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!

TWO!! Successfully Completed IPAT 9-Ball Layouts

So, as I've mentioned in earlier posts that I often run a number of drills during my practice time.  Several of them are 9-ball layouts, and some of those are part of the IPAT (International Playing Ability Test).  Typically when I run those drills I don't hold myself to a particularly high standard - meaning that if I miss a ball, I keep shooting just to see if I can get back in line.  But I had never successfully ran the entire table without fouling or missing before.  Yesterday, I was determined to do it.

I started shooting/warming up with 10-balls tossed out, I did that for a while until I felt decently in focus.  Then I started with this layout:

As far as layouts go, this is what most would consider "fairly easy" - but given the trouble it's caused me over the last few months, I wouldn't call it that.  Yesterday, however, I really felt confident that I can and would run this table successfully.  I almost always made it to the 6 before really getting out of line and having to start over for one reason or another, and it was frustrating to be sure, but I kept at it. Took several deep breaths before each re-rack and started again, keeping in mind the mistakes from the last run.  Not letting them scare me, but using them to let me know what I did wrong and how I fix it this time.

It took me 9 failed attempts, but on the 10th, I did it.  I ran it. I can't say perfectly because I got a little thin on the 9 ball, but I made the shot. I made all 9 shots, sequentially and with relatively decent position!  I finished it and wanted to let out of a giant YEAH!!!  but no one would've understood, so I gave myself a small fist-pump and went to write down my stats.

You can see a video of how this layout is ran here, courtesy of ForceFollow


After I gathered myself from my happy place, I decided to move on to the next drill instead of ruining this one by trying it again.  I picked up this layout from my binder and arranged it on the table:

Now this one is a bit tougher in my opinion - although on my 3rd attempt I ran to the nine and got a little cocky with it and super-stroked it, which much to my extreme dismay, left the 9 jarred in the pocket.  That only game me more drive to finish it because I came so close that time.  Unfortunately, it took me 15 attempts, but I successfully completed that one too!!  And again, I wanted to give a big HELL YEAH, but again opted for the quiet celebration.

I went on to the next layout:

But this one eluded me.  You'd think getting from the 3 to the 4 would be simple, and it should be, but since I always got too long on the 3, I ended up with bad position on the 4 to make an easy transition to the 5.  I once made it to the 7, but played it too cautiously and jawed the ball.  I went on from there as if I had made it and ran the last two easily enough - but this will be the next drill on my plate for sure.

The Ultimate Pool Challenge Game

After reading Samm Diep's review of the Ultimate Pool Challenge Game, I decided that I needed to get it.  So, I just ordered it.  With any luck, it'll be here by the end of the week and I'll have some new things to do over the weekend.  Anyone that enjoys new tricks and is looking for a fun way to challenge themselves and their friends should really check this out.  You can see a PDF containing 5 sample cards here. 

If anyone does get it, please make sure you buy it by clicking through the PoolDawg links on any of your favorite player's websites to help them out as well. For example:

Help Samm Diep.   (click the link she provides in the article to purchase)
Help Liz Ford. (just click the PoolDawg banner to enter the site then buy what you need)
Help Sara Rousey.  (just click the PoolDawg banner to enter the site then buy what you need)

It'll Get Worse Before It Gets Better

At least, that's what I'm hoping right now.  My game has been on the low-end of terrible for the last couple of weeks.  I think it's because I've finally settled in on a comfortable stance and am focusing more on position than making the ball.  This is just as wrong as focusing on making the ball and not thinking about position.  The only good part about all of this is that when I miss, it usually rattles, but I nearly always get position.  So, I'm close - very close to getting both aspects.

It's very, very frustrating though.

I've also discovered a new flaw: my line of sight isn't always where my cue is going.  I haven't been able to pinpoint the exact types of shots when this happens, but it's only a select few.  Having the cueball frozen on the rail with the object more than half a table away is one such example.

I think what is happening is that I'm focusing too much on the cueball during my final stroke.  I constantly watch my stick during a few of the warm-up strokes to make sure I'm straight (as I'm not always due to my new stance) - and then once I am, I go back to my object ball's contact point.  I think I'm losing sight of the spot while I'm straightening myself out.  I have to rebuild my muscle-memory in my stroking arm.

As such, I'm now incorporating this practice technique into my warmup routine:


I've also been working a few new drills this week:

The Long Shot Off-The-Rail: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsGFc0puuBI

A 9-ball situational drill:


Liz Ford's Single Shot Drills. (which are deceptively difficult, in my opinion.)

Videotape Yourself For Analysis

Monday night XY and I hit up the pool hall, this time with my old video camera in tow.  We've been talking about videoing ourselves for a while to see what our strokes actually look like from a distance and whatnot.  I set it up in a corner and just left it there.  We played for about 2.5 hours with it running.  Although neither of us really played well, it was still informative to go back and watch it. 

Upon first viewing and after getting past the horror that is watching yourself, it became pretty informative.  It turns out, that despite my sincerest efforts my elbow is not perpendicular to the cue, it's about 5-10 degrees further away from my body then the butt-end of the cue is.  Although my stroke is pretty dang straight, I do want to fix this.  I wonder if this is the cause for those slight errors I continually make, when everything else looks and feels right.

