More Tournaments

I'm always be looking for ways to improve my game and one of those ways is to put myself in pressure situations.  Lately, when I've been feeling good, I've had the idea to play people for some small amount of money just to add a little bit of pressure - but that, strangely enough, hasn't really panned out too well.  Meaning, I can't find opponents that are comparable to my level.  They're either far above me or considerably below.  As such, I'm looking for tournaments, small local events primarily.  There are a few weekly events available, but I'm leery of them.  Mainly because they're all on barboxes, and I don't play as well on them as I do on the 9fts. 

Well, I've decided that I must put those equipment limitations away otherwise I'll never get any training.  There's only the hope of a random 9ft open tournament twice a year and I want to do more than that, so I must adapt my playing appropriately.  If I'm to be a good all-around player as I want to become, I must be able to adapt to the table - both in size, speed and reflections. 

I'm not sure that I'll make the weekly tournament for this week since I'm currently pretty sick right now, but next week there is a very big tournament.  A Midwest 9-ball Tour stop happening at The Break, over in Cahokia, IL.  I'll be attending probably as a spectator since I'm not sure I feel prepared to take on some of the big names that will show up.  I'd like to go tonight, if only to watch, but I know that I'll end up staying there all night and I just don't feel good enough, physically, to do that.  I would love to get out of the house though. heh

In the meantime, I'm going back to watching the Diamond 10-Ball Championships happening at the Super Billiards Expo down in Valley Forge right now!

More Kicking

I just have a few minutes, but I've been meaning to post this since Tuesday...  After my 8-ball league, I played a teammate some cheap 9-ball sets... it turned out to be a great time.  My 2 personal "super shot of the match" moments are below:

These were a bar-table with the usual questionably-reliable rails/cloth.

He played safe on me, and after a long while of looking around for various options and really not trusting the 1-rail kick with english (to avoid the side-pocket), I opted to go 3 rails at it.  It worked and I got a rewarded even. :)

 

A few games later I ended up nearly dead straight on the 7-ball.  Earlier in the night I hit a power-draw shot in this situation and actually overran position, so I was hesitant to do it again.  Instead, I cheated the pocket a bit and loaded it up inside-force-follow to back down-table.

I am REALLY liking my new stroking skills - as well as my new diamond systems. :)

Overconfidence is bad, m'kay? (and disrepsectful) (Dale)

I learned another valuable lesson this weekend: Having confidence is good. Having too much confidence is bad.

I had a rescheduled "match" to play my brother-in-law Friday night.  We've never really played before - outside of one night on a bar box in a bar with some strange characters hanging around.  We got there around 8 and he was there warming up and getting used to the size of the 9fts again.  We shot a few warmup balls then started it off.  To make it interesting we decided to play for the cost of the time.  So, I said lets do best of 3 sets, races to 7.

The first set I won 7-1.  Then we switched over to our usual table, it's tighter pockets, but out of the way of the rest of teenagers and bangers throwing balls all over the room.  The 2nd set started off in my favor, winning the next 2 racks.  All the while, I'm goofing around with XY and other regulars and noticing that I'm taking more risky shots when it's my turn at the table.  Before I know it, he's up 4-5 on me.  Then 4-6, then 4-7 and he wins the 2nd set. 

Now it's down to the last set.  The last few racks really went his way, getting great rolls and leaving me terrible when he missed.  The last set started off rough for me.  I was down 0-3 before I realized what the problem was: I wasn't really thinking about the game.  I was joking around with other people, watching the game, but wasn't really in the game.  I finally got on the board when it was 1-5.  Then, I got a few rolls, and he dogged the 9 a few times, giving me 4-5.  I was almost on a roll, then he get a rack, 4-6.  I managed to gain my focus back and get it back to 6-6. hill-hill.

All 3 hours of pool game down to one rack, and I had the break.  Unfortunately, I broke dry and left him a shot on the 1.  Luckily, the 3 was buried and he broke it out, and missed.  I got the table on the 3 and ran up to the 8.  Now, the 8 is on the left long rail about 1/2 diamond from the pocket.  The 9 is on the right long rail around the 1st diamond just opposite the 8.  My shot on the 7 left me around the 2nd diamond nearly straight in on the 8.  It should've been 2 easy shots, but I was so worried about position, I tried to add too much top/right english and threw the 8 in the corner rail instead of the pocket. 

I was seriously disappointed with my performance.  In retrospect, I never thought I'd have to play a 3rd set, and certainly not go hill-hill.  I understand people get rolls and others don't and I'm fine with that, but honestly I never should have let it get that far.  I thought about the mistakes I made all night and into the next day.

