The recent thread on clapping on an 8-ball scratch made me think about how I think about winning and losing in pool vs. how some other people might. And I don't know if my way helps you win more or less, but I know that I enjoy it more and I seem to get much more wins out of my game than many people I know.
Not to brag, but to give some perspective. I have won hundreds of bar tournaments and probably thousands of league matches. (I've lost my share too) In addition I've gambled and won and lost a lot. I've beaten a lot of players who were much better than me and lost to a lot of players that are much worse than me. That's just pool and the first step is to accept that.
When I was still struggling trying to win my first tournament I had an old-timer tell me that it was easy to learn to play pool, but learning how to win at pool, well that's a whole 'nother story. I spent years trying to figure out what he meant and thinking about it changed my approach to the game.
I also shared in another thread recently an interview I heard with an FAA safety official who said that in airplane evacuation trials (where they put people in seats and simulate a crash landing and have everyone evacuate) they do it two ways. The first way they offer incentives to everyone for everyone getting off the plane safely. In other words, if everyone deplanes in under 2 minutes then everyone gets $20.
The other scenario is they offer $100 to the first 5 people to get off the plane.
The interesting and unexpected result was that when they ran multiple trials with the same people, the same 5 (or whatever number) people got off the plane first in every trial...NO MATTER WHERE THEY WERE SEATED. In other words, they won regardless of any seating position benefit.
I think winning in pool is very similar. You can talk about A, B, C players and how A players can run multiple racks etc...but the truth is, all of those qualifications go out the window when competing. I've seen matches of pros where neither player ran out a rack. I've also seen matches where one person ran out from everywhere and lost to a player who played a couple of safeties and got a lucky roll here and there while not missing key shots.
Personally, I had an experience where I showed up in a strange town and played a pool tournament with some pretty good players in it. I played some of the worst pool I've ever played. My CB speed was off and I couldn't make a ball. But, I ended up winning the tournament. Why? Because I was able to play clean, by that I mean play around my weaknesses and just let the other players beat themselves while making sure I didn't beat myself.
So, for whatever it's worth, here are my thoughts about winning at pool:
1) Winning has to be important. You have to strive to win with every shot, every turn at the table. Or you won't. For the most part. In other words, you have to respect the game, respect your opponent and most of all, respect the shot you're about to take.
2) It's about controlling the game, not the cueball. "You study the watch, I study you." (Color of Money). Knowing which shots you'll miss is more important than making or missing shots. If you are not hitting a certain shot well, then duck it. Don't try to force it out unless you're mad at your money. Play the other player into mistakes and avoid making your own. Good money players will NEVER shoot a shot that might break out an opponent's ball unless they have a safety valve or a guaranteed out. Winning pool day after day, night after night is about lessening the risk of losing.
3) Pool really comes down to luck. Luck determines the outcome of every match. The more skill you have, the less luck you need to win and the more luck the other guy needs to beat you. Think about that and accept it before you read on...
What I mean by that is if you can run several racks, then when you get to the table, you need a shot to get going on the several racks. If your opponent misses and leaves you 6 balls to run out, you need luck to give you a runout that is within your skill to run out. So, the more you develop your skill, the less luck you need. If you're having bad luck, it just simply means that your skills are not good enough to win with the luck your getting. If you're good enough to run a set out from the opening break and you're playing a guy who is the same level, the race will be determined by the coin toss.
4) Detach yourself from the outcome. In the 8-ball scratch clapping thread, there were many responses that it's bad form to clap if your opponent scratches on the 8-ball. Why? What if you played a race to one and lost the coin toss and your opponent ran out? Is that luck? So where do you draw the line? The sentiment seems to be centered around 'earning' it. The problem with that is that you never 'earn' it. Just like you never don't 'earn' it. You get opportunities and you use your skill to the best of your ability to win the game. If you come up short. Well, that is what happened.
