Playing against ridiculously flukey players?

[nrage]

i totally get what you mean, steve... i've met players like that, making sure of every pot, displaying no ambition whatsoever with their positional play and then try to leave you near the baulk cushion when they run out of "position".... now is that any fun?? grrrr

Hmm.. this seems to me to be a slightly negative, but otherwise perfectly valid style of play. I have to play a bit like this .. because I am often faced with a shot where I literally cannot make position due to lack of skill, in such situations I will do my best, but I'll make sure of the pot first and foremost and if I'm out of position I'll play safe. The counter tactic for my opponent is to play better safety than me, so I leave them a shot .. which is what often happens, again due to my lack of skill. So, I'd suggest you do that, instead of getting annoyed with them. Besides which, they can hardly make any sort of decent break playing this way, so you only need to get in once or twice and you've surely won the match easily, even in a handicapped tournament.

[marriott]

So, when I hear 'making your own luck' I ignore the word luck and think of it as playing the foresight and skill to more consistently get a 'good' outcome.

100% agree with this. It's just the phrase that's incorrect, though I do agree with your sentiment. It's like in football, if you're attacking and consistently drilling the ball in low into the opponent's crowded penalty area, you're consistently giving yourself the opportunity to score via deflection of any one of 10 or more players - the 'good outcome'. However, at the point of impact, the ball is just as likely to spoon off a player and go wide/hit a post/out for a throw-in etc. You can only give yourself a better chance.

I still maintain, if a snooker player plays the right shots and gets a run of the ball at some stage - I don't have a problem with this as I would feel he almost deserves it by virtue of the way he is playing the game.

[damienlch]

Hmm.. this seems to me to be a slightly negative, but otherwise perfectly valid style of play. I have to play a bit like this .. because I am often faced with a shot where I literally cannot make position due to lack of skill, in such situations I will do my best, but I'll make sure of the pot first and foremost and if I'm out of position I'll play safe. The counter tactic for my opponent is to play better safety than me, so I leave them a shot .. which is what often happens, again due to my lack of skill. So, I'd suggest you do that, instead of getting annoyed with them. Besides which, they can hardly make any sort of decent break playing this way, so you only need to get in once or twice and you've surely won the match easily, even in a handicapped tournament.

hi nrage, i can understand playing safe due to the difficulty of the positioning or pot, it is an inherent part of the game and i do appreciate good safety play... and your opponents will always try to make your life as miserable...

i guess i'm referring to players who have the required skills but choose to play negatively, for e.g. stun the cue ball dead thus straight on the black rather than a stun follow or screw back a bit to leave a better angle for the next red... well, i'm not really mad at them, different folks different strokes... i try to get on with my game but it's a pity as i think it would hinder their progression to play better.

[ninman]

Who was it who said "the more I practise the luckier I get"? I used to get angry at people getting lucky against me before, but then I realised that it's just part of life and part of the game. If you are good you will appear to get lucky more often.

[tcollick]

Actually I find it the opposite in that the less proficient my opponent, the luckier he is. I play one guy occasionally and he's known by everyone as "fluker". The name says it all. The reason he flukes so many is the when he misses, he misses by a mile, nowhere near the jaws. So he whacks a pot it comes off 3 or 4 cushions and goes in. Saying that he also goes in off a lot aswell. I've just learnt to accept it and know that if he misses that many I'll get my chances. But it used to drive me round the bend, especially when its pink or black frame ball he flukes. (still does when that happens actually want to snap my cue in half).

[nrage]

Actually I find it the opposite in that the less proficient my opponent, the luckier he is. I play one guy occasionally and he's known by everyone as "fluker". The name says it all. The reason he flukes so many is the when he misses, he misses by a mile, nowhere near the jaws. So he whacks a pot it comes off 3 or 4 cushions and goes in. Saying that he also goes in off a lot aswell. I've just learnt to accept it and know that if he misses that many I'll get my chances. But it used to drive me round the bend, especially when its pink or black frame ball he flukes. (still does when that happens actually want to snap my cue in half).

If you think about it, if you never miss, you can't ever fluke one You can still go in-off, but the more skilled players will see the chance of that, and play to avoid it, so they're less likely to do that either. Basically, a bad player is not luckier, they're just bad and random chance, which is the same for everyone, takes effect.

[nevets]

Played a bloke today who calls himself "the unluckiest player in the club". He complained that I was lucky when he failed to get position on a colour. Now what has that got to do with me, or luck for that matter!?

[MasterBreak147]

"the unluckiest player in the club"

That's me isn't it s1ivv3r? !! I'm about as lucky as a cow in a field of astro turf lol

[s1ivv3r]

That's me isn't it s1ivv3r? !! I'm about as lucky as a cow in a field of astro turf lol

As the great Gary Player once said... "the more i practice the luckier i get"... but you do seem to get more than your fair share of "run"... lol

Anyway... its not the red you fluke that breaks my heart... it's the 100 i have to pick out for you afterwards..

[Rane]

Played a bloke today who calls himself "the unluckiest player in the club". He complained that I was lucky when he failed to get position on a colour. Now what has that got to do with me, or luck for that matter!?

He has found a great excuse!

[Rane]

Hmm.. this seems to me to be a slightly negative, but otherwise perfectly valid style of play. I have to play a bit like this .. because I am often faced with a shot where I literally cannot make position due to lack of skill, in such situations I will do my best, but I'll make sure of the pot first and foremost and if I'm out of position I'll play safe. The counter tactic for my opponent is to play better safety than me, so I leave them a shot .. which is what often happens, again due to my lack of skill. So, I'd suggest you do that, instead of getting annoyed with them. Besides which, they can hardly make any sort of decent break playing this way, so you only need to get in once or twice and you've surely won the match easily, even in a handicapped tournament.

The pros use that tactic as well. Especially John Higgins and O´Sullivan (when he´s at his best) are experts in keeping the white ball safe, forcing the opponent to leave an easy opener, and then taking the frame in one visit. If you lose to someone playing that tactic, I don´t think your game is any better than his.