What inspires you and what doesn't to continue to play ?

Rich93 said:
For me competition is a necessary requirement to keep me playing and wanting to improve.

I played in high school at the local bowling alley/pool room, then gave up the game until I bought a house and got a table of my own. That was almost 30 years ago. When I got the table I told myself "Now I'm really going to get good at this game." But I learned that playing and practicing by yourself gets boring pretty quickly, and most years the table sat idle.

It wasn't until I joined the two Chicago straight pool leagues that the desire really came back. That was about a year ago. It's much easier to practice now that I have an incentive.

Gambling on pool is a good incentive also, but I was never a gambler at pool - I don't have the nerves for it. (Neither here nor there, but I used to be a gambler in the biggest casino of them all - commodity futures. You can lose big money there, but not because your hand moves a millimeter off course).
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Nerves will get you every time, trust me I know. There is no magic potion that you can
take when you get nervous. The only thing that works, at least for me is keep on
playing. It's like beating a dead horse. The more you do it the less nervous you will get.
Anyway, let's go back to inspiration. It's good that 14.1 league got your blood pumping.
One more word, if you can achieve something in this game, just go and do it. Don't let
it slip away.
 
i don't book a whole lot of winners but the little cash i do win keeps me motivated. i keep track by how i'm doing at the end of the week. last week i was up 180.
 
competition

I think playing pool league makes me want to quit playing all together. I don't get any enjoyment out of playing pool league anymore. I haven't been playing but maybe once a week at most and goto pool league and for some reason I'm still winning....wonder why?... Not high enough competition...Regional tourney's like the GSBT and the Jacoby tour inspire me to play because it's like I'm a small fish in a big pond rather than a big fish in a little pond(like I feel when I play league)
 
poolmaster said:
I have played open/pro speed players and won (even up) and turn around
and lose to a C or B player. How sad is that?

Poolmaster
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Before I could finish reading the sentence, I thought, yeah ... so ... you're playing nine ball. Sure it takes skill, but it's also loaded with luck.

Trying to be great at nine ball is like trying to be great at poker. You aren't going far if the cards aren't cooperating.

What inspires me and gives me desire is to run 100 balls in straight pool. That's simply a goal I can continue to shoot for and spark my game.

If the sport reverted to 14.1 as the championship game you wouldn't be wanting to jump off a cliff getting beat even by "C" players. Cause it simply wouldn't happen. A serious degree of luck is removed from the equation playing straight pool as opposed to bang and smash 9 ball, that IMO reduces an otherwise wonderful, complex sport into a crap shoot.
 
3andstop said:
Before I could finish reading the sentence, I thought, yeah ... so ... you're playing nine ball. Sure it takes skill, but it's also loaded with luck.

Trying to be great at nine ball is like trying to be great at poker. You aren't going far if the cards aren't cooperating.

What inspires me and gives me desire is to run 100 balls in straight pool. That's simply a goal I can continue to shoot for and spark my game.

If the sport reverted to 14.1 as the championship game you wouldn't be wanting to jump off a cliff getting beat even by "C" players. Cause it simply wouldn't happen. A serious degree of luck is removed from the equation playing straight pool as opposed to bang and smash 9 ball, that IMO reduces an otherwise wonderful, complex sport into a crap shoot.
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There isn't that much luck in 9 ball! i've played and watched enough 9 ball to know that the better player usually wins. if you're talking about guys that run 4-5 balls on average and only go for shitting in combos then yeah it could come down to luck
 
poolplayer2093 said:
There isn't that much luck in 9 ball! i've played and watched enough 9 ball to know that the better player usually wins. if you're talking about guys that run 4-5 balls on average and only go for shitting in combos then yeah it could come down to luck
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poolplayer2093 ... Isn't that what we're talking about? A "C" player or "B" player who misses and figures he's better off smashing at them than trying to play an intricate safety?

That's the guy he's loosing to. Let that same guy go smash open a rack of straight pool and see how he makes out luck wise.
 
3andstop said:
poolplayer2093 ... Isn't that what we're talking about? A "C" player or "B" player who misses and figures he's better off smashing at them than trying to play an intricate safety?

That's the guy he's loosing to. Let that same guy go smash open a rack of straight pool and see how he makes out luck wise.
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B players are going to run out a lot more than they're going to try to cheese a ball in. imo so is a C player.

from what i've seen only beginners try to fire the 9 in all the time.
 
poolhustla61508 said:
I think playing pool league makes me want to quit playing all together. I don't get any enjoyment out of playing pool league anymore. I haven't been playing but maybe once a week at most and goto pool league and for some reason I'm still winning....wonder why?... Not high enough competition...Regional tourney's like the GSBT and the Jacoby tour inspire me to play because it's like I'm a small fish in a big pond rather than a big fish in a little pond(like I feel when I play league)
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yea thats like me lol i play League 3 nites a week an i don.t get any Enjoyment out of it what keeps me winning is i wanna keep being the best i can be in that session an get all the Awards...allso i like being a small fish in a big pond so i can get better an improve

once i start going to alot more big tournaments i.ll start practicing alot more like 3 hours a day everyday i guess i don.t get out an practic enough becuz i know i.m good enough to win around here lol if that makes any sence i know it sounds stupid i should get out an practice anyways an i will anyways ...take care an keep practicing an improving don.t quit
 
a mental game??

mullyman said:
In all fairness both games are the same. There is no opponent other than yourself. It doesn't matter if Efren Reyes and Earl Strickland are both sitting across the table from you waiting to shoot. As long as they are in their chair they can't do anything to you. When they are at the table you are helpless to do anything for yourself. Your only true opponent is you. I don't go for the thought that gambling is tougher than tournaments or vice versa. Pool is pool. You gotta play your best game regardless of the situation.....if you want to win that is.