It's really no different to lose any kind of way than another. Either you win or you lose. Trying to qualify different types of winning and losing is a strategy for losing. Once you start ranking different wins and losses, then some become acceptable and some become less acceptable. In other words, if you lose a certain way then it's okay because it's luck, but if you win a certain way then it doesn't count as much because you didn't 'earn' it. It's a short journey from there to playing excuses in your head before you have even lost yet. We've all done it. You know what I mean, you're playing a guy who gets three 9-ball breaks on you and then the 4th break going to 5 he doesn't make a ball but leaves you safe. All of the sudden you hear the voice in your head telling your friends "That ****** got lucky on me with 3 9ball breaks and then the 4th one I didn't have a shot." Trust me, as soon as you hear that voice, stop, refocus, ask yourself how you want the story to end. You'll change the story from the above to "And even though he did all that, I ran three racks to get it to even and then I won." That will help you respect what you're doing, focus on the task at hand, give you hope and give you the best chance to win.
5) It's all practice. I've said this on here a bunch, but it bears repeating. Unless you're playing for your life (or life's savings), every gambling match, tournament and league game are practice. I remember before I won my first tournament I got into the finals a bunch and lost several in a row. The same thing happened to several of my friends. It's actually pretty common. What separates you is how you handle it. One of my friends 'hated' getting second. And you know what happened to him, he stopped getting in the finals and hence, hardly ever won tournaments.
I thought about it one night on the way home from a tourney where I got second AGAIN (I think it was about my 6th time) and I asked myself how I could win. The answer was easy, keep getting in the finals until you figure it out. So that's what I did. Every time I got in the finals I tried to win. If I lost, I just recognized it for what it was, a process. A practice run that got me one step closer to winning. What's amazing is that once I broke through and learned how to win in the finals. I went on a rampage and won a bunch of tournaments. I knew something most of my opponents in the finals didn't. I knew that I had learned how to win. I knew I had practice. And I knew they didn't.
I know that's a long post, but I wanted to get it out there and I hope it helps some folks. I'd appreciate hearing other people's thought's on the subject as well.
~rc
Not to brag, but to give some perspective. I have won hundreds of bar tournaments and probably thousands of league matches. (I've lost my share too) In addition I've gambled and won and lost a lot. I've beaten a lot of players who were much better than me and lost to a lot of players that are much worse than me. That's just pool and the first step is to accept that.
When I was still struggling trying to win my first tournament I had an old-timer tell me that it was easy to learn to play pool, but learning how to win at pool, well that's a whole 'nother story. I spent years trying to figure out what he meant and thinking about it changed my approach to the game.
I also shared in another thread recently an interview I heard with an FAA safety official who said that in airplane evacuation trials (where they put people in seats and simulate a crash landing and have everyone evacuate) they do it two ways. The first way they offer incentives to everyone for everyone getting off the plane safely. In other words, if everyone deplanes in under 2 minutes then everyone gets $20.
The other scenario is they offer $100 to the first 5 people to get off the plane.
The interesting and unexpected result was that when they ran multiple trials with the same people, the same 5 (or whatever number) people got off the plane first in every trial...NO MATTER WHERE THEY WERE SEATED. In other words, they won regardless of any seating position benefit.
I think winning in pool is very similar. You can talk about A, B, C players and how A players can run multiple racks etc...but the truth is, all of those qualifications go out the window when competing. I've seen matches of pros where neither player ran out a rack. I've also seen matches where one person ran out from everywhere and lost to a player who played a couple of safeties and got a lucky roll here and there while not missing key shots.
Personally, I had an experience where I showed up in a strange town and played a pool tournament with some pretty good players in it. I played some of the worst pool I've ever played. My CB speed was off and I couldn't make a ball. But, I ended up winning the tournament. Why? Because I was able to play clean, by that I mean play around my weaknesses and just let the other players beat themselves while making sure I didn't beat myself.
