Playing Ability and Knowledge

At what point in your playing career do you think your peak playing ability and one pocket acumen intersected. By acumen I mean when you look at a situation and say I know what the right shot is, not a guessing game.

Hard question to answer, but I can say this.

1P showed me where ALL my weaknesses were in my skill set. You have to understand cue ball control far beyond anything I would have guessed before playing, and that realization took about 2 years.

poolboy79 said:

At what point in your playing career do you think your peak playing ability and one pocket acumen intersected. By acumen I mean when you look at a situation and say I know what the right shot is, not a guessing game.

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I'd say just about right here.

poolboy79 said:

At what point in your playing career do you think your peak playing ability and one pocket acumen intersected. By acumen I mean when you look at a situation and say I know what the right shot is, not a guessing game.

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Knowing the right shot , doesn't necessarily mean you should shoot it.
You need to have the skill to perform the shot the right % of the time in that situation, to make it viable.
There are usually several shots that perform positive functions.
If the "right" shot is too low of a % for you, you should opt for the next best one that you can perform consistently.
The alternative is to make your car as comfortable to sleep in as possible, because that's usually where the guys that can't lay off a shot , end up.
If you are playing for fun, shoot away, maybe it will become a good shot for you, if you miss it enough times.

TO ME THE 2 PARTS OF YOUR QUESTION HAS INDIVIDUALLY 2 ANSWERS
1)when did you think your peak playing ability occurred
2)when did your peak understanding of one pocket occur
i understand onepocket (i think..)
way more than my playing skills have peaked....
because i have watched ALOT of 1p videos and learned from the commentators
although i started playing pool a long time ago
i took alot of time off and have only been seriously practicing to improve in the last 4-5 years
so to answer your question
for me neither has occured yet

Answering from my personal view, my knowledge probably peaked a few years back when I was playing more One Pocket all the time by traveling in about a 100 mile radius. Because I think for you to take advantage of your study of the game in order for it to peak, you have to be playing a lot of One Pocket. Because it only really peaks if it is a practical knowledge based on melding your conceptual knowledge and your experience. We've all heard the comments about real knowledgeable players, like Grady for example, that "he has forgotten more about One Pocket" than we will ever know . I think your knowledge peaks when you are immersed in the game -- so it isn't really an age thing, it's more like catching a wave.

Most great players, when you look at their trajectories, they grew the fastest and often caught their peak wave at a given game when they were immersed in good competitive situations that included other like minded players -- not in a vacuum.

You can see that in players too -- of different ages. Look at Shannon Daulton -- knowledgeable well beyond his years at 20 years old because he was immersed in the game early. Whereas Efren came to the game late, I think his knowledge and skill intersected about 5 years ago, at about 55 years old.

mine came when i took the effort to learn my % chances of making each type of shot and getting where i want to be. if you dont know that it is a pig in a poke.