Pool is a very small world.
Which is why I’m bewildered when people make up these wild claims about how good they are by telling you who’ve they’ve beaten, how many tournaments they’ve won, etc.
This might’ve worked back in the old days but now, with the internet, it’s so easy to fact check someone’s story. All you have to do is just make a post on a pool forum and someone, somewhere, will know something and eventually the “truth” is going to come out.
(And if you follow pool and the pool forum’s you’d probably heard of the whole “the Mary” fiasco. If not, you can read all about it here.)
The reason I bring this up is because there’s an up-and-coming player in the NY/NJ area that did a video interview for a local pool website. In this video the player claims to have won a couple of sets, getting the 8-ball as a spot, against a professional pool player. The player then claims to have gotten drunk and that’s why the player ended up losing to the pro. The player made it sound like “Well, if I didn’t get drunk I would’ve definitely won.” At least that’s the way it sounded to me anyway.
Great story, which is what it is – a story.
See I contacted the pro involved because it’s unfathomable that the pro would be down a few sets to this player even with giving up the 8 ball up as a spot.
And what I got was “I was never down. I won 3 sets for $100 giving up the 8 and the last set I won for $200 giving up the 7. The player is lying.”
Ah, that’s more like it.
(And, yes, I would tend to believe the pro more because 1) there’s no reason for the pro to lie and 2) as I indicated I didn’t think the player could beat the pro even with that spot. Not that the player plays poorly, just that the pro plays that much better.)
So why do people... “exaggerate” about their game? Are they trying to convince others? Or are they trying to convince themselves?
I have my thoughts on why - that'll be my next post.
I agree with you 100%, it is mind boggling how people will lie. I just got back into the game this year & I can see how much different it is from the past.
ReplyDeleteSo many people know each other nowadays with all the forms of communication. The location of people does not matter much as word gets around instantly. Why waste your time lying when it can be disproved in minutes.
The Mary fiasco is just that, a fiasco! For her sake, she better learn how closed in the pool world is before she finds herself on shitlists all over the place.
Keep up the great work in the blog, I love reading it!
Don't you know who I am?! ;-p
ReplyDeleteHi Jay!
ReplyDeleteYou obviously didn't understand what I was saying and didn't understand the point I was making.
I never said or implied that I would have beat her if I didn't get drunk. In fact I did win a set towards the beginning; however, she dominated the whole time we played. At the time I was taking an opportunity to gauge my game, to challenge myself, and to show a little heart. Sara is a much more experienced player than I and I would never say otherwise. I've learned much from watching & gambling with players of that calliber.
I lost $500 to Sara that night about 4 years ago, the fact that I choose to drink so much during the match was very irresponsible, but I was younger and learning back then. I could have also lost sober, and Sara was the favorite either way. I was only 21 and had only been playing tournaments for a few years.
My point was, I have since developed ground rules about not drinking during tournaments or while gambling. I realized after that match, and others around that time, that I needed to make a choice. Whether I was going 2 take the game seriously or whether I was going to just drink and have a good time. Doing both just didn't work very well. I mentioned it in my interview cause I thought other players may relate.
That experience forced me to be more disciplined and these days I take my passion more seriously.
Thanks for your opinion on the matter, I just wanted to set the record straight. Although I am confident that others who have seen or will see my interview will not be as confused as you were.
Take care and happy holidays!
Emily Duddy
The thing I found most unbelievable about the story was the fact that someone actually has to make a rule for themselves about not drinking during tournaments or gambling.
ReplyDeleteThis observation may be due to me breaking my rule of not drinking while using the internet, but:
ReplyDelete"win a set towards the beginning" (stated above) != "won a couple of sets" (stated in interview)
:-)
Happy Holidays