POOL BET - HELP!

[GreekStein]

Me and a friend were playing pool (American) in a bar the other day and he beat me 3 straight games; for each one the loser had to do a forefeit.

I ran bad in these games and him the opposite and it sparked us bantering about who was better at pool. We had to leave but agreed to play a Best of 19 match for £2k (i.e both put up £1k).

We've both sent the money to a mutual friend so that no-one can back out and if they do the other gets the money.

We're going to sort out a date for the match and it's likely to be in about 2 weeks time. At the moment I'm a slight dog to him by my reckoning. His potting is better than mine but tactically I'm better and I'm better positionally too.

However, we really really really wanna beat each other, (money semi irrelevant) and I wanna give myself as much of a chance. I'm going to be practising but does anyone have any advice?

I think I'm looking for someone to give me some lessons too. Price of lessons doesn't bother me but I'm going to want to do a fair bit of practice over the coming few weeks.


Live in London too if thats of use in terms of teacher/location.

[TheChipPrince]

9-Ball pool you mean by 'American'?

Win the lag and run 10 frames straight?!

Potting is pretty irrelevant if so, all about control, play lots on the table you'll be playing on to get the speed.

One tip I was given by a decent 9-ball player when I came from a snooker background, he said always hit the centre of a 9-ball pocket, people will think potting is 'easy' and take it without full concentration, because the pockets are so wide, you can create angles, ie, you can get the white ball to many places, but if concentrate at always hitting the middle of the bag, your positioning will benefit.

[The Camel]

Is the guy you are playing a regular gambler?

I used to play golf with a guy who didn't bet at all, and he was much better than me..

If I needled him into playing a fiver a hole or whatever, I always won, he couldn't take the pressure of playing for money.

Keep reminding him about the bet, saying what you are going to spend the grand on etc etc

[kinboshi]

I hope you're better at pool than blackjack.

[EvilPie]

Need to know if it's 9 ball mate.

First thing is to buy your own stick.

More advice is possible once we know what game you're actually playing.

[gatso]

if it's 8 ball then make sure you're always reds

if it's 9 ball then this

Win the lag and run 10 frames straight?!

[Karabiner]

Always try and leave yourself a decent angle on the object ball for position  and try and keep the white ball close to the middle of the table. As the other guy said it's a control game.

Assuming it's 9-ball remember that three consecutive scratches loses the game.

[GreekStein]

I hope you're better at pool than blackjack.

I hope I'm better at pool than you are at inventing new lines

[GreekStein]

SORRY - It's 8-ball!

[GreekStein]

Is the guy you are playing a regular gambler?

I used to play golf with a guy who didn't bet at all, and he was much better than me..

If I needled him into playing a fiver a hole or whatever, I always won, he couldn't take the pressure of playing for money.

Keep reminding him about the bet, saying what you are going to spend the grand on etc etc

He used to gamble a lot so won't be weak at the knees but £1k certainly means a lot more to him than me so I expect him to feel more pressure.

[doogan]

use a thicker tipped cue to break off, gives the extra power that is a much needed thing in american, then revert to a slightly thinner tipped cue for potting. You need to work on plants to truely get a edge in 9 ball

[DaveShoelace]

I agree with Camel, put him off, Tiger Woods apparantly gets in his opponents heads by giving them advice before they take a shot, reckon that might mess with his head

[DaveShoelace]

Also, do this:


best ever scene from Fresh Prince of Bel Air

[GreekStein]

use a thicker tipped cue to break off, gives the extra power that is a much needed thing in american, then revert to a slightly thinner tipped cue for potting. You need to work on plants to truely get a edge in 9 ball

IT'S 8-BALL!

[TheChipPrince]

SORRY - It's 8-ball!

As 8-ball has about a million different set of rules, get clued up on them, lots of tactial pool play revolves around getting 2 shots and using them in the best way, ie do they carry etc, get up to Rookies for some practice?!