When did you have your billiards epiphany?

Inzombiac

Inzombiac

...
Silver Member
I know some of you may have "got it" as soon as you had your first cue in your hand, but for me things don't come as fast. I started skateboarding when I was 12 years old, and did all right, but one day I went out for a session and I just GOT IT... like the board was an extension of my body. Everything was attuned and I felt like I could do anything.

I'm waiting for the same thing to happen with billiards cus I love it, maybe even more than skateboarding. I think I can make every shot but it doesn't always happen that way. I'm just gonna work hard and improve as best I can and hope that one day it becomes second nature.

So when did the game click for you?
 
Perhaps it was genetics or just the era I came up in!

For me it was at 9 years old when I watched my uncle play a game of straight pool with the local barber (whom I later found out was a polish champion) I was hooked and wanted to be able to play and enjoy this game as much as they did! :)
 
I used to have it, then I stopped playing for about 6 years. I just got serious again this year and it has been a real challenge to get my game back. I have been wondering if I was really as good as I remember being. The past few months I have been in a real slump except for practice sessions where it just clicks. My mental game has been horrible. This week things got a whole lot better. I won all my BCA league matches and I finally won in my straight pool league. I hope this is my billiard epiphany and I can keep on winning.
 
My "lesson"

When I was a young cocky lad of 15, my father took me down to visit our friend Willie and play some pool. I was having small runs of 15-25 and playing good safes. The score was 3-92. I thought "WOW I've arrived! I'm going to win this game for once!" Then Willie proceded to run 97 and out on me for the win. Later I found out that it had all been a setup by my father and Willie. That "lesson" changed my life forever. I started to practice relentlesly. :eek:
I owe a lot to my father and to Willie, and I miss them both very much. I don't think a day goes by when I don't think about both of them.:(
 
For me ...

When I learned good fundamentals and unlearned all of the bad habits I picked up.

Suddenly, I began to break and run more frequently, and my safes became more accurate and lockup. Players that knew me for a long time began to comment that my stroke was more smooth.

I'm still looking for another epiphany to get to the next level. Keep working at it. You'll get there. Best of luck!
 
omg, my big day? It's actually kinda funny when I think about it. I was hanging around Chelsea Billiards and these regulars there were all talking about how great Ginky was. At the time, Ginky was just beginning to show how talented he was. I saw him play every day but didn't know him at all at the time. I got really annoyed with the whole conversation because it was literally the same conversation these knuckleheads had every day so I said, "My God, I'm sick of this. You know, he's not that good. **** him. If I played that much, I'd beat his ass."


What's funny about it all is that after that day, I became much much better AND after that day, I grew a greater appreciation for how great a player Ginky is. What's more, Chelsea closed and eventually, we both ended up at Amsterdam Billiards so I got to know him pretty well. Not to say I want to take those words back because I realize they may have helped in my development but I do regret saying it about him! He is, in my opinion, one of the greatest players I've ever seen.
 
I think I understood the concept of pocketing balls at a very young age. I could see the angles, and make shots. I thought I could be pretty good. I went to pool school with RandyG several years ago, and had another epiphany...that I didn't know any where near what I thought I did. And here I am now, 45 years of playing experience, and finally figured out that I will always be learning more about the game, and how to play it right. So my latest epiphany is that "I still don't know what I don't know".
Steve
 
im happy to say i had mine this monday. :) after alot of help from azb in my fundamentals, and technique and video taping some games, i think i finally had my first big epiphany.
 
Inzombiac said:
I'm waiting for the same thing to happen with billiards cus I love it, maybe even more than skateboarding. I think I can make every shot but it doesn't always happen that way. I'm just gonna work hard and improve as best I can and hope that one day it becomes second nature.

So when did the game click for you?
Click to expand...
I suppose you could say that there are several epiphanies, depending on what your level of play is. Each is just "the next epiphany."

For me, I guess the one that stands out is the first time I saw a player not miss the shots he is supposed to make. It's when I changed from "I can make that shot," to "I don't miss that shot." And it starts with the simpler shots, not the harder shots.

It's when I added the following to my standard mantra:

It's not how a player handles the tough shots; it's how he handles the easy ones.

Fred
 
i've right form an early age had a deep fascination/love of cue sports. i used to watch the snooker religiously (still do), and every opportunity i could i'd play english pool in the pub with my dad.

few years later at a snooker club the english pool tables were taken so me and a mate played on this strange pool table with huge balls and huge pockets. we didn't know exactly what it was but we played basic eight ball. and pretty soon i knew i'd found my true game which i'd grow to love.

it was about a year or two later that i started taking it seriously and i had a sort of epiphany then - i knew i wanted to be at least half decent at pool and see what i'm capable of. i started downloading whatever pool videos i could and learned all the players - in particular it was Earl who inspired me - the way he plays that all out guns blazing attack game so beautifully is truly inspiring. when i watched earl i knew i was in love with the game, as opposed to just liking it.
 
My big realization of pool and what it means in life. I was watching a match where Efren was playing one pocket. He leans over to make a straight in shot into his pocket. The object ball is about 6-8 inches from the pocket and the cue ball is about another 12-15 inches back. He miscues and misses the ball. He just laughed at himself and sat down. It showed me two things. EVERYONE misses. and to have a good time..dont take it TOO seriously. I have enjoyed pool much more seeing "The Great One" leading by example.
 
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