As for your comparison, think about it, one person gambling, learning their strengths and weaknesses or multiple partners not having a clue as to what is coming up next. The tournament sounds like a tougher engagement to me.
MULLY
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The game we play is said to be a very strong mental game for some at most. If you are to gamble either sums of your own money or someone elses money in my take of it instead of paying a $15 to three to four digit entry fee for a tournament usually at best the $5 to who knows what gambling match per game would obviously put much more pressure or mental demand on a player. Anyone who plays in a tournament knows what they have put in financially a one time fee and knows what return they can get out of it. In gambling what you put in varies and what you can get back also varies to a great degree. As well as sportsmanlike conduct must be followed in tournament play while in after hours matches these "rules" are often thrown out the window. I disagree with having at any time two world-class players as opponents in a standard game as it is a one vs. one match. Unless you are refering to a ring game vs. Efren Reyes, Earl Strickland, and myself? :rolleyes:
 
Watching Earl crush inspires.

Going to the poolroom and never seeing a penny bet, much less an opponent to bet with, ruins it.
 
My inspiration to play the game at a high level is:

If I don't I get to sit and watch my opponent drill me. I don't like this. I'd much rather being the person at the table, doing the drilling. It feels better.

If you want to be inspired. Take a few beatings. Lose all your money. If this doesn't inspire you to get better, give the game up. You'll never get where you want to go.
 
Lots of things inspire me, but playing better over time trumps them all.

What does not inspire me and makes me want to quit? SPEED POOL
 
robleyf7 said:
i play League 3 nites a week an i don.t get any Enjoyment out of it
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I don't understand. 3 nights a week, and you don't enjoy it? Is someone forcing you to play league? If I didn't enjoy doing something, I don't think I would sign up to do it 3 nights a week.

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

Steve
 
magic potion!!!

Gerry said:
I feel kinda funny writing this but I have been practicing lately to the point where I have issues getting up and going to work in the AM!...I told myself that by the new year I needed to have my game above and beyond where I have been in the past.

My back is killing me getting outta bed.....my wrists are aching.....and I wish I had the magic potion to let me keep on hitting balls!

Don't get me wrong....I'm playing GREAT!.....I just wish I had the resources to do this 15 years ago! :)


G.
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My magic potion is Ibuprofin( generic advil) It's no great secret but if you time the usage and push the recommended dosage the aches go away. I scoff at those people who say they take ibuprofin and when asked how much they say 1 or 2 a day. Within reason, increase dosage until the pain is moderated to tolerable levels. Otherwise it's a waste of money. Want to wake up feeling good? Take 2 or3 before you go to bed. Also helps
sleep. Better living through chemistry. :grin:
 
12310bch said:
My magic potion is Ibuprofin( generic advil) It's no great secret but if you time the usage and push the recommended dosage the aches go away. I scoff at those people who say they take ibuprofin and when asked how much they say 1 or 2 a day. Within reason, increase dosage until the pain is moderated to tolerable levels. Otherwise it's a waste of money. Want to wake up feeling good? Take 2 or3 before you go to bed. Also helps
sleep. Better living through chemistry. :grin:
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That's not good for your liver...
 
A suggestion I can make about keeping inspiration alive is to keep a pool journal. Keeping a record of your success and failures at the table will not only help you to improve but also provide you with a means to reinforce positive moments in your mind. The human mind is slippery beast and its easy to lose clarity of the moment you were in dead stroke. If you review a journal is becomes easier to revisit those moments when you were playing well and draw from them in times of need.
 
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The thing that inspires me the most is seeing the best players in the world and telling myself im gonna beat those guys. flame flame away...
 
ups and downs

AS it seems to everyone that losing to and/or playing badly against somebody your supposed to have a lock on is the ultimate discouragement. Actually watching the top pros on TV was kind of a bummer too because they make it look so easy. But I would sulk a bit and eventually get back to normal.:sorry:
But recently I found something that pumps me up . Streaming local pool tournaments show players who are closer to my skill levels. They miss balls that I could make and they shoot bad patterns when I see good alternatives and they shoot bad position when I would have played it differently. I really learn and gain confidence from watching imperfect play rather than the perfect play of the elite. These players could all beat me
but that's not the point . I think we learn and gain confidence through the mistakes of ourselves and of others. So I make a point of noting how I would have done better in those instances where I could have. My confidence and enthusiasm zoom upward again and I go out to hit the tables with my head held high.:)
 
I've read some really great posts, but I'm stuck here thinking something is wrong with me. My inspiration is so much different then alot of guys here. Sure I have goals to obtain 'titles' or levels of success but those are goals to make me go practice or drag myself to a local tournament after a hard day of work.

My inspiration comes from wanting to beat those guys with the huge egos and attitudes. To destroy the people who doubted me years before. To beat the old timers that never gave me the time of day and not just beat them but put a 5 pack on them. Look into their eyes while i'm at the table and to see the realization that they don't have a chance in hell.

I also draw on the people I put around me. My friends and mentors mean alot to me. I not only want to make them proud but I also want to be there for them, to let them know that they'll give up on themselves long before I give up on them.
 
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