Sharking

Jeff sparks

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Houston, Texas
While waiting for the next interesting WWYD, I thought sharking would be something to discuss or at least read comments on, so.....

The act of distracting an opponent, i.e. interrupting his concentration, rhythm,
timing, delivery, aim, or any other mental or mechanical practice normally considered to be part of his exclusive time at the table.

The subtle delivery of movement or sound at critical times is a powerful weapon in one pocket.

RA was a past master at this, bless his heart, RIP brother, you were the absolute best one pocket player on planet earth for quite a few years, and IMO, one of the best ever at sharking your opponents.

Here are a few of the subtle & not so subtle gems used by the late great Ronnie Allen when we played.

(1). Standing just inside your perrifferal vision line and moving at just the right time, maybe just the arm he's holding his cue with, or a slow lean as if to anticipate the completion of my shot, or sometimes a relaxing slump move was employed. He had several he used, all defly timed according to your release point!
(2). Standing just outside of your perrifferal vision line and moving into it at just the right time, a leg, or an arm, maybe just the butt of his cue.
(3). Explaining his last shot to his backer or anyone near him, just loud enough for you to hear, while you're trying to figure out your next move, or make a tough hit, or pocket a ball where the game was in the balance.
(4). Saying something (anything really) at that crucial moment in your stroke.

These are but a few of the shark tactics used by the greatest of all time.
I would marvel at this man, not that I agreed with his tactics, i was just in awe of how well he used them and it seemed his variety was endless! I couldn't wait to see the next one!!!

Perhaps some of you have been the victim of a person who used similar shark tactics against you. Do tell, I'm all ears, I'd like to hear about some.

Jeff


P.S. Personally I think sharking should be an ethics violation, but it ain't gonna stop those who use it.
 

LSJohn

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monett missouri
Personally I think sharking should be an ethics violation, but it ain't gonna stop those who use it.

Agreed, but I'm blessed with some version of tunnel vision... that stuff doesn't bother me (as far as I know! ) Same in golf.

Talking to me while I'm trying to study the table bothers me, but I just wait for the noise to end, then study. :)
 

androd

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A lot old timers had plenty of shark moves.
I've told this before but I like telling it. Here goes.

Jersey Red and Danny Jones were going to make a 3team baseball parlay.
They agreed on 2 but liked opposite sides of a 3rd game.

Red liked his man "Marichal" Danny liked the long price.

They decided to play a game of one pocket to see whose pick it was.
Red lost the flip, racked'em looked at Danny and said "regular or light sharking" :D
Rod.
P.S. Danny won, took the price, Marichal shut'em out and knocked out the parlay. Red moaned about it for weeks. :)
P.P.S. BTW fats was right in there with Ronnie, he was brutal. :p
 

beatle

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its called doing what it takes within reason to get the money. i love it when someone does it to me as it opens up the field so i can do it better to them.
you just have to learn to shut out all distractions and play. the pro basketball players have hecklers at them on every shot the shoot.

there is a ton of little tricks like pretending to take one of his balls and putting it on your side. or constantly taking all the chalk off the table to your chair.
anything that puts him off his game makes him think he is losing because of his shooting and not because you have him locked up.
 

Drop Pocket

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South Carolina
Just out of curiosity, who thinks taking the cue apart is a shark move? I never have and always wondered how and why it became one. Never gave it much mind, myself.
 

Jeff sparks

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Houston, Texas
A lot old timers had plenty of shark moves.
I've told this before but I like telling it. Here goes.

Jersey Red and Danny Jones were going to make a 3team baseball parlay.
They agreed on 2 but liked opposite sides of a 3rd game.

Red liked his man "Marichal" Danny liked the long price.

They decided to play a game of one pocket to see whose pick it was.
Red lost the flip, racked'em looked at Danny and said "regular or light sharking" :D
Rod.
P.S. Danny won, took the price, Marichal shut'em out and knocked out the parlay. Red moaned about it for weeks. :)
P.P.S. BTW fats was right in there with Ronnie, he was brutal. :p

Great story Rod,

When I was reading it, I felt I could actually see and hear them. That's the mark of a good story teller, thanks Rod, I enjoyed that. I can hear Red moaning, and he meant it too!!!
 

Jeff sparks

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Houston, Texas
Just out of curiosity, who thinks taking the cue apart is a shark move? I never have and always wondered how and why it became one. Never gave it much mind, myself.