I did two major things wrong: 1) I didn't stay in the game because I assumed I would win regardless. 2) I disrespected my opponent by not taking him seriously. As such, I deserved to lose and am glad I did.

So, Dale - if/when you read this: Good job!  Thank you for the lesson in manners and I apologize for the disrespect.

So Much Pool To Watch!

So, I posted the other day how I've been watching the Mosconi Cup on youtube all week, last night I tried it on my PS3 and found that it works there too; albeit a little more pixelated on the bigger screen.  This morning, I find out that Simonis is providing a LIVE and FREE video stream for the Touring Stone Classic starting today, for the next 4 days!!  If anyone is interested, you can find it here: Touring Stone Stream (via AzBilliards.com)

My First Break and Run!!!!!

Today's big pool story is that I finally - FINALLY - completed a break'n'run!!  I've never done it; not in practice, not in a game.  The most I've ever done is ran 2-9.  Today... I did it! With a bit of luck, I will totally admit.

I wish I could remember the layout, but it one of my first games and I played many today.  I broke, make the 8.  The 1 was blocked by 2 other balls all along the long rail.  I had intended on shooting the 1 off to the other side, leaving the cue behind the wall - but I hit it too hard and somehow the 7 at the end of the string dropped into the corner.  The 1 carom'd off another ball to push it up towards the side pocket on the other side.  From there, I ran out - with some pretty good position play.  I overran a few, underran a few, but nothing was so bad that I really killed myself.  When I shot the 6 and got a little long on the 9, I thought: "How many balls is this now?" Then immediately pushed that thought from my mind and focused on the 9.  After it sank, I thought a bit more... Then asked my opponent, "Did I just run those?" He said, "Not the whole table." in a tone that was akin talking to a kid who was trying to gain appreciation.  But then I thought about it.  I don't remember missing anything, and I only had to run 7 balls to get out and I don't remember him at the table at all.  I HAD to have to run out.  I just know it.  I KNOW IT.  I let it go and decided to move on, but I know I did.  I remember moving from the 4 to the 5, I know I sank the 6 cuz it dropped me on the 9.  The 3 is only ball I can't exactly remember - but the table was open and he's not the kind of guy that would leave it with all those balls.

The next rack, I broke dry and he ran out; which kinda killed my high, but oh well.  Now that I know I can do it, and have done it... I will definitely try to do it more often.  Of course, that's always the plan - but I know that I'm not quite to the point where I can predictably get position for all balls.  I still need a little luck here and there; and I'm perfectly okay with that.

A Bit of Practice - The L Drill

This weekend was pretty low-key.  I was supposed to have a friendly match with my brother in law, but he had his wisdom teeth removed earlier in the week and wasn't feeling up to playing; which I completely understand.  So, I went to the hall anyway and decided to do some work.

I warmed up with my new "usual" warmup exercise (see the Warm Up Drill video in a previous post), a few times around the table.  Then AJ asked if I cared to shoot a few games - sure.  So we played a while, then it got busy and he went to help at the counter.  Amongst all of the games, somewhere I found myself out of line and was jawing every other ball.  So, during this break, I did a stop-shot drill at varying distances along the long rail.  After that, I tried the "L" drill for the first time:

I did the drill on each corner.  Well, lets just say I worked through each ball in the drill on each corner.  I was unable to successfully run the balls in order without missing, all 9 in a row - but I never expected me to do that anyway.  My position play is decent - meaning I know where I want the CB to go, and generally how to get it there - but my speed control is lacking and I tend to overrun position.  When I try to combat that, I underrun by a significant amount.  Of course, the 2nd time I shoot the shot, I'm usually able to get it just about right.  Having the first shot as a guide is great - and I do learn from it - but it's very frustrating to so consistently come up short or long on a shot - and so rarely exactly on the spot.

I think I found this drill to be easier than the 9 balls down the center of the table drill.  Maybe because I was only working with one pocket? Or Maybe because getting position up the center line is easier for shorter distances?  I do know this ... by the time I was rounding the corner of the "L" my position was around the 1st diamond past the side-pocket (too far away).  This happened nearly every time I tried this drill.  Which inevitably led me, in an attempt to correct this, to come short on the last 2 balls.   It's strange, even the 4th time through the drill, I still managed to make the same mistakes - even while thinking that I can correct them.  *shrug*

My "shot of the night" was actually 2 shots back to back.  The situation: 9-ball game, opponent has left me half-hooked for the 5 ball.  I know I can hit this ball with a slight masse around the blocker - I think maybe if I'm lucky I'll make it, but I'll definitely hit it.  Well... I made it!  But, then the ball creeps on over to hide behind the 9 ball - hooking me for the 6.  It's essentially the same shot, so I line up, jack up, and pull the trigger ... and to my amazement, and those watching, I make that one as well!!  Here's the layout:

I quickly threw this layout together, and the 9 might not be in the exact spot.  It was only a half-ball (at most) blocker.








