When do you think a player is considered a good player?

[Cameron Smith]

What is a good player?

It depends on who is saying it. "Good" is a point of view. In golf it is easy to know whether or not you are any good. Every hole there is a sign telling you how many strokes it should take you to finish. If you aren't meeting these challenges you ain't any good.

I have a friend who is a recreational player. Everytime she tells me she played a good player, it means somebody who can consistently run 3 balls. To us, that is nowhere near any good. Not even a C player.

Now for my interpretation. I am a hard ass when it comes to this. When I tell you somebody is good, they are anywhere from AAA to Pro. I don't consider myself good, I am just okay. But I will get there. That said I am not easily impressed, much to the shagrin of my music students.

 

[mnShooter]

Good is someone that is better than me. When I become the best in the world at everything there will be no good players .

 

[GTeye]

Imo, A run of 100 in 14.1 puts someone pretty far behind the level of "good" unless it's being compared by someone who is a pro level.

Good to me is someone with good pocketing skills and a handle on cue ball control. Good is middle ground between the average player and a professional to me.

 

[TheConArtist]

A player who can adjust to a table quickly is a good player.
A player who always shoots the high percentage shots, and has a good defense game is a good player.
A player who can run out the table if given a good break is a good player.
A player who is out of line but can still manage to keep pocketing balls is a good player. To Me.

 

[Flex]

When you start beating people you have labled Good Players.

Tap, tap, tap. Right on!

 

[catscradle]

A persons perception of a good player changes as he gets better himself. But over all I think a player is considered good when they can control the cueball and are capable of getting out. I think 100+ in straight pool is WAY to high to be considered good. Hell...I think if you can run 1 rack you are a good player. C players are good players. It depends who you are comparing them to. If your comparing to the general public than running a rack in any game is looked upon as awesome. Anyways a good player is just a guy that knows how to play IMO.

I concur with your assessment. Somebody who can run 100+ is IMO way beyond a "good" player, that is an "excellent" player.

 

[catscradle]

.... Go to the north east and say "I'm a great player cause I ran 100"......the rack boy will laugh at you then put a 150 on you for fun.
...
Gerry

Not in my part of the Northeast thank goodness.

 

[jjinfla]

I equate "good" with average. So my perception of a good player is quite a bit different from anyone else's.

I would think that anyone who can accomlish any of the items you have listed would be considered far above a good player. In fact I would most likely consider that person a pro. I sure can't do any of those things, yet I consider myself a kowledgeable and a good player.

Then of course there are good pros and bad pros. Good amateurs and bad amateurs. Good beginners and bad beginners.

It is all a perception. How can you call a person, like the woman who won the championship in the APA sl-3 category a good player? She was just the best of the worst.

LOL

Jake

 

[Flex]

What accomplishment does everyone else think deserves the title of a good player?

When you play someone who others consider to be a "good" player, not an excellent player, not a semi-pro or a pro, but a "good" player, someone who in a major city in a handicapped 9 ball tournament is in the 9 or 9-1, or 9-2 range, someone who can run two or three or four racks of nine ball on occasion, and you are able to beat them in a straight up race to 7 from time to time, on a tough table, at that point you are starting to be a "good" player.

When you are matching up with someone who plays pool for a living but is not yet on the IPT, or the pro tour, and you can beat him in a game of straight pool, although it isn't his game but 9 ball is, and he refuses to give you any kind of spot in a 9 ball game, you are starting to be a "good" player.

When you are playing a "good" player as mentioned in my first paragraph, and a pro who plays on the IPT is watching the match, and he tells you "Man, you sure are hittin' 'em good", you are starting to be a "good" player.

When you are playing a "good" player, someone who has broken and run five consecutive racks of 8 ball on a tough table, and he gives you the nickname of "The Torturer" because of your safety play, you are starting to be a "good" player.

Who, after all is a "good" player? Well, when you hear of some people saying Larry Nevel isn't that good, you know you're talking to someone who likes to knock a champion.

I say when those who most around you consider to be good won't give you a fair game anymore, you're definitely on the road to being a "good" player, if you aren't already one.

Flex

 

[jason]

Being "good" implies being better than most, therfore 51%. It is an ambiguous questions and relative to the situation.


All IPT players are "good" per say, but are they "good" IPT players? If they beat 51% of the IPT players, then I would say yes.

A player might be a "good" bar player by beating most players in his/her home room, but not be able the majority of league players. He/she is good for there room, but not a "good" player in my opinion.

In my opinion, anyone that can beat me is a "good" player, everyone else sucks!

It is all relative.

 

[SmoothStroke]

It all depends on the person's perception. Someone who you think is good may not be in someone else's perspective.

Good thing you used spell check. The latin waitress in Masters has potential once I teach her ball click position. Have a donut on the house.