I always looked at it as capitulation before the games final shot, if thats the unscrewing you are referring to in your post. I suppose it could be considered a shark move if the last shot was fairly difficult, but most of the times I've seen it done, it was golfs equivalent of a "Thats good" putt, end gate, it's over.
 

jtompilot

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A few weeks ago at Buffalos after I finished a match someone came up to me and said "you know he was sharking you on almost every shot". I said, no I didn't.

I will say when I'm playing poorly it seems a lot of things bother me:frus
 

Jeff sparks

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Houston, Texas
A few weeks ago at Buffalos after I finished a match someone came up to me and said "you know he was sharking you on almost every shot". I said, no I didn't.

I will say when I'm playing poorly it seems a lot of things bother me:frus

Next time you're in town Jim let's get together, I'm almost ready for you now.
We can play wherever you like, I don't have a home court.
 

jtompilot

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I always looked at it as capitulation before the games final shot, if thats the unscrewing you are referring to in your post. I suppose it could be considered a shark move if the last shot was fairly difficult, but most of the times I've seen it done, it was golfs equivalent of a "Thats good" putt, end gate, it's over.

That reminds me of a Viking Tour event I played in Cleveland years ago. I was playing real well up 6 to 1. All of a sudden I could make two balls in a row. Before I knew it, hill-hill 6-6, opponent breaks dry. we both miss shots. Finally I get another chance to win, I make the 7 and 8 and barely get ok shape on the 9. I'm lining up my shot up, I bend over to shoot and I see my opponent, right in front of me break his stick down. I stand up, go over to him and try to shake his hand. He's like, what are you doing, shoot the 9. I said no, you just conceded. He started to put his cue back together. I just went to the tournament director, told him what happened. I win
 

jtompilot

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Next time you're in town Jim let's get together, I'm almost ready for you now.
We can play wherever you like, I don't have a home court.

It must be your lucky day:) I'm still in town tonight leaving tomorrow. I'll be back Monday for one last night before I'm gone for a while.

I was at Bogies yesterday for a while and left for Big Tyme where I got into some action. Either of those works for me
 

Henry

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While waiting for the next interesting WWYD, I thought sharking would be something to discuss or at least read comments on, so.....

The act of distracting an opponent, i.e. interrupting his concentration, rhythm,
timing, delivery, aim, or any other mental or mechanical practice normally considered to be part of his exclusive time at the table.

The subtle delivery of movement or sound at critical times is a powerful weapon in one pocket.

RA was a past master at this, bless his heart, RIP brother, you were the absolute best one pocket player on planet earth for quite a few years, and IMO, one of the best ever at sharking your opponents.

Here are a few of the subtle & not so subtle gems used by the late great Ronnie Allen when we played.

(1). Standing just inside your perrifferal vision line and moving at just the right time, maybe just the arm he's holding his cue with, or a slow lean as if to anticipate the completion of my shot, or sometimes a relaxing slump move was employed. He had several he used, all defly timed according to your release point!
(2). Standing just outside of your perrifferal vision line and moving into it at just the right time, a leg, or an arm, maybe just the butt of his cue.
(3). Explaining his last shot to his backer or anyone near him, just loud enough for you to hear, while you're trying to figure out your next move, or make a tough hit, or pocket a ball where the game was in the balance.
(4). Saying something (anything really) at that crucial moment in your stroke.

These are but a few of the shark tactics used by the greatest of all time.
I would marvel at this man, not that I agreed with his tactics, i was just in awe of how well he used them and it seemed his variety was endless! I couldn't wait to see the next one!!!

Perhaps some of you have been the victim of a person who used similar shark tactics against you. Do tell, I'm all ears, I'd like to hear about some.

Jeff


P.S. Personally I think sharking should be an ethics violation, but it ain't gonna stop those who use it.

This is a story about Ronnie a few years ago and I am in with him playing a good action guy now Ronnie is drinking and he gets about 3 games winner and tells me he is stalling, I get hot because he does not need to stall to get the money. Anyway his stalling backfires and the guy comes back and get's us stuck so now Ronnie goes into shark mode, he is complaining about the table the cue ball constantly talking while the guy is shooting, the problem is the guy just keeps playing better getting in dead stroke. I will never forget this the guy is shooting fairly tough out ball and Ronnie is standing right on top of the pocket waving his cue and guy rares back and fires ball in 100 miles and hour and just smiles at Ronnie. So he ends up breaking us and what I learned about sharking that day is it only works if you let it.
 

androd

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New Braunfels tx.
There was a player around Houston named Jack Terry, He was just a hair below the top echelon players but rarely played.