I spent the rest of the night playing one of the employees, making some good shots - working on safety plays rather than attacking all the time.  It was a good time.

A Milestone!!!

I've posted here before about my usual lunch partner, Morris and how whenever we play he wins.  And how it's been a goal of mine to win a day's overall score on a day when he's shooting well.  As it happens, today was that day!

The last two days I've gone at lunch, I've done drills 90% of the time.  Specifically these:





Now, I've never successfully completely any of those in the manner in which they are supposed to be done (ie: without missing or fouling) - but each week I try them, I get a little closer.  In addition to this, I've been reading that book Zen Pool mentioned the other week.  This week, I have found my pocketing skills have increased by a big margin from such a simple tip from that book: Focus on the exact spot on the object ball you want the cueball to contact.  This seems almost automatic, but for some reason, I wasn't focusing on a spot, rather an area.  After employing this spot-based aiming system, I'm pocking most of my shots dead center pocket.

So, back today.  I had planning on running through another drill I haven't yet tried, but shortly after I got there, Morris showed up.  So we started playing.  He gave me first break and as luck would have it - I sank the 9 on the snap. Heh.  Next rack, I broke dry, and he combo'd the 9 off the 1.  It looked like it was going to be an exciting day, and it was.  After about 6 racks, he said "Lets race to 5, put some pressure on ya."  So we cleared the wire and away we went.

The first set, I went up 3-0, but then blew position towards the end of the rack and gave him the table on the 7.  Then it was a back and forth through the racks with him coming out on top and I lost 5-3.  The 2nd set was all me.  Literally.  Now, I didn't run any racks, but I hardly missed; I also got lucky a few times, but still, I ran off with that set and won 5-0!!  The 2nd set, I went up 2-0 (meaning I had won 7 in a row!) and he made a comeback bringing to 3-4, then he goofed and scratched and I won the last 2 racks to win the day 3 sets to 2; total score: 13-9.

I have to say, the shot of whole day was this one.  The cue ball was about an inch and half off the rail and in dead straight line with the 8 into the corner pocket.  I thought about using force-follow to hopefully bounce offline and come back up off the short rail, but the chance that I would follow the 8 into the pocket prevented me.  So, I lined up the shot straight on, jacked up the back of the cue and added just a hair of right and power-stroked it.  I kept my head down to ensure good follow-through (as best as is available in that position).  I heard the 8B drop and then looked up, to my surprise I saw the cue ball slowly creeping across the table towards the center - giving a fairly easy shot on the 9.

Overall, I shot today the way I know I can shoot - and I'm very happy with myself.  Previously I would get little glimpses of this, for 2 or 3 balls then that's it.  Today I would consistently run 5 or 6 balls with a decent spread.  Now, if only I can keep this level of focus and stroke - I'm looking for the next improvement already!

Last Minute Tournament

So, yesterday was a big 9-ball tournament out at Ride The Rail on Telegraph.  Initially only XY was going to enter as she played for free (being a girl and also a C player). It was $10 for me, with a chance to win $500.  Yeah, that didn't so much happen.  It was on bar-tables, not my favorite.  I'll save that complaint for the end of the entry:

It was scheduled to start at 5pm with a max number of 64 players. I'm not sure how many they had, but I dont think it was 64.  Anyway, the previous day's tournament was running late in the 2nd half ($1K 1st prize) so we didn't get started until almost 6.  In the first round draw I ended up drawing this kid Justin who we knew from Sportcenter.  I won the round 7-4.  I'm glad to have started off with that win - and for some reason even moreso that I played someone I sorta knew.  It took the nerves down a bit - although he claimed to be a C player, and he was not.  C players don't get position like he was getting 50% of the time. *shrug* 

The 2nd round guy was this guy Keith, and he was a pretty decent player.  I would definitely like to play him again.  I got some rolls, but he got more of them unfortunately.  I really lost it when in the 6th game I ran the last 6 balls playing pretty decent position - but also having to deal with some pretty thin cuts that I would've missed on a large table - finally getting to the 9, making another thin cut, then not being used to the table-size/speed the cue ball went two rails towards the side pocket, then the table took it and it curved 4 inches on a slow-roll straight into the jaws.  If I had won that, like I was supposed to, I believe I would've gotten all my confidence back; as it was, I got scared of the weird rolls, dead-rails and unpredictable speed of the chewed up cue ball.  He won his hill match with, get this, a carom off the 6 to bank the 9 - to combo the 8 and have the 9 follow.  Then he tells me he meant to do that.  Sure.  Okay - you might have seen that - but if you could've done that at any time, you wouldn't have hung the 9 2 rounds ago, nor would you have scratched those three times.  Anyway - I go down 3-7 (I gotta check my log to be sure, but I'm pretty sure).

