Home court advantage

Speaking for myself(and I dont like it one bit) , I played full time from 85 to 94 the first time. During my first stint at full time pool i never played at the same place for more that a few days in a row so adjusting to new conditions wasnt even a consideration.

Now, what I dont like one bit.....I put a table in my house a little over a year ago and play good on it(for my level) when I go anywhere else the wheeles come off and I cant play a bit. I'm in LA right now and played 8 hours in the past 2 days, I cant adjust to the wet tables here, this isnt the first time I have came to my LA house and went out to play, the last 5 or 6 times I did same thing, I went to the US Open, Olatha etca and cant play at all, I have become a one trick pony, I can only play at home, hell I cant play on other tables in Vegas. I need to get out more.


Man its frustraiting to see the VAST difference, its hard to believe its the same guy,

Fatboy said:

Speaking for myself(and I dont like it one bit) during my second life playing full time, I played full time from 85 to 94 the first time. During my first stint at full time pool i never played at the same place for more that a few days in a row so adjusting to new conditions wasnt even a consideration.

Now, what I dont like one bit.....I put a table in my house a little over a year ago and play good on it(for my level) when I go anywhere else the wheeles come off and I cant play a bit. I'm in LA right now and played 8 hours in the past 2 days, I cant adjust to the wet tables here, this isnt the first time I have came to my LA house and went out to play, the last 5 or 6 times I did same thing, I went to the US Open, Olatha etca and cant play at all, I have become a one trick pony, I can only play at home, hell I cant play on other tables in Vegas. I need to get out more.


Man its frustraiting to see the VAST difference, its hard to believe its the same guy,

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Get A Different Table And It Will Be Like You Are On The Road. Her Is One For All The Geniusses. THe Say This Player Only Plays on One Table His Home Court. Well Thats Smart. Because He Doesnt Have The Nut You Have To Over Come On THe Road. You Mite Win And Still Come Out A Looser. Because Of Your nut.

my nut is brutal, beyond brutal. If the wedding.banquet biz was working it would actually be a $$$ amking proposition there.

there is more to it than that, I want to play good in just more than one spot, I dont like being there all the time. I'm in LA and love it here at my normal house, but I play so bad here that it makes me just want to stay home and thats no good. But to drive for 30 minutes to go play bad, Artie you have no idea how bad, I just cant get motivated. I was banking good, REAL good but thats it, everything else was a joke. I ran 5 balls once playing 1P. I couldnt run a rack of 9 ball. My house here is too small for a 9' box.

Fatboy said:

I put a table in my house a little over a year ago and play good on it(for my level) when I go anywhere else the wheeles come off and I cant play a bit. I'm in LA right now and played 8 hours in the past 2 days, I cant adjust to the wet tables here...

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Fatboy, if that's the only reason you're having difficulty when you play outside of Nevada, then simply go over to WalMart and buy yourself a humidifier for your home pool table room. When you know you'll heading outta town, crank that baby up and practice on a slightly wetter table before you go.

I have the opposite problem. When I travel outside of the Deep South to play, the tables play much longer and faster. The only consolation is that the pockets also become easier. The only way a table in Dixie can come close to approximating northern or western conditions is if the air conditioning is left on high, 24/7. Even then the tables tend to be short.

Doc

Fatboy said:

Speaking for myself(and I dont like it one bit) , I played full time from 85 to 94 the first time. During my first stint at full time pool i never played at the same place for more that a few days in a row so adjusting to new conditions wasnt even a consideration.

Now, what I dont like one bit.....I put a table in my house a little over a year ago and play good on it(for my level) when I go anywhere else the wheeles come off and I cant play a bit. I'm in LA right now and played 8 hours in the past 2 days, I cant adjust to the wet tables here, this isnt the first time I have came to my LA house and went out to play, the last 5 or 6 times I did same thing, I went to the US Open, Olatha etca and cant play at all, I have become a one trick pony, I can only play at home, hell I cant play on other tables in Vegas. I need to get out more.

Man its frustraiting to see the VAST difference, its hard to believe its the same guy,

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It's tough to comment without knowing at least a couple of things, like: what kind of table do you have at home and, how well do you play. Like maybe, how many balls do you generally run at 14.1?

If you don't generally play 14.1, go over to your home table, set up a break ball and see how many you run

Lou Figueroa

My home court has the worse conditions ---the tables roll, skip and are dented there is no air in the summer and no heat in the winter. I have learned to shoot on them pretty well but the real PLUS is when I go to a well set up room with great/good tables and cloth then I really shoot way above my home court speed-everything rolls so much better and more acurate. I don't know if I'm saying get a tougher table but you know the saying---"If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere" thats what we say at my home court and it's true.
XOXO
Fanny

lfigueroa said:

It's tough to comment without knowing at least a couple of things, like: what kind of table do you have at home and, how well do you play. Like maybe, how many balls do you generally run at 14.1?

If you don't generally play 14.1, go over to your home table, set up a break ball and see how many you run

Lou Figueroa

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i have a GC5 with 4 5/8" pockets,

I play ok. I dont know how to really answer that.

I ran 8 playing 14.1 once(4-5 is my average). Its not my best game. I never play 14.1 so its not a gauge of how I play.

Fatboy plays like a B player....sometimes. At his best, he plays okay, but at his worst, he is a C player. He is like a lot of players, very up and down. I've seen him play pretty good, especially at Banks and Eight Ball. But I've also seen him when he couldn't get out no matter how the balls were sitting.

He alludes to his problem right here. He almost never plays anywhere but on his home table. He rarely goes out to play, even in Vegas. Anywhere he goes the conditions are vastly different than what he's used to, and he has trouble adjusting. I've seen it.