 

[RBLilly]

Different

It depends. Are we talking about 14.1? Are we talking about one pocket? Are we talking about 9-ball? Are we talking about 8 ball? Are we talking about 7-ball? Are we talking about snooker?

I think each game has it's great players. And each game is different, so what makes someone a great player on one game, doesn't mean they will be a great player on another game.

Now there are some people that are great at all of them, and that is just down right amazing.

I am not going to vote cause depending on the game the requirements to be a good player are different.

 

[Snapshot9]

It is

rather stupid for a player to walk in somewhere and announce he is now a good player because he ran a 100 in 14.1. Other people do not sit around counting numbers on some other casual player usually unless they are railbirds watching a money match.

When someone puts a 5 pack on me in 9 ball, I consider them good, 8 pack or more, real good. About the same in 8 ball, discounting 1 game.

 

[Dhakala]

the one that gets the money, consistently,tournament or gambling.not a hustler,but gets up and plays,spotted or spotting,plays in tournaments,and always in action.jmo.

That's a bad player, for me. The good one give me their money!

 

[quitecoolguy]

I dont really know how to judge other people..but i can judge myself...when players who would give me a spot in a money game come to me and say ..."Tony you shoot to good for me to give you a spot anymore" then i know my game has gone up...

 

[desert1pocket]

It is all so relative I don't know how to answer. I see all these stats like how many racks people can run, but unless we are all playing on the same equip then that is flawed scale to judge ones performance on. In one room in town even I can run 4-5 racks of 9-ball (and I suck at 9-ball), but there are tighter tables in another room here in town where even Scott Frost couldn't string more than a couple racks together. And what about old timers who can't shoot straight enough to run a single rack anymore but can outmove most players in a one hole game. Are they good?

 

[junior718]

Good thing you used spell check. The latin waitress in Masters has potential once I teach her ball click position. Have a donut on the house.

she can click my balls all she wants

 

[Gerry]

I dont really know how to judge other people..but i can judge myself...when players who would give me a spot in a money game come to me and say ..."Tony you shoot to good for me to give you a spot anymore" then i know my game has gone up...

or they are trying to get in your pocket by pumping up the old EGO!....thats an old move. Tell an "up n comer" he's hittin em good....then ease up the normal weight while he's on the EGO high.

I fell into the same trap years ago, but I learned. When a better player wanted to adjust the weight after me "improving"....I'd say, after I get even at this weight, we'll adjust! most of them don't adjust while pounding you, but as soon as you win a set or two.....whoa whoa whoa....we gotta adjust here

That's the exact reason I started playing everyone even. If I lose, I need to go practice and learn. If I win, so be it.

Gerry

 

[Billy_Bob]

It might not be a good thing to be labeled a "good player" because other people may not want to play against you. Might be better to be labeled a "sometimes good player" then other people think they could get lucky.

And I think being labeled a "good player" is relative...

Depends on the playing skills of the other players in your area. Some areas have a majority of players who are twice or three times better than players in other areas.

Depends on who is doing the labeling. Someone from an area with highly skilled players or someone from an area with not so good players.

And depends on *your* personal goals...

-Do you just want to be able to win a few games at the local bar and are happy reaching that level?

-Do you want to be able to get in the money or win in local tournaments and are happy with that?

-Do you want to win regional tournaments, pro tournaments, etc. and will not be happy until you reach that level?

I have a friend who has never won 1st place in a local money tournament (which I consider easy to win as compared with tournaments elsewhere), but he will go down to the local bar and hold the table all night long and sometimes not lose any games. Everyone at the bar considers him a "good player" and he is quite happy with being able to do this. He will brag about his "holding the table" all week long. So to him he is a "good player". That's OK in my book.

 

[Flex]

or they are trying to get in your pocket by pumping up the old EGO!....thats an old move. Tell an "up n comer" he's hittin em good....then ease up the normal weight while he's on the EGO high.

I fell into the same trap years ago, but I learned. When a better player wanted to adjust the weight after me "improving"....I'd say, after I get even at this weight, we'll adjust! most of them don't adjust while pounding you, but as soon as you win a set or two.....whoa whoa whoa....we gotta adjust here

That's the exact reason I started playing everyone even. If I lose, I need to go practice and learn. If I win, so be it.

Gerry

Of course they're trying to get in your pocket!

So, against unknown players who come up to me looking to match up, I've a standard response now: "Sure, I'll play ya some nine ball. But I don't play real good, so I'll need a lot of weight. Probably too much." When they ask what you want, you know they're convinced they can beat you. Red flag time. If they insist, I'll say, "I want the breaks, the 4 out, and ball in hand after the break even if I don't make a ball, except if I scratch." So far, nobody has taken me up on this game. Then I'll ask if he'd like to just shoot around a bit. Some do, some don't, but your pocket won't be empty and you won't be sitting in a mud puddle.

Flex