So, now I'm on the loser's side of the bracket and I draw this guy Bobby.  What he's doing on the loser's side, I have no idea - he was good. Real good. Better than me.  He made some mistakes, and for the most part, I capitalized on all of them, but he was more consistent and had an excellent feel for the table, speed-wise.  He was also part of the top 16 of the previous day's tournament; which I didn't think they let those guys play in this one.  oh well.  It was a pretty good match - considering the skill differences. I made some good shots, a great carom off the 5 to the 9, if I don't say so myself. But, in the end, he took the last two racks in a row to win 7-4.

XY (my stepdaughter) had a rough time, her first round was against a pretty good player - who was also being kinda rude to her (they played on the table next to us).  She lost 7-0.  Then on her next match, she drew a guy, a little younger, and started off down 0-3; but then game back to tie it up 5-5.  Unfortunately, she scratched on the 9 the next rack, given 6-5 and he wins the next rack, so she went out with 2 sets.  But, she was happy to  have played - but equally as frustrated with the bar tables. heh.

I'll post my bar table rant in a separate entry, I want to spread this around actually.

Late Night Pool and Bar Boxes

Friday night, XY went to the hall with some friends while I played my new Assassin's Creed 2 game for a while.  Her friends left early, so I went on up there to play a while and give her a ride home.  I don't recall doing anything spectacular that night - aside from being pretty consistent and winning games.  No fantastic shots or run-outs unfortunately.  I've discovered something though... I'm being quite a bit more consistent with the number of balls I can run; which isn't enough, but it's a start. 

A number of times I'd get to the table on the 6 and run out with few problems.  If I get there on the 7, it's almost a locked in win.  However, when I break, I rarely run more than 5 balls.  So, it seems that something is preventing me from going any further.  Either I start thinking about how I could be out if I'm careful (thereby distracting my head from the current shot) or I get more and more out of line, forcing harder and harder shots.  I think it's a bit of both.  I know the latter holds true, I know that for sure - and I used to catch myself focusing on the rest of the rack while on the 3 or 4 ball and have mostly corrected myself of that habit.  One ball at a time - with eyes on the next 2. 

That's how I'm playing right now.  And for the most part, that's fine - but it's also shown me that I don't have as clear of an idea where the CB will be traveling as I had previously thought; causing me to get out of the line.  I have a decent shot making ability, so for the most part it doesn't kill me - but it does make me frustrated; which does affect my shot making.  So... some more things I need to work on, obviously.

Last night, XY suggested we hit up the bar-boxes so she can practice for her tournament next weekend.  I still haven't decided if I'm playing in it - but I'm thinking not.  It's interesting playing on those tables, like it's almost difficult to take them seriously - to really get down and shoot a serious shot on them.  At first I was shooting wildly because, lets face it, everywhere is close to the next ball on that thing.  I never did get a break'n'run - but I did run 1-9 on a practice rack while XY was at the jukebox.  Thank the makers for those giant pockets though - cuz a few of those shots would have never gone on a 9ft table. haha  I was a bit disappointed in myself though because I didn't break'n'run out on that thing - as easy as it is to sink balls, I still managed to hide myself playing position - which is a bit more forgivable, imo, because I'm used to sending the CB 15 feet, not 8 for 2-rails position.  *shrug*  Next Saturday we'll be back there playing a good long time, as the tournament is Sunday.

Back in the Saddle

So, last night XY and I went back to the pool hall.  It was the first time I've played since Monday. Okay, 3.5 whole days, but still.... it felt like a long time.  We did some warmup racks and then she wanted to do some drills, so... we did.  Nothing too serious, mostly rail drills and draw/stroke drills.  It was nice playing again - and surprisingly, I played pretty well.

Today's adventure was nice as well.  My usual hall, C&C, was dead empty, so I went to the double-shim'd table (tight pockets) and shot some position drills for a while.  A little while later this other regular, Todd, came in and we played a few racks.  He's a very good player and regularly beats Morris so I was curious to see how this would turn out.  We didn't have a lot of time to play and he was experimenting with some different stroke techniques, so we ended up with a 3-3 score before I had to go.  It should've been 5-1 or 4-2 though - as he jawed the 9 once and then the 8 another rack. 

