Why Did I Waste $$$ On New Cloth?

[bomber]

Take the advice of everyone here....its not the rolls, its you. change your attitude if you want to improve your game. it hasnt got anything to do with crappy rolls. have you ever wondered why good players get few bad rolls...its not luck...they put themselves in the optimum situation for success. For example, they know how to break so that they dont get shitty rolls. If you want to get better rolls off the break, break better. If you practice and you still get shitty rolls, as you call them, guess what...it means that you arent that good. no offense, its just the truth. I hate hearing about bad rolls. They get blamed way to much. Personally, i dont get bad rolls...i make piss poor shots that results in poor position. Sometimes i let the cue ball go on the break and i end up with a cluster*&^%. it aint the cloth, it aint the cue, it aint the case, you didnt get sharked, YOU made a mistake and YOU probably arent as good as you think. its just that simple. when you accept this fact, you will then improve your game.

 

[fxskater]

well, when i got the new Powder Blue cloth i wanted to play while it was new and still slick as could be.

when i talk about horrible rolls, i simply mean getting really tough spreads, or balls stuck behind each other, or balls blocking the pockets all the time, etc, etc, these types of things. its a rare occassion indeed that i actually make a ball and have all the balls out in the open with an excellent chance to run out.

last night, for example, i had to come around 3 rails to get downtable for the '3' ball. were talking about 12' to 13' feet of cue ball travel with only about a 4" window to get on the '3' ball. and just my luck, the ball came down table, and i ended up about 1'8" of an inch out of position. seems like thats how my luck goes, i go all the way around and down the table, and i am off by 1'8" of an inch. now i know i am the one that hit the cue ball there, but i just feel thats a horrible piece of bad luck.

i agree with what you guys say about practicing, and quit breaking and trying to run out. i just wanted to "play" on the new cloth. soon, very soon, i will get back to practicing 3-5 hours a day.

DCP

This is either a poor example or bad luck, or your not really having bad luck at all. Don't play shots that have such a small window for error. Your error here was likely on the 1 not on the 2. You need to maintain a good angle to get on the next ball. This doesnt always mean leaving the easiest shot, or even leaving an angle to get into shap on an easy shot. If your only option was 3 rails to 4 inches of space (likely you should had a different angle for easier shape) don't take the shot. Play shape into an easy safety. Not every ball is going to be makeable, or even Breakout-able. Don't get loose with your shape either. Try and pick an exact spot. Lick your finger and mark it if you are practicing. It is extremely difficult to hit that exact spot now, but if you keep going for an exact pea sized spot on the table you will start getting closer and closer. I don't mean to abandon playing into an 'area' just pick your exact spot in your area. On anything where you are shooting for 4" margin of error there is probably a shot where you could play well into either side of the impeding ball(s) and leave yourself a much tougher shot, but easier position. If you could show us the shot it might help. I don't believe in luck. I have stretches where i can't make a ball, and i always have trouble with shape on the 1 after the break, but it isn't luck. Everything that happens on the table is pure physics. You gotta quit blaming everything around you, cue, balls, cloth, and start putting the blame on yourself. I have never heard of a Pro blaming blowing a match on 'Luck'.

 

[buddha162]

I don't consider a cluttered spread "bad rolls." Maybe pros do, when they're bent on running out everytime they break but as a previous poster so eloquently pointed out, you're not a pro!

I see a difficult runout as either A.) a challenge, or B.) a good chance to practice my safety/kicking game.

Even pros rarely string together multiple racks on any consistent basis. The world-beaters are the ones who have the discipline to disregard low-percentage plays.

-Roger

 

[vapoolplayer]

last night, for example, i had to come around 3 rails to get downtable for the '3' ball. were talking about 12' to 13' feet of cue ball travel......
DCP

such shots are typical in 9 ball..........take just about any rack after you break and you can pick one shot.......that is the shot, that if you make and get right on, you're out. most of the time, there is always at least one shot in a rack that is tougher than usual or requires alot of precise position play to keep you from getting totally out of line......