Whats the worst thing?

Cdryden

Cdryden

Pool Addict
Silver Member
What is the worst thing that you have had happen to your game? The one thing that has had the most negative impact on the way you play.
Was it a bad beat, drugs, getting old, eyes going bad or a accident that left you impaired? Or maybe you got married to someone who didn't share your love of the game.


The reason I ask is that I am writing an article for my blog about my own experience and I was wondering what others have gone through.

So lets hear some stories from folks that have been playing for awhile, what was your one thing?
 
My worst day playing pool was better than my best day working.

I'm a retired old guy, 68...so yeah, I curse the way my body has "changed", but it beats hell out of the alternative.

Just keep stroking, folks...
 
Cdryden said:
So lets hear some stories from folks that have been playing for awhile, what was your one thing?
Click to expand...

If I can only name ONE thing, then I'm going to have to do a major generalization: My physical capabilities.

Now if I may break that down into seperate items, the list gets longer, but each and every item on the list is and of itself a contributor of my pool-shooting woes. The list includes:

Poor eyesight (easily the most damaging to my game)

Chronic back stiffness/spasms (tough to stay down long)

Not one but TWO bad shoulders (surgeries) that cause limited range-of-motion

Damaged vertabrae in my neck (causing stiffness which make it hard to look down a cue)

These physical problems are a combination of advancing age (59) and the fact that I worked in a factory for 30 years walking 8-10 hours a day on a concrete floor while using many types of power tools and spot-weld guns. The two are taking a toll on my body and my pool game.

Maniac
 
Alcohol

Cdryden said:
What is the worst thing that you have had happen to your game? The one thing that has had the most negative impact on the way you play.
Was it a bad beat, drugs, getting old, eyes going bad or a accident that left you impaired? Or maybe you got married to someone who didn't share your love of the game.


The reason I ask is that I am writing an article for my blog about my own experience and I was wondering what others have gone through.

So lets hear some stories from folks that have been playing for awhile, what was your one thing?
Click to expand...

When I was a young man, alcohol "impaired" lots in my life, including pool. Now, nearing seventy, it's my eyes, my memory and my endurance.

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor
 
I turned 18( legal drinking age back then) started playing in bars instead of pool halls. Then someone asked" how do you aim". I never thought about how I aimed before. Once I started thinking. My game went downhill.

Larry
 
In my case, the answer is arthritis in my hands and fingers.

It's not so painful that I can't play anymore, but it makes it less comfortable to play and the minor pains can, at times, take some of the fun out of playing the game I love and can distract me from focusing fully on the game.
 
1. Endurance.

I started to think about how I aim and which ball I was looking at last before striking the CB and went down hill.

Went back to just hitting the balls in and everything is better than ever.

I still can't tell you which ball I look at last, the mere thought of it might put me back in a bad spell of some sort.:sorry:
 
I guess you could say my worst day playing pool was when I lost in nationals to a worse player. It hasn't had a negative impact on my game though. All it did was make me angry and now my game has gone through the roof because of it.

In other news- I just got finished watching The Color Of Money for the first time and I've begun wondering whether I should try my hand at hustling.
 
Unscrupulous people have deterred me from placing more emphasis on playing pool on a broader basis and working harder at improving.

I have met a lot of terrific people in pool, but unfortunately the deeper you get into pool, the more you have to face the fact that there's a lot of other people that will shark, lie, cheat and steal. :mad:
 
Worst thing: learning to play
pool at home with parents that
didn't support professional instruction
in anything except school.

Best thing: a girl friend in college
who knew what she was doing and
supported professional instruction.

Bad habits have hurt my game throughout
my life.
 
Gosh, this is a great question.

I was going to say life changing things (getting married then divorced, and the loss of my Mom) but in reality, those things only kept me from the game for a period of time, and that didn't hurt my game. It only hurt my consistency, which I got back when I started to play more again.

So I think for me, alcohol is my one thing. I play better when I'm sober. But that's not all! I play SO MUCH even BETTER when I'm not hung over. Thinking clear with a good nights sleep beats any night staying up late and drinking too much when I'm trying to play my best in a tournament.
 
Donny Lutz said:
When I was a young man, alcohol "impaired" lots in my life, including pool. Now, nearing seventy, it's my eyes, my memory and my endurance.

Donny L
PBIA/ACS Instructor
Click to expand...

Seems I am a lot like Donny but add Crystal Meth to counteract the booze. in my 60's its my eyes and my back, the back cutting into endurance.

There is no doovers for the past, I am trying to overcome the eyes and back. I want one more great weekend in the game I however need to do a lot to get that want. Strictly a matter of how bad I want it.
 
I was quite a good young pool player back in the late 80's early 90's. Me and a buddy would go to places where we knew money games were available. I had a 2nd shift job, so went after work to a 24 hour diner that had a couple pool tables. We had gone there quite frequently. Played lights out, won quite a bit of cash and was on top of the world heading home at 8am.

Got home and had a message on my answering machine to call my dad urgently. My grandmother was brought to the hospital and wasn't expected to live through the day. My dad knew I had been out all night and refused to let me drive out to the hospital. I didn't get to see her before she passed.

I went from a great high to an extreme low in a very short period of time. It sapped me of my passion for gambling and pool for some time.

Gladly, I am back in the game again (after a marriage, kid, divorce cycle). As I was very good as a kid, I did retain enough to still do reasonably well. But don't have the time to play as much as I did as a teen.
 
In my case, it would have to be BURN OUT.

I've been playing for 50 yrs. now. Back in my 30's, I hit the road for a few years and it was my living. I remember the exact moment I hit the wall. I was playing a guy $20/game 9 ball. Had him stuck close to $300 when I realized I just didn't care anymore whether I won or lost.

This was back in the day when you didn't quit winner. I had a three ball easy out when it hit me. I raised up and said, "I'm done." When he realized I was quitting, he got upset. I told him I would give him all of his money if he wanted it but I was done.

The game was no fun anymore. I had lost all passion for it which I thought would never happen.

I didn't pick up a pool cue again for almost three yrs. until some of the passion for the game came back.

Over the years, I've walked away from the game for shorter periods of time. Actually, I just started playing again lately after retiring as the tour director of the Fast Eddie's 9 Ball Tour a couple of years ago.

I have noticed as the older I get, it takes longer each time to get back in stroke.

Now, I play with friends, once a week on a league and gamble a little just as a way to keep score. I have to say it's fun again. When it isn't, I'll find something else to be passionate about.


Stones
 
Last edited:
Cdryden said:
What is the worst thing that you have had happen to your game? The one thing that has had the most negative impact on the way you play.
Was it a bad beat, drugs, getting old, eyes going bad or a accident that left you impaired? Or maybe you got married to someone who didn't share your love of the game.


The reason I ask is that I am writing an article for my blog about my own experience and I was wondering what others have gone through.

So lets hear some stories from folks that have been playing for awhile, what was your one thing?
Click to expand...

I started making cues . :rolleyes:
 
Time & Technology and the booze to.

The thing that hurt the most was the unavailability of training material if I had had the internet and youtube when I was young I firmly believe I would be a world beater today. But when I started pool (good pool) was a dark secret.
 
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