Where would you draw the line between a banger and a lower-level "legit" player?

Push&Pool

Push&Pool

Professional Banger
Silver Member
Where would you draw the line between a banger and a lower-level "legit" player?

Like the title says, what would be the difference between an average D player and someone you'd call a banger? What can one do that the other can't? How exactly do each of them play, how many hours a week do they spend on pool, where do they play (leagues, halls, bars...) etc.?
 
Bangers usually created threads like this.

Going from a D to a C player is something that, if you have to ask... You're probably still a banger.
 
DAVE_M said:
Bangers usually created threads like this.

Going from a D to a C player is something that, if you have to ask... You're probably still a banger.
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LOL I know I'm a banger and it doesn't bother me, and it also has nothing to do with this topic. I'm asking about D players and bangers in general.
 
If a player knows how to line up the cue/arm/wrist/body/feet/bridge to send the cueball at the right spot more or less on the object ball, that starts to go over the banger level. Even if they can't make more than 1 or 2 shots in a row because they don't know what playing position is. Soon as you know how to stoke the cue properly and know the basics of aiming, you are at a D level.

Most people still call D players bangers but I know about what you mean by your post. The interest in learning more is also a sign of going past banger stage, if you know that there are different cue weights for example, or what balance in your cue you like, or what spin is and actually trying to use use spin on purpose.

You'd probably have to be a pretty good C player to get out of the "banger" category for many good players though. Heck, some people even call pretty good players bangers because they don't have the intricacies of the game down and just got good from lots and lots of time playing. Those guys you see fire in 7 feel long shots then miss an easy position play or take a low % chance shot in favor or something easier like a safe or take a longer shot for easier position may still be "bangers" at heart LOL

How long or where you play does not really matter. My son is 14 and he can beat up on any 50 yr old that has been playing for 30 years if he's not a B player. In fact he beat a B player this Saturday 7-5 in a 10 ball tournament, the guy looked to be at least 10 years older than him.
 
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I never thought of a guy that has played a week to 6 months that I can see is trying to get better no matter if he is still a "D" player. A banger to me is someone that really doesn't care to better himself in the game. He just wacking the ball hard and has no idea wear the CB is going. Johnnyt
 
Push&Pool said:
LOL I know I'm a banger and it doesn't bother me, and it also has nothing to do with this topic. I'm asking about D players and bangers in general.
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hang-the-9 said:
If a player knows how to line up the cue/arm/wrist/body/feet/bridge to send the cueball at the right spot more or less on the object ball, that starts to go over the banger level. Even if they can't make more than 1 or 2 shots in a row because they don't know what playing position is. Soon as you know how to stoke the cue properly and know the basics of aiming, you are at a D level.

Most people still call D players bangers but I know about what you mean by your post. The interest in learning more is also a sign of going past banger stage, if you know that there are different cue weights for example, or what balance in your cue you like, or what spin is and actually trying to use use spin on purpose.

You'd probably have to be a pretty good C player to get out of the "banger" category for many good players though. Heck, some people even call pretty good players bangers because they don't have the intricacies of the game down and just got good from lots and lots of time playing. Those guys you see fire in 7 feel long shots then miss an easy position play or take a low % chance shot in favor or something easier like a safe or take a longer shot for easier position may still be "bangers" at heart LOL

How long or where you play does not really matter. My son is 14 and he can beat up on any 50 yr old that has been playing for 30 years if he's not a B player.
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What he said.

There are local guys that play at the D+/C- level, that know the game and play for shape, but they can't string 3 shots together. There are also local C+ players, that don't know what position is, other than hitting the ball 100mph and hoping it gets close to the next object ball.

We have a local guy that is a SL6 in the APA, that I call a banger. His home team bar has Dynamo's with 6" pockets and a mud cue ball. He plays 8ball only, because he will always get another shot at one of his stripes/solids. The one time I watched him play 9-ball on a Diamond BB, he couldn't play simple shape to save his life. That's a banger.

The guys, I met two weeks ago, that said Diamond tables are crap because they are way too fast... Those are bangers. Those same guys can't string together 4 balls on a Brunswick 8ft with 5 1/2" pockets.
 
Spinning the rack, twirling the cue, running breaks shots aka Ram shots = banger.

It's all about the attitude at the table.
 
I think that maybe a player is someone seeking knowledge looking to improve, researching before they buy, even though they may not know how they try to practice regularly. Very early on they learn to recognize many different parts of the game and the strive to learn to execute those different parts. A player thinks about pool and when that player has an epiphany they can't wait to get to the table to work it. A player is a sportsman that learns from observing, from their opponents, as a student. A player appreciates their opponents whether it's another person or the table or the clock.
A banger wants to make balls with little or no regard for technique or defense, a banger has little or no respect for the game or their opponent or the equipment. If you have a banger over at a party a banger might spill his beer on your new Simonis cloth then try later in a drunken sloberfest to bang his girlfriend on your Gold Crown because it was exotic.
Some bangers really suck

The Ram Shot is the teacher
 
hang-the-9 said:
If a player knows how to line up the cue/arm/wrist/body/feet/bridge to send the cueball at the right spot more or less on the object ball, that starts to go over the banger level. Even if they can't make more than 1 or 2 shots in a row because they don't know what playing position is. Soon as you know how to stoke the cue properly and know the basics of aiming, you are at a D level.

