal. The balls were all sorts of filthy.
BUT, despite that, i did enjoy myself...for a little while anyway.
I think i know the reason for my overall displeasure with the game.
I think today just reinforced it.
It's not actually the game.
I enjoy playing the game and challenging myself, when i am alone.
Problem is, that people just can't shut the F up when i am practicing, and i constantly have to field people talking to me, or asking me questions, or just bothering me in general.
I'm actually wondering if anyone who plays this game has had a high run, when they weren't alone, or when they were in a game with someone else, where people actually had enough respect to leave them alone.
I also know that this happens a lot probably because it's in my home room.
Whenever i go to other rooms, people for the most part leave me alone, and watch. But i never went around to other rooms to play 14.1 It was always for a tournament or action.
So i think i understand it now.
I kind of DO understand where people are coming from.
It's just that to be in that frame of mind is not accomplished that easily, and it get shattered repeatedly when people distract me.
I don't really want to be an ass when i try to practice 14.1, but guess i will have to be.
I'm gonna get a t-shirt made up that says "shut up and leave me alone"
It might be the only way i get piece of mind.
OK. I have come to a decision.
After having had a heart to heart with myself about screwing my head on correctly and reflecting on what is really left for me to do in pool, I am going to actively pursue only practicing 14.1 from now on.
9ball and 10 ball will be practiced if there is a tournament coming up that i feel i might like to play in to warm up for it, and the usual 1 pocket will be played for the $$$.
Thank you everyone for all your input.
After having had a heart to heart with myself about screwing my head on correctly and reflecting on what is really left for me to do in pool, I am going to actively pursue only practicing 14.1 from now on.
9ball and 10 ball will be practiced if there is a tournament coming up that i feel i might like to play in to warm up for it, and the usual 1 pocket will be played for the $$$.
Thank you everyone for all your input.