So, for whatever it's worth, here are my thoughts about winning at pool:
1) Winning has to be important. You have to strive to win with every shot, every turn at the table. Or you won't. For the most part. In other words, you have to respect the game, respect your opponent and most of all, respect the shot you're about to take.
2) It's about controlling the game, not the cueball. "You study the watch, I study you." (Color of Money). Knowing which shots you'll miss is more important than making or missing shots. If you are not hitting a certain shot well, then duck it. Don't try to force it out unless you're mad at your money. Play the other player into mistakes and avoid making your own. Good money players will NEVER shoot a shot that might break out an opponent's ball unless they have a safety valve or a guaranteed out. Winning pool day after day, night after night is about lessening the risk of losing.
3) Pool really comes down to luck. Luck determines the outcome of every match. The more skill you have, the less luck you need to win and the more luck the other guy needs to beat you. Think about that and accept it before you read on...
What I mean by that is if you can run several racks, then when you get to the table, you need a shot to get going on the several racks. If your opponent misses and leaves you 6 balls to run out, you need luck to give you a runout that is within your skill to run out. So, the more you develop your skill, the less luck you need. If you're having bad luck, it just simply means that your skills are not good enough to win with the luck your getting. If you're good enough to run a set out from the opening break and you're playing a guy who is the same level, the race will be determined by the coin toss.
4) Detach yourself from the outcome. In the 8-ball scratch clapping thread, there were many responses that it's bad form to clap if your opponent scratches on the 8-ball. Why? What if you played a race to one and lost the coin toss and your opponent ran out? Is that luck? So where do you draw the line? The sentiment seems to be centered around 'earning' it. The problem with that is that you never 'earn' it. Just like you never don't 'earn' it. You get opportunities and you use your skill to the best of your ability to win the game. If you come up short. Well, that is what happened.
It's really no different to lose any kind of way than another. Either you win or you lose. Trying to qualify different types of winning and losing is a strategy for losing. Once you start ranking different wins and losses, then some become acceptable and some become less acceptable. In other words, if you lose a certain way then it's okay because it's luck, but if you win a certain way then it doesn't count as much because you didn't 'earn' it. It's a short journey from there to playing excuses in your head before you have even lost yet. We've all done it. You know what I mean, you're playing a guy who gets three 9-ball breaks on you and then the 4th break going to 5 he doesn't make a ball but leaves you safe. All of the sudden you hear the voice in your head telling your friends "That ****** got lucky on me with 3 9ball breaks and then the 4th one I didn't have a shot." Trust me, as soon as you hear that voice, stop, refocus, ask yourself how you want the story to end. You'll change the story from the above to "And even though he did all that, I ran three racks to get it to even and then I won." That will help you respect what you're doing, focus on the task at hand, give you hope and give you the best chance to win.
5) It's all practice. I've said this on here a bunch, but it bears repeating. Unless you're playing for your life (or life's savings), every gambling match, tournament and league game are practice. I remember before I won my first tournament I got into the finals a bunch and lost several in a row. The same thing happened to several of my friends. It's actually pretty common. What separates you is how you handle it. One of my friends 'hated' getting second. And you know what happened to him, he stopped getting in the finals and hence, hardly ever won tournaments.
I thought about it one night on the way home from a tourney where I got second AGAIN (I think it was about my 6th time) and I asked myself how I could win. The answer was easy, keep getting in the finals until you figure it out. So that's what I did. Every time I got in the finals I tried to win. If I lost, I just recognized it for what it was, a process. A practice run that got me one step closer to winning. What's amazing is that once I broke through and learned how to win in the finals. I went on a rampage and won a bunch of tournaments. I knew something most of my opponents in the finals didn't. I knew that I had learned how to win. I knew I had practice. And I knew they didn't.
I know that's a long post, but I wanted to get it out there and I hope it helps some folks. I'd appreciate hearing other people's thought's on the subject as well.
~rc
Sometimes my league team would like me to beat myself up more.