Afterwards, we talked about strokes and whatnot - he gets awesome CB action, i mean, awesome - but his stroke is non-existent.  He stabs the ball; which just befuddles me how he's able to get such good action.  However, he definitely inflated my brain a bit with comments about my stroke and mentioning watching me play from time to time.  I missed easy balls, but I think it was because I was overconfident on them.  In general, I'm feeling pretty confident about a lot more shots than I used to - but there are still some that I need to make sure to check more than once.  I really believe that in not too long a time, I will be able to run some racks, provided the break is decent.  As it is now, I can't seem to run more than 6 consistently - each one gets just a tiny bit more out of line and by the 7th ball, I've completely gotten out of line and either hit it way too hard or way too soft - if I make it at all, the 8th ball is near impossible.

I hope to get some quality pool time over the thanksgiving break, but we'll see how that goes.  I'm also an avid gamer and will be picking up Assassin's Creed 2 on the way home today (I preordered it) and I expect that is going to occupy some hours. heh.

My 3-Rail Bank Shot

Last night, XY surprised me by taking me to the pool hall on her dime; which was definitely a nice surprise.  Overall, the night was less than stellar, but at one point, myself and Josh, another local, were playing and when got down to the 9-ball he tried a 3-rail bank that just missed.  So, we kept trying to either kick or bank the 9 at least 3 rails.  After one of his attempts, he left me nearly straight in the corner along the bottom short rail.  I thought about it for a bit then shot this:



I was ecstatic!  I wonder if I could do it again if I had to? haha... not on the first try i'm sure. On the other hand, i don't have to make it again - i just did.  I'll be keeping that shot in mind if/when I ever play a Banks game.

Speed Pool

Last night XY got me to go the pool hall after I had intentionally left my stick at home so I wouldn't go during lunch. I felt I just needed a break.  But, I went ahead and gave it a try anyway.  Although I was feeling quite exhausted for some reason most of the day, I still played decently.  It a pretty low-key night, nothing was too serious and I even got a chance to run a drill, so to speak.  She was taking a break and suggested I run the 9-ball position drill, but i really hate that one, so I did this one instead:


Which, i can't say i've ever done start to finish before.  I even got out of line a few times and was able to go 3 rails to get back in position for the next shot.  That's a definite improvement over my last attempt from just a few weeks ago.  So... that made me feel good.

After another few games, it was getting late and things were getting silly.  Then XY said she wanted to see how fast she could clear the table.  So, we broke out the stopwatch on my phone heh. The initial goal was 2 minutes.  She got close a few times, but never made the 2 minute mark.  AJ made it in 1:57.  Then I made it in 1:21.  he tried again and got 1:32, then I tried again and got 0:57.  It's all about the break. :) If you get a good break, it's all gravy from there.  No one beat that time last night.

As silly as it seemed at the time - I really think that little game was pretty helpful.  I didn't have time to mull over each shot and plan everything out to the letter. I had just enough time to get down, shoot and hope the CB goes to that area for the next ball.  It really took a lot of the mental anguish over shots out of the game and just let me body take over.  It's almost like a reset.  I'm planning on what to do as I'm walking around the table then I get down and pull the trigger.

It's by no means a way to play - but it is, I think, something I will keep in mind for those days when nothing is working.  I should run a few racks like that to shut off the brain and let my muscle memory free.

Tournament: Fail

So, the tournament was yesterday and I have to say that entire day couldn't have gone much worse. First off, I slept poorly and not nearly long enough. I had to get up 2 hours earlier than usual, but that was only a problem because I slept so bad. I got to work nice and early though, did some internet stuff then left for lunch. I stopped by to hang out with MX for lunch then went to the pool hall around 2pm - the tournament was at 7:30. I know my cycles enough to know that I going to start hot, get really cold - then really angry - then finally nice and calm. How long this takes is entirely variant, but I wanted to make sure I gave myself plenty of time to work through these.  The afternoon started with me playing Morris as soon as I got there; which was fine I suppose.  But man, I was off. Really off, nearly from the get go.  I only ran more than 2 balls a few times, which is just ridiculous - most of the time I was still getting position, but I just couldn't ever seem to make the first shot.  oh well.  At 6, he left and I had a protein bar and sat and waited.  I thought about continuing to shoot, but I also knew that I was getting tired, so I decided to wait it out.  I'm still sure that was the good choice. 