His table at home and the room he plays in are the dead nuts. He can never find ideal conditions like that anywhere else. Fatboy likes sparring with good players. Ultimately that will make him a better player someday. He is behind on his learning curve since he quit for so long. I suspect in about four or five years he will be playing pretty good and beating a lot of guys he can't beat now.

fatboy, when you play at home are you by yourself practicing? and in L.A. or elsewhere do you find someone to play? or are you playing by yourself practicing? if you play at home alone and match up outside the house then it could be getting your match game up to your practice game. just a thought that came to mind.

Fatboy said:

i have a GC5 with 4 5/8" pockets,

I play ok. I dont know how to really answer that.

I ran 8 playing 14.1 once(4-5 is my average). Its not my best game. I never play 14.1 so its not a gauge of how I play.

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OK. Then I would say, given those conditions, you're doing about as well as you could expect.

I say this because first off, you have ideal conditions at home and relatively generous pockets. The pockets will be the first thing to trip you up when you travel, particularly to players' venues like Olathe and the US Open, because the second you hit equipment that demands more precision, you're dead in the water. Also, one of the biggest things you have to be able to adjust to at other locales are variations in CB size. If you're not paying attention, this can also be a show stopper for the aspiring road agent. Even then, it takes some experience to be able to adjust to that, along with the cloth speed, cut of the pockets, and, oh yeah, humidity.

One of the things that helped me get over the specific hurdle you mention is playing regularly on tough equipment -- that makes a world of difference when it comes to going from room to room because you've already built in more precision into your stroke. And that is huge.

And about the 14.1: many people will say something like, "I don't play it so that's not a good way to judge my speed;" or, "I don't have the concentration for that game; or, "It's too boring." Personally, I think how someone plays 14.1 can be very revealing, regardless of the above excuses. So what I would suggest is that you try practicing it for a while. And what most folks find out, even after weeks of practice, is that you're not going to run many more balls because, well, that's how you play. And if that doesn't motivate you to improve your game, nothing will.

Anywhos, good luck.

Lou Figueroa
Efren don't play 14.1
but can still run a 100

I have a GCIII at home with tight pockets and simonis that I practice on. Now that Boston only has Jillian's with super slow cloth and dead rails all I practice is "stop shot" pool. One day my son walks under the table and comes out holding a couple of shims; perfect I thought at least I'll have the same rolls as at the pool hall......

thepavlos said:

I have a GCIII at home with tight pockets and simonis that I practice on. Now that Boston only has Jillian's with super slow cloth and dead rails all I practice is "stop shot" pool. One day my son walks under the table and comes out holding a couple of shims; perfect I thought at least I'll have the same rolls as at the pool hall......

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What about World Class Billiards? I'm going to be in Boston next month and was told that place had good equipment (and action) and was only 25 minutes from downtown.

Lou Figueroa

lfigueroa said:

What about World Class Billiards? I'm going to be in Boston next month and was told that place had good equipment (and action) and was only 25 minutes from downtown.

Lou Figueroa

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What days might you have free? I am a ways north, but will make the trip (not that I am good action, lol )

Check your PM's for my phone number

lfigueroa said:

What about World Class Billiards? I'm going to be in Boston next month and was told that place had good equipment (and action) and was only 25 minutes from downtown.

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Am I hearing the squeaking and grinding of gears as the rusty old bear trap is being set open?

Doc

World Class just had their tables redone so they should be pretty good, I'd be happy to meet up and play. The sad reality is that World Class is probably the closest real pool room to Boston. PM and we can figure out the details
Take care
Paul

Toughen up!

Toughen up!

Fatboy--Your tables sound like there too good; no wonder you have trouble in other places; great tables are good for show (in your home) and tournements, but they are very rare in pool rooms. You need to mimic tables your most likely to play on elsewhere ie. with rolls, dirt, tight pockets,worn out cloth, etc. If you are serious about playing pool which I see you are then you have to adjust to unsatisfactory conditions which are the norm and you'll see when you get on that great table you'll shoot on it better than ever; even better than you do now. And practice that 14.1 or eight ball it'll help a lot.
XOXO
Fanny

gulfportdoc said:

Am I hearing the squeaking and grinding of gears as the rusty old bear trap is being set open?

Doc

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lol. Steve knows about how I shoot and he's a big boy, so I highly doubt he'll get in over his head.

And squeaky and grinding?!

That's just the sound my back and knees make when I get into shooting position

Lou Figueroa

thepavlos said:

World Class just had their tables redone so they should be pretty good, I'd be happy to meet up and play. The sad reality is that World Class is probably the closest real pool room to Boston. PM and we can figure out the details
Take care
Paul

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OK, very good. I'll let you know, Paul. As it is, I have at least three guys lined up to play, so you may have to take a number

Lou Figueroa
easy pickins'

Ok just make sure you call me when you're tired and disoriented; I'll need all the help I can get.

jay helfert said:

Fatboy plays like a B player....sometimes. At his best, he plays okay, but at his worst, he is a C player. He is like a lot of players, very up and down. I've seen him play pretty good, especially at Banks and Eight Ball. But I've also seen him when he couldn't get out no matter how the balls were sitting.

He alludes to his problem right here. He almost never plays anywhere but on his home table. He rarely goes out to play, even in Vegas. Anywhere he goes the conditions are vastly different than what he's used to, and he has trouble adjusting. I've seen it.

His table at home and the room he plays in are the dead nuts. He can never find ideal conditions like that anywhere else. Fatboy likes sparring with good players. Ultimately that will make him a better player someday. He is behind on his learning curve since he quit for so long. I suspect in about four or five years he will be playing pretty good and beating a lot of guys he can't beat now.

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Jay I havent hit the balls like a C player in years (except a few days this time last year when my back was bad).