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Wondering What You All Think...
Posted in 
Billiards
Wondering What You All Think...
Posted in 
Billiards
Wondering What You All Think...
Just a question for you all... on flyordie can you practise to be a high ranker or are you just born with the skill you are:D?

well i play all four billiards games on here an i seem to maintain the same rank since maybe i got used to the controls ect. im an ok player i guess but could you train to be better like a high ranker in say the top 20? or are you born just good at this? i havent improved the more i play, im just constant. has anyone here been say a 300 ish rank in 8 ball and practised of got a new technique to be say 700. ranks mean nothing the games all fun but it got me two wonder. to improve can u try and play for better position or better potting, to do with angle improvement probably. or the speed you play from one ball to next. its a strange one and how did the high rankers get so good when they first started on the site, cos we all have two get used to the game. Points mean nothing but what do you guys think about this...

Happy Days...Baz:D
Nobody is born with the skill, so to speak - we all have to learn and practise things to improve at them. However it's only natural that some people will learn quicker than others. It could take Player A 3 years to get his first crown, while for Player B it only takes 3 months, that's just how it is. I think the key to breaking through the low-rating barrier is to always think about your position for the next ball(s) and also think about what you will leave your opponent if you miss. If your position is poor then you'll find yourself playing more and more risky shots, you'll probably miss more and lose confidence, as well as a good few points. Perhaps playing the odd safety could help. Basically you'll find that the higher the ratings get, the more you'll see good, or at least decent cueball control.

If you think your technique is bad then try tweaking it a bit. Personally I've almost always played the same way, for all 2 and a half years I've been playing, and for me it works most of the time, but at the start I was also a low rated player struggling to get past 400 or whatever.

Anyway, good topic Baz!

Thanks Martin :D
Well I'm by no means a 700 rater like you asked for :p But I've found myself practicing a lot using the pc game practice function in my spare time and it has greatly improved my game from what it was, so to some extent I do believe you can train yourself, however, as with any hobby/sport/skill there will always be some who have a kind of "natural talent" and tend to be better than the rest without needing much prior training. ;)
Yea i agree with Martin, when i first started here i was pure rubbish but i learned pretty quick but i used to play ALOT! :p, after about a year i was quite good but my pos was pretty bad ! ive still never mastered pos but my potting has got me crowns. 

If i remember correctly it only took Martin about 3 month to get good which is awesome, Baz if you stick at it im sure you'll get better jus gotta keep goin at it mate ;)


i got my first crown as soon as i subbed about 3 mths into the game for me, but i had bin higher than that rating just unsubbed (pro snooker).. the fact that iv got a 139 break in real life i think helped me a bit, cos i knew positional play instinctively... the thing about cue sports is, u can be the best potter in the world but if u dont leave urself on the next ball u wont have a shot!... and if ur the best positional player in the world, u will leave urself an easy pot even if u cant pot much!! think bout that ;) :>
Finally a decent post baz! hehe,just kidding :p

"
I think the key to breaking through the low-rating barrier is to always think about your position for the next ball(s) and also think about what you will leave your opponent if you miss
."
I completly agree with martin. 

I started playing 8ball at the end of 2004 (only in leagues), got my first victory with my (6) and I've been humiliated many times, trust me.Then i met room 1; i used to watch games between (1)'s and (2)'s instead of playing.I lost more time watching than playing, to be honest.(you must watch the game in 3D, and figure out how he does the spin, aim, and so on).And finally, you have to spend more time playing in the beginning.We will always need to be better than we were yesterday, learning from our mistakes.

Think this way "If he can,why i can't?", you will get better as long as you play with your mind, instead of your mouse.


My advice is:
 Do not lose your enthusiasm, just because you lost many matches.We learn new things every day, our success will come one day however, as long as we never give up :p.

I hope this could help..bye and sry about my bad spelling, im trying to improve lol(Baz can we change, i'm your coach and you're my teacher, deal?:p),
Nando.

I'll be honest, I was never good and never got past 370 until I got given a 650 name from an old friend. After that I took my time on shots and started to use that white ball with spin :D

After I was given that name I played better against the harder competition which made me want to become better because I knew I wouldn't always be that high on that name :D
Practice always helps,,not just random potting but trying different things with the cue ball(spin,power).
Ive slowly come to realise if you can learn to control the cue-ball you can control the game.
When i first started i never put to much thot into the next ball,i looked for the easiest pot and went for it,not considering where it would leave me for the next shot.
Gradually my potting skills got to a decent level but i was still not thinking of  positioning. Didnt think to much about it because i had confidence in my ability to pot from anywhere on the table.
Once i got over the 400mark was stuck their for ages and it took me a lot of beatings to realise my gun ho attitude would have to change if i wanted to get to the next level.
You seem like a smart fello tho,just keep trying different things and eventually youl find something that works for you.
Play to win but not for the points and keep enjoying what you do.
>I'll be honest, I was never good and never got past 370 until I got given a 650 name from an old friend. After that I took my time on shots and started to use that white ball with spin

True that lol, way before I made hara-kiri, no one knew me and I used to play on Paul Van Dyk n Garys names I was only like an 8 on my own names but playing on these nicks at (1) level made me try harder to get good. Then I made my own nick hara-kiri in like 2003 and played for myself and pretty much straight away I took that nick up to that level. 

At first I used to go up and down sometimes as extreme as 800 down to 300 but after about a year it stuck and I was the same level all the time. Until you get so confident you know all the shots and the best spins I think you will always go up and down.

I think what made me improve so much by playing high raters on other peoples names was by playing them, I was watching there play. As the saying goes you can only learn to be the best by playing the best;).

Not sure that would work now though as many of the top raters are actually shocking, where as back when I was learning they were class (nostalgia kicking in).
problem that seems to occur is that you get pretty ace and then life priorities get in the way, so wen u come bk u can still play just u won't improve 
I don't know if I'm considered one of those top players, but I have been up there with crowns and all that jazz

Basically at first in like 2002 i was really bad with just random nicknames, then i started playing pool in real life, and i realised what i did there is what i needed to do on this game

And i just focused on my potting first, got really good at that and then brought the position factor into account and gradually I got better, before i made this name and rose up the ranks steadily

Wasn't till about a year later that i got my first crown, but you will get better unless your born just plain crap with angles haha