Anyway, the tournament begins and I draw player number 13.  At first I thought it was going to be a good omen (given my affinity for friday 13ths).  My first round was against Juliana - a 6.  I was a 4.  We flipped a coin (instead of lagging, my choice) for the first break and I won.  I broke, made a ball, but left myself a long back-cut bank on the 1B - a shot I make probably 85% of the time - but not this time.  She ran to the 6 and rattled it in the jaws.  I ran the last of the balls - which included making a tight bank on the 9B.  I broke again and didn't get anything.  She made the 1B and then played safe on the 2B.  We had a bit a safety battle for about 2 or 3 shots till I left her a window and she ran to the 7, then played safe again. It wasn't the greatest safe because the 7 was right in front of the side pocket, but the CB was hidden behind the 9B downtable. My options were to jump or kick.  Since I hadn't made a successful jump all day, I decided to kick.  I missed the ball entirely.  It doesn't matter that I was really close, the fact is I fouled.  She ran the rest.  The 3rd rack she broke and didn't make anything, but I, again, didn't have anything but a long rail bank.  I thought, surely I'll make it this time... nope.  She ran 5 balls and left me safe, a good safe. I kicked, scratched.  She ran out.  The 4th rack was pretty similar, she broke made the 1 and 2, but missed the 3 leaving it a half-diamond on the long rail, however, again, leaving me hooked behind the 5B (position on the 4 though) near the opposite side pocket.  Here I actually made a great masse shot and got around the 5 and the CB caught at just the right time and curved right into the 3 nudging it just enough to pocket it in the corner.  I thought THIS was the shot that was going to bring me back into the game. I make the 4, but the 5 hangs in the jaws.  She runs out. The next rack, somewhere along the lines I missed a kick entirely again and in my frustration I tapped the CB with my stick while it was still rollling (though in no danger of hitting another ball - it was still a really bad move).  She somewhat condescendingly reminded me that that was entirely not allowed - which I knew, but was just too damn frustrated to care.  It was embarrassing though, and it was just one more thing.  Oh, the rack before then, when she won her 3rd game, we noticed that there were 2 chips on my wire - there should've only been 1 though.  She asked me about it and I said I only moved one, then she asked how I thought that could've happened. I said I have no idea, I'm pretty sure I cleared off the wire and I'm pretty sure I only moved one.  She said she didn't remember me winning a 2nd game, and I agreed and said that I have not.  So we fixed that without any issue.  That was embarrassing as well.  All of that coupled with my poor playing really threw me off.  Anyway, during the 6th game, she somehow missed the 9 and left me damn near straight in.  I jumped up to the table and looked at it.  I got down and then realized I was too excited, so I stood up, took a deep breath and looked at it again.  I got down, shot it and because the CB ever touched the 9B, I felt my arm swing and I knew I had missed it.  Jesus f'n christ how did I do that?  2 racks later, I think, she again missed a tough cut on the 9 but left the CB and 9B frozen in a weird angle near the first diamond, pointing into the 1/2diamong area on the long rail.  I thought it would maybe cross-corner, so I hit it pretty good, the 9B moved to the 1st diamond on the short rail and the cue went zipping into the upper corner pocket.  It's now 5-1 and she's breaking again.  She runs to the 4 and misses, but it doesn't matter cuz I miss it, and she gets out.  That's all she wrote. 

Overall, it was terrible.  All I wanted to do was play well, but I barely got any time on the table.  I HATE winner-breaks tournaments for that reason.  Whenever I did get there, I'm basically coming in cold and totally out of stroke - and I'm almost always left with a really difficult shot.  Alternating breaks would at least give each player a fair chance at staying at the table. 

I played like a 2 and today I'm feeling beaten down about it.  I feel like Kevin Costner in Tin Cup after she shoots an 83 on the first day of the Open tournament.  Don Johnson asks him how he shot an 83 and he Kevin says "i missed an 3 foot putt for an 82." I missed a near straight in shot on the 9 for at least a 6-2 score.

On the table next to us was this older man, who was a 4, playing this real hoosier of a guy, ranked 2.  He barely knew any of the rules of 9-ball, and at one time asked if jumping was legal, and as we said yes he got down and scooped the CB into the air before we could even stop him.  Afterwards we said that was an illegal shot, you have to hit down on the CB to jump it.  He didn't quite understand how that works; which is fine - it's a weird concept at first.  He ended winning 2 games and the older gentle was noticeably annoyed.  I know that Julianna was set to play him (Melvin) next.  Btw, Melvin had his wife (who's name I didn't get) and his son, Bubba, (seriously) with him.