Most people still call D players bangers but I know about what you mean by your post. The interest in learning more is also a sign of going past banger stage, if you know that there are different cue weights for example, or what balance in your cue you like, or what spin is and actually trying to use use spin on purpose.

You'd probably have to be a pretty good C player to get out of the "banger" category for many good players though. Heck, some people even call pretty good players bangers because they don't have the intricacies of the game down and just got good from lots and lots of time playing. Those guys you see fire in 7 feel long shots then miss an easy position play or take a low % chance shot in favor or something easier like a safe or take a longer shot for easier position may still be "bangers" at heart LOL

How long or where you play does not really matter. My son is 14 and he can beat up on any 50 yr old that has been playing for 30 years if he's not a B player. In fact he beat a B player this Saturday 7-5 in a 10 ball tournament, the guy looked to be at least 10 years older than him.
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The red lines are so true for me. Everything I learned is from years of personal experience. I'm also trying to get better though I can't practice that much. I can use spins to a certain degree and I know at least the basics of position. I guess the main problem in my game is inconsistency. I have days when I almost routinely run 5-6 balls in 8-ball, get very close to running out the table (which is harder cause we're playing last pocket and no BiH), and on other days I fail to pocket the same balls 3-4 times in a row. I'm thinking it's psychological, as I feel the skills are there, but sometimes I just can't use them.

That's why I still consider myself a banger. But I'm wondering what would I actually be based on the description I gave you? D+? C-?

And once again I'm happy for your kid.

DAVE_M said:
What he said.

There are local guys that play at the D+/C- level, that know the game and play for shape, but they can't string 3 shots together. There are also local C+ players, that don't know what position is, other than hitting the ball 100mph and hoping it gets close to the next object ball.

We have a local guy that is a SL6 in the APA, that I call a banger. His home team bar has Dynamo's with 6" pockets and a mud cue ball. He plays 8ball only, because he will always get another shot at one of his stripes/solids. The one time I watched him play 9-ball on a Diamond BB, he couldn't play simple shape to save his life. That's a banger.

The guys, I met two weeks ago, that said Diamond tables are crap because they are way too fast... Those are bangers. Those same guys can't string together 4 balls on a Brunswick 8ft with 5 1/2" pockets.
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You actually see things quite the same as I do. At least for me, being a banger had more to do with the style of play, not your efficiency, win-loss ratio or the will to learn. Someone who doesn't use position and often hits his balls full-speed is probably a banger, but it doesn't mean he can't regularly take down a "legit" SL5-SL6 level player. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have the impression that bangers are more or less players who learned the game all by themselves, no books, manuals or instructors (except for other bangers), improvise a lot, play by instinct, and all of the skills they've attained come from personal experience. Something like if the legit players were professional military, bangers are militia, gang-members and pirates. And we all know that throughout history militia had quite a number of victories against the military.
 
A recreational player that actually tries to improve their game from week to week and takes advice from qualified NON Bangers (without argument...Ahem...:wink:) is not a banger IMHO.
 
As someone said, its all relevant to the person judging. I'm sure SVB could consider most players out there bangers.

I consider a banger to be someone who has fundamental flaws in there physical mechanics, and limited conceptual knowledge of the game.

IMO refined physical mechanics is the first step in progressing into a player. If you don't have sound mechanics then it makes the game that much harder to pick up, because your execution will not be consistent. I think to get past this stage you really have to practice a lot and\or have someone critiquing your form. This side of the game takes a lot of practice to overcome. But once you get passed it, a whole other world opens up to you.
 
Celophanewrap said:
I think that maybe a player is someone seeking knowledge looking to improve, researching before they buy, even though they may not know how they try to practice regularly. Very early on they learn to recognize many different parts of the game and the strive to learn to execute those different parts. A player thinks about pool and when that player has an epiphany they can't wait to get to the table to work it. A player is a sportsman that learns from observing, from their opponents, as a student. A player appreciates their opponents whether it's another person or the table or the clock.
A banger wants to make balls with little or no regard for technique or defense, a banger has little or no respect for the game or their opponent or the equipment. If you have a banger over at a party a banger might spill his beer on your new Simonis cloth then try later in a drunken sloberfest to bang his girlfriend on your Gold Crown because it was exotic.
Some bangers really suck

The Ram Shot is the teacher
Click to expand...

