Your Best Speed

JoeyA said:
Do any of the following players have the ability to play consistently well at the super slow, snail's pace?

1-pocket-player, 9BallPaul, bagofpaper, Blackjack, CrownCityCorey, gpeezy, jamesroberts, Joe T, JustPlay, karma, kryptonite9, miramachine,
n10spool, Nick B, Nine Ball, Poke N Hope, RunoutalloverU,

Thanks,
JoeyA
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Damn GPeezy,

You got lumped in with some players there didn't you?

D<-- can't play well slow and knows that George can't either.
 
JoeyA said:
Some players play at a relatively quick pace and also at times, a snail's pace and they seem to play at least as well at the snail's pace. I want to know how they do it and what they are thinking about.

Is there anyone on AZB that can play at that really, really, slow pace and play consistently sell?
Thanks,
JoeyA
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Define "play" and also what game are we talking about? i.e. Is there a certain level of player you are asking (say 9 ball ghost or above)? You seem to be talking about play in general, and not just when the player is down on the shot and stroking.

Everyone thinks at different speeds, weighs options, eliminates unsatisfactory choices, visualize destination and shot, ball path, contact point, english needed, adjustments for english, focus eyes, settle in on stroke and if needed extra stroke to get past nerves, etc. And then there is the possibility that something is off and you start over. I think many people have a lot of 'chatter' going on in their minds and have a hard time quieting it.

Personally I am on the slow side of average speed, but most of it is to overcome age related difficulties....i.e. sighting, focusing, and letting the contacts settle in, and also some small tremors I also feel that we all react to adrenalin differently and the ones who seem to really feel it may need to slow play to calm themselves. I also don't think the speed matters as long as when you are shooting you are in the present and have already shown your mind the picture of what you want "it" to do. JMO

Then there is always sharking......

td
 
My normal play is about average to a little fast. Maybe 15-20 seconds per shot. If I have a particularly tough shot, I will look at the table longer, sometimes up to a couple minutes if I am having real trouble seeing a path. But once I am down on the ball, its no more than 10 seconds to line up and shoot.

Also, sometimes I do shoot slower on purpose. If my opponent is irritating me, I will take an exceptionally long time examining the table. But again, once I decide to get down on the ball, it is a short time to line up and shoot the shot.
 
grindz said:
Define "play" and also what game are we talking about? i.e. Is there a certain level of player you are asking (say 9 ball ghost or above)? You seem to be talking about play in general, and not just when the player is down on the shot and stroking.

Everyone thinks at different speeds, weighs options, eliminates unsatisfactory choices, visualize destination and shot, ball path, contact point, english needed, adjustments for english, focus eyes, settle in on stroke and if needed extra stroke to get past nerves, etc. And then there is the possibility that something is off and you start over. I think many people have a lot of 'chatter' going on in their minds and have a hard time quieting it.

Personally I am on the slow side of average speed, but most of it is to overcome age related difficulties....i.e. sighting, focusing, and letting the contacts settle in, and also some small tremors I also feel that we all react to adrenalin differently and the ones who seem to really feel it may need to slow play to calm themselves. I also don't think the speed matters as long as when you are shooting you are in the present and have already shown your mind the picture of what you want "it" to do. JMO

Then there is always sharking......

td
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I'm talking about how long it takes you to shoot after you are down on the ball, not how long it takes you to make a decision as to how you are going to play the shot. Good question.

And yes, the player level I am interested in hearing about is someone who plays at or above the 9 ball ghost level. Another good question.

FTR, those names on my list were gleaned from a Poll that people took about how they played the ghost.

The next player I see playing at that snail pace, I am going to corner him and ask him to give up the info I seek.

There have been many good responses in this thread already. I didn't expect many responses on this.

Sometimes, I have so much "chatter" going on in my head, I can't make 3 fookin balls.

AND NO, I'm not talking about playing one pocket, just 9 ball or 10 ball.

Thanks!
JoeyA
JoeyA
 
JoeyA said:
I'm talking about how long it takes you to shoot after you are down on the ball, not how long it takes you to make a decision as to how you are going to play the shot. Good question.

And yes, the player level I am interested in hearing about is someone who plays at or above the 9 ball ghost level. Another good question.

FTR, those names on my list were gleaned from a Poll that people took about how they played the ghost.

The next player I see playing at that snail pace, I am going to corner him and ask him to give up the info I seek.

There have been many good responses in this thread already. I didn't expect many responses on this.

Sometimes, I have so much "chatter" going on in my head, I can't make 3 fookin balls.

AND NO, I'm not talking about playing one pocket, just 9 ball or 10 ball.