Back to my game - I could come with up a number of excuses - lack of sleep, lack of practice, we played on the old one-pocket table, which I never play on... ever, was too nervous, nervous about playing a girl, nervous about playing a 6, nervous about playing someone that remembered me from 2003/4 when I used to go to chesterfield billiards, just plain nerves.  But the bottom line is, I played horribly - and no matter what the excuse, there's no excuse for missing some of the shots I missed.  There just isn't.  I should be able to make some of those while so drunk I'm seeing triple.

I didn't even bring my stick today.  I'm going to take today off - it'll be tough because I really want to get back on the table, but I'm feeling pretty down still.  Even though I got a good night's sleep (finally it seems) last night, I'm just not up for shooting poorly again.

There's another tournament at the end of the month, it's much larger than this one - but it's on bar boxes - and it's quarters.  XY is determined to play in it - she gets in free.  I would have to pay $10.  I might do it. Not sure yet.  There's also a Banks tournament at C&C coming up, $20 fee/$5 greens and it's double-elimination.  I might do that one, we'll see.  I do love banking balls.  It's not handicapped though - race to 3 on the winner's and 2 on the loser's sides.

Longer Match (24-16)

Today's lunch started just about as soon as I entered the place. Morris was there and said he'd be ready in a few games.  While I had planned on practicing on the new one-pocket table, practicing in a game is probably better for me right now.  So, off we went.  I can't possibly try and recap all the action, but I know that I was first to 4 games; which means if this had been in the tournament, I would've won.  Overall, I'm very pleased with my playing today - save a few shots of course.  I totally miscued the only jump attempt, which really pissed me off since I specifically practiced that shot/distance sunday night.  I made some good kicks/escapes from safe - but I never really shot a good safety; got lucky a few times, but oh well. I combo'd the 9 a few times as well.  I dont think i'll play tonight - just relax and make sure to get a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow will be a long day.  I'm excited, but also nervous. *eee*

Bring on the Tournament!

It's official.  I'm playing in the tournament on Wednesday.  The organizer said I was a 4, and it'll be adjusted as I play.  I expected him to assign me a 5, but I'm guessing that lately they've caught glimpses of my bad hours.  Which is fine for me.  I have some more confidence that I'll make it past the first round. :)

Today started off poorly. My brain was all over the place and I wasn't feeling my stroke.  During a cool-off period Morris came over so we started playing.  I actually did pretty well today.  We played a lot of games and I'd have to check my notebook to see the final score, but based on memory, I think it was something like 13-10 him.  I had some good runs and made some good shots - got some bad rolls and scratched a bit more often then I wanted. I also got lucky a few times with 2 kick shots, but I'll take it.  There were at least three games where he scratched making the 7 and he gave me the game because the 8 laid perfectly for the 9.  I appreciated his confidence. :)  I was making those cut shots that was been the bane of my existence lately; although I still dogged a few too many shots - and once I missed my BIH shot to get position - and didn't get that either.  That's just embarrassing.  I suppose that's why I'm only a 4 though.  *sigh*  Wednesday is going to be a tough day. Gonna need to figure out a way to eat something around 5 - something that's not gonna weigh me down.  I'm thinking protein shake, but we'll see.

Transition From Practice to Play - Fail

Today's adventure started out wonderfully actually.  I was taking my time, locking my chin, compensating for throw, getting good position, making good shots during my practices.  I did this for at least an hour. Was feeling pretty good for the upcoming match with Morris.  Then he got wrapped up into another match and I ended up playing Clarence.  He doesn't really like 9-ball at all and will usually only play one-pocket.  His brother was playing Morris and Ralph was taken up with someone else.  I had asked him earlier if he wanted to play banks, but he declined.  Then later he comes over and says ok, lets play some 9-ball.  he breaks, nothing goes in and the CB and 1B are basically an easy shot.  I miss - as if I hadn't just made that shot 27 times in the hours. The 2nd game I thought I had him though.  Same story, he broke, pushed out on the 1.  I ran the 1 through the 6, missed the 7, but got a lucky roll and got safe.  He missed the 7 and left me a shot. I made the 7 and 8 and left myself with a not-too-easy-but-not-too-hard shot on the 9, again, another shot I'd been making most of the day, and just totally dogged it.  Lather, Rinse, Repeat.  I didn't win a single game because I failed to get position on the 8 or 9 most of the time. Too worried about over shooting it, left me way short usually.  He finally left to go play with Ralph and I had to get some food or start throwing a fit.  I stopped counting at 6-0, but I'd guess it went to 9 at least.

There's no way I can enter a tournament if that is how I'm going to play when it matters.