I'd agree on this one too, except for two things. First, there are bangers who play defense, I know them personally. They only do it with the help of bar rules and without any sense of honor. Yeah, one of them is me :wink:

Second, I'd limit being a banger to pool only. Sure, they care less about the game than a regular player, but saying they'll all go around smashing your equipment just feels wrong. I'm not taking any personal insult in this, but I have some friends who are bangers and they're all great people. It has nothing to do with what kind of man you are. Don't judge them all based on a few A-holes.
 
Bangers to exactly that, bang balls around and have no idea where they are going. Push pool if you can run 3 to 4 balls on a bad day and are trying to learn how to play the right way, you are not a banger. Your questions you ask are questionable at times.
 
I think this is a very good thread topic, so I'll try to describe myself and maybe find out how others might rate me.

I always refer to myself as a banger because I want to make it absolutely clear that I don't consider myself to be a very good player. The fact is, I understand a bit about position, and can even get decent shape on many shots, but I usually get on the wrong side of the ball real quickly (yes, I do know that I am) and things go downhill real fast from there.

When I am what passes for "in stroke", I can be a real good shooter, and can make most open shots within 5' or so, even tough cuts. My percentage drops on table length shots, but I make my share. I feel like I have a decent stroke, and a good feel for hitting the ball right and getting through it rather than poking at it. It is the one aspect of the game I have tried the hardest to improve because, in my opinion, if you got no stroke, you will always struggle. There isn't a day that goes by that I'm not thinking about some aspect of stroke mechanics and what that means to me.

My draw is inconstant, but at close range (within 3 diamonds) it is rather effortless for me to draw the ball back to the tip. Sometimes my draw is too good, and I way overdraw the ball up to half a table length too far. I know what the tangent lines are all about, and can stun the ball real good, and put it up to the opposite end of the table when necessary. I can put a decent force follow on the ball as well. I use mostly center ball, but can play with side spin to get shape when I have to, and know what running english is, and how to kill the ball off the rail. Natural roll is how I get where I want to go most times, though.

I know a lot more shots than the average bar banger. I'm pretty good at "natural" combos, and seeing dead balls inside a cluster, as well as knowing how to use throw to make a combo that isn't dead. I am so-so at caroms, but I often take advantage of "large" pockets with balls nearby when I see them. I know how to use the rails to increase my shotmaking percentages when it will help.

I have decent speed control, and can lag the ball within a diamond from the head rail almost every time. I can also play pocket speed shots and slow roll a ball so that it just trickles over the shelf edge, then put a real stroke on the next ball and fire it down the throat of the pocket... when I'm in stroke.

I know a lot about the physics of the game, and how and why many things work. I'm no Bob Jewett in this regard, but there a lot of A players and even pros who play lights out that are just dead wrong about ball-ball interactions, friction, throw, etc. So, although this hasn't necessarily improved my game, I am a serious enough player to at least do the reading and try to grasp it. "A for effort" in this regard.

So all that might make me a good "C" player. But the truth is, about 95% of the guys posting here would rob me playing even in a race to seven 9-ball.

My break is atrocious, and I've made no attempt to improve it. My banking skills are questionable, and my kicking skills even worse. I can't see three balls ahead, never mind a whole rack. I don't come close to understanding how to play a real good safe, nor do I always see when it's what I should be doing. I take a lot of low percentage shots because I just don't see a high percentage safety. My pattern play is stuck at the elementary school level. If I get a real cosmo, there is a good chance I might run several balls, maybe even a whole rack of 8 or 9 ball, but I never would consider myself to be a "threat to runout" in any game.

So, that's all I can think of. I rate myself to be a low C player, as in maybe C- or thereabouts... with borderline banger tendencies. I may still be a D player in some snobby A player's opinion, but if I thought I was that bad after all these years I'd burn my $48 cue and never play again.
 
Push&Pool said:
I'd agree on this one too, except for two things. First, there are bangers who play defense, I know them personally. They only do it with the help of bar rules and without any sense of honor. Yeah, one of them is me :wink:

Second, I'd limit being a banger to pool only. Sure, they care less about the game than a regular player, but saying they'll all go around smashing your equipment just feels wrong. I'm not taking any personal insult in this, but I have some friends who are bangers and they're all great people. It has nothing to do with what kind of man you are. Don't judge them all based on a few A-holes.
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The Banger is the teacher
 
Johnnyt said:
I never thought of a guy that has played a week to 6 months that I can see is trying to get better no matter if he is still a "D" player. A banger to me is someone that really doesn't care to better himself in the game. He just wacking the ball hard and has no idea wear the CB is going. Johnnyt
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To the OP....Johnnyt has the simplest and straight to the point answer.
 
Perception

Push&Pool said:
Like the title says, what would be the difference between an average D player and someone you'd call a banger? What can one do that the other can't? How exactly do each of them play, how many hours a week do they spend on pool, where do they play (leagues, halls, bars...) etc.?
Click to expand...

I can go to my home town and be considered a Master, not one person will beat me. When I play at Fargo Billiards I am a B. These ratings are relative and based on perception. If you want to see a great rating system https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CRWECaLnaxY
 
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