A road guy from Florida called Tennis shoe Bill got a game with Jack,
when Bill realized how well Jack Played, he started sharking him.

A few games later a shot came up on a frozen combo with the 14ball.
Jack asked Bill and all the sweaters if they thought it dead, had some conversation about it. He then shot it in.

Several shots later he snuck the 14ball into Bills pocket, Then in a minute he said "what's this where's my 14ball" he reached into Bills pocket and pulled it out.
He started ranting" I can't believe you'd steal a ball in front of all these sweaters." On and on and on some more.

Of course Bill's denying and shrugging and saying I don't know how it got there.

The wind up Jack started putting his made balls in a rack on the next table
and Bill never made another ball til he ran out of cash.
Rod.
P.S. The strongest I've every seen. :)
 

baby huey

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Anyone who grew up playing pool in the 50s and 60s could care less about sharking. That was just part of the life of a pool player. Ronnie Allen could shark better than anyone and if you ever went to a dance club like Daisy Mays in Santa Ana Ca. you couldn't shoot without getting bumped into or some girl dancing in front of your shot or some drug deal going right in front of you. I remember watching the Ike and Tina Turner Review live after hours in a club in Santa Ana and playing a $50 set five ahead and not being able to focus on any shot. I couldn't make a ball. She shook me to the bone.
 

Frank Almanza

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Upland, California
It's true that Ronnie Allen was on of the best at it. He once sharked me from three tables away and we weren't even playing each other.
Another one of the best is (was) Bucktooth. Just his voice. He could be speaking softly at the other side of the room and it would bother you. Something about the tone of his voice.
 

Jimmy B

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I could tell about some of the ways I have been sharked, but they wouldn't be believed. Great war story, Rod. Where I'm from this would be about moderate sharking..






 

Nick B

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May 25, 2004
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Vancouver, Canada
I'm old school and grew up in a Snooker culture. Respect your opponent and the game. Now if I feel someone is taking liberties I don't put up with it period. Don't care if I'm ahead. Don't care if I got the best of it. Finish game and shake hands. "Sharkers" generally know what they are doing and protest the loudest.

When I was younger sometimes it would get confrontational. Now I just tell them its over and watch to make sure it doesn't get physical.

Nick
 

keoneyo

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What about the guys who claim you are sharking them when all you do is act normal. There was one guy who used to whine about everything. If you took a sip of your coffee. If some one said hi to you and you just said hi back. The guy would accuse you and your friends of trying to squeeze him. I mean what is a guy supposed to do? Ignore people that acknowledge your presence? If you had an itch and went to scratch it he would go nuts. You stand in their eyeline you get crap. So you walk behind them to get out of their view they get hinky.

I used to tell these idiots. Ill be at the coffee shop next door. Call me when its my turn to shoot.

There is this ***** who comes into our place who got 86d from his last regular hangout because he complained he was getting sharked when he was practicing by himself.

BTW I dont think the Filipinos have the word SHARK in their pool dictionary. Not with the ruckus that goes on there. If you can play in their joints you will be sharkproofed.
 

jrhendy

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Ra

Ra

It has probably been 3/4 years ago and I was in with Ronnie in a game he had set up with Harry Platis at Best Billiards in Las Vegas.

They were playing a race to five even for 1k. Ronnie's game was pretty bad at this point but he got juiced up and for the first four games he looked like the old Ronnie. He was moving balls to his pocket, making banks and running balls and chirping every step of the way.

Then he ran out of gas and the turnaround was brutal. Harry had won three games in a row and was well on the way to winning the fourth and would have the break in the hill/hill game when the sharking really began. Jimmy Mataya's brother John had bet $500 on Ronnie with Harry and he started an argument with Ronnie right next to the table when Harry was shooting. There was screaming and yelling from both of them every time Harry got down on a shot until Harry finally lost the game.

Ronnie was a good friend but when he was near broke and desperate, he would resort to anything, even treating a good guy like Harry badly, who had helped him out many times over the years.

Jerry is right, it was common practice in the old days and even expected from many players. You just had to match up good enough to overcome it.:D
 
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