My Longest Run Out

While this isn't necessarily all that impressive, it is, as best I can recall, my longest run-out.

I broke, scratched, nothing fell.  My opponent makes the 1B, scratches.  I get the table back like this:



Progress through the 8 pages to see what I did.  I was so excited by the time I got to the 9-ball I had to take an extra few seconds to gather myself. My next goal is to run an entire rack.  During practice, I always take ball in hand after the break if I don't have a shot on the 1B, and I think this has helped, because I was able to study the layout of the table and I chose to start with the 2 in the corner, mostly because it had no other place to go, but more importantly because it meant that the 2, 3, 4 and 5 at least should be mine.  Once I got there, I played it basically one ball at a time, make the shot the first, then add position.  It worked out pretty well.

Yesterday was a damn good day overall.  I bought a glove and wasn't sure how I'd like it.  I'm still not sure, but it's nice having a pretty smooth sliding action consistently now. I also went back to doing chin-lock practice - and in doing so, I've upped my accuracy back to where it should be.  I also think this is why I'm making more cut-shots than I have the last 2 weeks.  Considering being sick the last 3 days, yesterday's combined total of nearly 7 hours of pool really went pretty decently. :)

Back on the table

Well, I've been sick the last 2 days and stayed home from work to try and knock it out as fast as possible.  That also means that I haven't shot this week yet.  Which is probably for the best.  As frustrated as I was getting the last week or 2, a break is probably just what I needed.  I guess we'll see.  However, I'm not 100% over my illness, but at least my head is clear - thinking anyway. Still some sinus blockage, but mostly my chest is congested now.

The US Open was last week and BCN has videos uploaded already. :) So, right now I'm watching Johnny Archer (The Scorpion) play Mika Immonen (The Iceman).  I already know who wins, but it's fun to watch the matches.

My tournament is a week from today, and I'm still not sure if I'm entering. I really should just for the experience.  I've seen a few blogs talk about how practice is nice, but the only way to really prove anything is in competition.  Which is entirely true of course. One of them says the problem with a lot of tournament and their relatively low-entrance numbers is because people only enter if they feel they can win - otherwise, they're just giving up the entrance fee.  I know I wont win, and I don't expect to make it past the 2nd round - but I want to be confident that I will make it to the 2nd round at least.  That would be enough for me, I think.  The 3rd would be ideal, but I'm not pushing my luck.  I have to decide how I'm going to play.  I tend to be pretty aggressive in my playing - going for low-percentage shots because I like them as opposed to playing smart and playing safe.  I always feel like a jerk when I play safe, but I know it's part of the game.  The other thing is that the guy I usually play with never plays safe either, so...  *shrug* that's his style I guess.

Regardless, I'm curious to see how today's playing will turn out.

Long Match (20-8)

Yesterday was day #2 playing reasonably well. I started off just playing the ghost, as they say.  Then Morris showed up and we started playing. I was making some good shots, getting good position, but still... missing some pretty basic cut/rail shots. I used to be really good at those rail shots, but that's something I've lost entirely now.  I did make some good masse hits/escapes though.  Anyway, missing easy shots caused the match to be a disaster - on the scoreboard.  i didn't track the number of balls made, which I should have, because I think we were about even, however, the final score was 20-8.  I lost.

Today there are 2 drills I want to run. One is rail shots, the other is a positional shot:

Back to normal!

So, since last Friday, I've been playing terribly.  My stroke has never once felt right, I'm not getting good action on the ball - and I'm missing everything.  Use to be, I could blame it on throw - but not so much anymore. Everything is just "off".  Well, today I tried something to get it back. I played considerably slower than usual. I didn't do any drills at all. I just shot.  First I tossed the balls on the table (all 15) and basically played a loose game of 8-ball against myself. I did that twice.  Then I played 2 rounds of straight pool, reshooting those I missed and/or lost position.  Then I played 9-ball the rest of the day. I broke, and took ball in hand to get started if I didn't have a shot on the 1b.  I made some really good shots, including one rail rider past the side pocket even. :)  I also missed some shots that I shouldn't have.  I made some good combos, not so good banks, and one jump shot even.  The jump shot was even a cut shot! It was a short jump and I only need to get over half a ball, but I jumped, and made the ball - extra lucky was I got position on the next ball. 

Overall the day was good.  The best part of the day was when I realized I was trying to stab the ball. I had lost my follow-through.  As soon as I made a mental effort to "push the ball", my accuracy went up 15-20%.  Things, I think are good again.  If I play well the rest of this week, I'm buying my spot in the tournament in 2 weeks.