Thanks!
JoeyA
JoeyA
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LOL......you're going to corner him.....too funny.:grin-square: :grin-square: and those 'fookin balls' are they kind of like the centenials??:rolleyes:

Anyway.....I think some people get out of sync and do all of the above WHILE they are down on the ball..............

Shhhhh.....ghosty has been whuppin' on me lately....

td
 
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When the pressure is on and my A game comes out I probably take ~10-15 seconds on each shot.
My aiming method probably doesn't make sense when I try to explain it, so I wont, but to sum it up when I get in that zone I get super focused, and that extra time really gets me to lock in and feel very solid when shooting. It lets me be 100% sure I'm going to make the shot, and just won't shoot until I am.

When there is no pressure, I just don't have the attention span to focus THAT much on every shot, so I play much worse. I miss a lot of simple shots, or just don't pay attention to the pattern as much.

I guess it's just the way my brain works. I've never been a super fast thinker, but when I bare down and focus the results are always good.
 
JoeyA said:
Do any of the following players have the ability to play consistently well at the super slow, snail's pace?

1-pocket-player, 9BallPaul, bagofpaper, Blackjack, CrownCityCorey, gpeezy, jamesroberts, Joe T, JustPlay, karma, kryptonite9, miramachine,
n10spool, Nick B, Nine Ball, Poke N Hope, RunoutalloverU,

Thanks,
JoeyA
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Not me. I have always played fast (naturally). Back in the day I played Greg Fixx and afterwards I was homicidal. During the 4th or 5th rack I started to feel my fingernails growing.
 
I've been told that I shoot on the slower side. I just want to shoot until I'm absolutely comfortable. But also as an amateur player and I just need more time to figure out how I'm gonna get out of the mess that lays before me. Given I have a more limited skill set than higher ranked players, I have less options for getting out, thus more of a complicated situation. I don't know if this is going to make any sense at all but here goes, my preshot routine:

First I ask where I want the cue ball to go, what balls to shoot in what pockets, what's the run out or the safe, etc. Alot of times I'll even go over to where I want the cueball to go and make sure when I get down on my next shot, that that is the most comfortable place for me to be. Then I get in front of the current shot and figure out how I'm gonna hit the ball and what speed I'll need to get me from spot A to B. If when I'm down, I can't visualize the balls doing what I'm imagining in my head, then I get up b/c I'm not comfortable. In my final stroke I usually try to envision the balls moving exactly how I pictured they'd more, almost like zoning in if that makes any sense.

Someone on here said that you gotta play at whatever pace is most comfortable to you and I totally agree with that. I've found some players are very technical and analytical like Karen Corr, where as other players feed off the adrenaline and they are such good pocketers that being slightly out of line just doesn't matter b/c they're speed keeps them in the zone.

Unfortunately I'm one of the boring analytical ones :( Damn it! :angry:
 
I've always been a fast player. Recently, I've slowed down just a little, and its helped my game get to the next level. At this rate, by the time I get pro speed, I won't actually be shooting........I'll just looking at the table. lol
 
Neil said:
Joey- I suspect you already know the answer, but just haven't realized it yet. At that level of play, as you well know, one mistake will cost you dearly. At times, I have slowed down my game.

Some days, I find myself playing when I really don't care if I do or not. But, here I am in a game. My head is not where it should be, and I am easily distracted. I know that if I just go on auto-pilot, one of two things will happen. A. I will get in dead stroke. B. I will miss some crucial shot and maybe lose the set because of it.

So, I will slow down and play a little more with my conscious mind. I will make sure of my mechanics, instead of just trusting them to be there. I will take more strokes, trying to get my head back into what I am actually doing. I will make darn sure of my aim. I will make darn sure that I don't consciously 'pull the trigger', but let it happen when all feels good. I will make sure of where whitey is going to end up after the shot.

Hopefully, I will get focused back on playing pool, and be able to go on full auto again.

It is a harder way to play, but at that level, sometimes it is necessary if you really want to win and don't trust 'Mr. Auto' at the time.
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Neil,
You have expressed some pretty clear thoughts about what YOU are thinking about when you play slowly and why you play slowly.

I believe that some people and I guess I am talking about the higher level professional caliber players, have the ability to play slowly for long periods of time and NEVER CHANGE THE PACE and they play consistently well.

I would love to hear from those who play slowly MOST OF THE TIME and play well when playing slowly.

I have slowed down my game and it has helped me but when I really slow down and stay down on the shot for long periods of time, I normally miss the shot and or shape. It seems that when I get down on the shot, I need to shoot the shot shortly after I get down on the shot OR I will start re-aiming or moving "because the shot starts not looking quite right".

I guess I am going to have to catch one of those turtles and persuade them to share their world with me even if only for a millenium.

Thank you for your input. It is appreciated as always.

JoeyA
 
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