Does Revenge Make You Feel Better?

^The views expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily representative of guerillabedlam.

 

it's not quite new zealand, but a trip's a trip.

i'm usually pretty decent at pool too, although i am out of practice right now.

 

I would beat you all at pool.
Except Irm

I actually havent played in a couple of years, I probably suck now. But I used to be fairly good

 

we could have a big ol' has-been pool tournament.

 

I suck at pool. Anyone can beat me.

 

I suck too, but I feel like I could improve fairly rapidly if someone didn't mind playing someone who sucked. Really I should just go and play by myself to improve.. But now I can't because those are the old days, when we could go places and do things.

 

i don't mind playing against sucky players. it gives me an opportunity to try more crazy trick shots that i wouldn't normally risk if i were playing someone who was going to clear the table as soon as i miss a shot.

 

Excellent! This gets better and better.

Revenge doesn't make me feel better but games nights do. Just trying to go back to topic.

 

But you won't get better playing against people worse than you. An opportunity for a trick shot is also an opportunity to lose a game especially on your 9 ball tables. You get away with a bit on a traditional table because precision is paramount but we've all lost games to people because they hit balls hard and missed and they went in somewhere else.

So when I see nothing on the table, even if it is a weaker player I play it like it was a pro player. I make the next shot for them as difficult as possible whilst moving one of my "dead" or unfavourable object ball into a better position, hopefully snookering them in the process.

 

I like 9 ball tables for the game of 9 ball, but I don't like them for 8 ball. In 9 ball you have to hit balls hard to get the cue ball control as there's less balls on the table so usually you have more distance for the cue ball to travel to your next object ball a lot of the time coming off 2 - 3 rails for position. So the pockets need to be adapted to hitting the balls in that hard.

But I don't like it for 8 ball. Actually I don't like American 8 ball rules period, but the tables don't help.

There's an art to positioning a ball and covering off a pocket in our rules. In our rules you can't hit your ball first onto an opponents ball covering a pocket and sink their ball and leave yours over the pocket. I only assume this is an American rule because they're the rules on the phone games.

One rule I Do Like about American 8 ball is calling the pocket the 8 is going in because I hate losing to a filthy jag.

I don't mind the idea of complete ball in hand, but we have 2 shots in our rules. It seems easier having to shots by the sounds of it but you also have to learn to the strategy to make it work for you.

Say I'm snookered and the only possible way for me to hit my ball is to come off 3 rails and hope I get the angle right. If I miss my ball I'll give up 2 shots and probably leave the cue ball in the open with 2 shots or even if I hit my ball there's no chance of it going in and I'll still leave that cue ball out in the open.

What can I do? Well. Assuming I'm going to give up two shots if I miss anyway my best Defense is to give them two shots, but I'll just move the white ball into a really shitty spot like right up against their ball leaving them nothing but they have to waste their first shot hitting that ball and then they have to work out when they hit that ball how to move the white around to get onto another ball.

So you have effectively left them two shots which sounds advantageous, but you're making them use the first shot up because you blocked them with their own ball, and, also made it difficult for them to get onto a object ball for their second shot.

Sometimes the right foul can actually work out for you.

 

So, couple pics to demonstrate.

1st pic I'm on yellow, the only way to realistically hit the yellow ball is to come off one rail with enough right hand spin to find the yellow ball. But it's a risky shot. I might miss handing my opponent 2 shots with the white ball in the open and if I hit the yellow ball it's not going to go in and I will still leave the white ball open.



So I've decided to play a foul stroke purposely handing my opponent two shots. I'm going to put the white ball right behind that cluster to the right here.

Now this give them two shots, but they're going to waste the first shot. They're going to have to hit the ball they're trapped behind but one ball has to at least hit a rail so he can't tap it. He has to play the red down the rail and hope the white lands favourably for his 2nd shot. Purple location would be perfect how can they do that? And with enough force of them trying to manouve the white ball they might even go back into the pocket you trapped them behind.

So this is a 2 shot strategy example.

 

If that was me, I would use my first shot to clear that red and then I'd use my second shot to try and snooker them again into giving me two shots again. Sooner or later they're going to run out of places To hide that white and the player on Red will have 2 shots to clean the table, but, you can stall an opponent using this strategy and maybe fluster them enough to make a mistake.

 

It's absolutely normal and you could even say "healthy". It's an instinct we've developed as a social species to navigate the social paradigm/hierarchy. This is actually more effective when you're living in a close-nit tribe rather than in a setting where you're getting revenge on someone you'll never see again.



Notice non-social animals don't do this. When it becomes an obsession it becomes a problem.

 

Just for shits and giggles I went for the yellow ball. I hit it but like suggested, the white ball ended in the open. I suggest going for the purple line pocket from there, run out is pretty easy for red and I'd have lost by not fouling on purpose.

 

And also now my wife will revenge against all of you for making me go to the garage and photographing a demonstration instead of being by her side.

 

I used to wish ill on parents, but after so many years I realized it was just misdirected anger at myself. I thought I had been abandoned, everybody has been with me this whole time...

 

Is That You "Irm".....????



Cheers Glen.