I was nice to get a couple really nice shots on tape though.  This one which I have never tried before.  I didn't feel confident going the other ways to get on the 9 and this idea just came to me when I was looking at it.  I'm actually quite surprised I got it all the way around, but was very happy to watch my plan unfold. I'm not 100% on the exact positions shown here, but this is the general idea.  My draw stroke is pretty strong and because the balls were so close I didn't have to worry too much about deflections on the cue causing a problem.

A few racks later, after a long safety battle and a few missed attempts, I found myself at the table with this layout.  Again, relying on my strong draw skills, I got down, lined up and fired.  The cue ball took a hard right-turn and went right into the 9.  The right-english helped throw the 9 into the pocket and I was very happy. :)

 

 

At some point, I will video myself doing some drills and whatnot just for archival/reference sake - and at some further point in the future, I'll get one of those "Dazzle" things that will let me transfer the vids to the computer so I can upload them.

The first rack of the night was the most entertaining.  My first "Golden Break" in over 3 weeks, and it's on video. lol

I tried to study my break form as well, I'm getting good action on the balls and when I hit it properly the cueball is generally in the center-ish part of the table.  Too often though, I hit it with bottom and it comes flying back towards the corner pocket.  Doesn't scratch, but doesn't leave much of a shot either.  I'll continue to watch the tape and look for more little details to either fix or continue to work on.  

I will absolutely continue to video myself - and I think I will ask XY to hold the camera and move around the table to show all the angles of my stance and stroke to see everything that's going on.

For anyone that's reading this - do you do this and what has been your experience with it? Find it helpful? Harmful? Embarrassing?

Articles, Help and Advice

Some things have come up which are going to prevent me from playing pool this week - at all it seems.  This is quite annoying after last week's seemingly unending hours of play.  However, I think/hope this will be a good thing.

I bought 2 books last week: Byrne's Complete Book of Pool Shots and Zen Pool.  I'm hoping/expecting that between these two titles, I can gain both information and confidence in both the physical and mental aspect of the game.

Byrne's book appears to be a nice collection of how-to and what-if shots for nearly all types of situations/positions.  The next time I go to practice seriously, I'll be taking this book along with me. I hope to work through all the situations/position/chapters eventually - but for now I'm just starting small and choosing a few that caught my eye as I flipped through it.

Zen Pool is more of a 'what to do, how to prepare *mentally*' kind of book.  I expect to read these throughout this week and am looking forward to putting my new skills into action.  This will take considerably more time and effort, I expect.  But I'm looking forward to bringing my game to the next level.  This means I'm going to have to spend more time doing drills to hammer out the mechanics, further train my body and allow my subconscious to handle those high-pressure shots.

Lastly, I just added a new link on my sidebar to www.poolstudent.com (AKA Pool Synergy).  I just found this site, and already I am favoriting the URL.  Here are a few articles I particularly enjoyed reading today:
Play Pool Without Fear, How to Practice, How to Practice Part 2 and finally one that I find drives me up the wall more than just about any other topic: Learn to Win Under Pressure (why we choke and how to avoid it).

That's all I have for today - but it's plenty of information for you to browse through.

Quick Update (Drill Videos + NO Pain)

I found Force Follow's website today and WOW is there some good info out there!  I've been watching his drill videos most of the afternoon. I tried a few of my own today and it went reasonably well.  When I get more time I'll build a CueTable diagram of what I was doing.

Secondly, after reading all the suggestions online yesterday about my shoulder pain, I tried to really focus on what I was doing with my left arm - and today NO PAIN!  So, key things to remember: Don't lean on the bridge arm with weight if at all possible.  Do NOT push yourself up off the table with the bridge arm still extended.  When considering a shot, do NOT lean on bridge arm while the elbow is locked.  DO put the bridge elbow down on the table as often as possible.  Take a note of your weight distribution, try shifting your weight between legs and your arm to see how it feels.  I played for 2 hours today and my shoulder didn't hurt at all. :)

Putting in the hours

All told, I played pool for nearly 6 hours yesterday.  Just under 2 at lunch, then just over 4 after work with XY.  It was a good time.  I played reasonably well last night.  I'm kinda kicking myself though because there was one rack where I broke pretty well, made a ball and everything was open.  I even saw the pattern to run the whole thing - the entire rack, I knew where I wanted to be, and how to get there for each shot.  Unfortunately, I was too worried about getting from the 1 to 2 and didn't draw it enough (opposed to too much) which threw off the angle to the 3 - but it didn't matter since I missed the 2 anyway.  ugh Oh well.  I'm just happy I saw the entire rack's pattern.  I made some damn good shots - but also missed some pretty standard ones. :(  The good news is that I'm getting better at adjusting my angles for throw coupled with left or right english.  I'm moving around the table better, and with more consistency too.

The funny thing is that I was *this* close to buying a jump/break cue yesterday but wanted to wait until today (payday) to get it - then last night I found myself wanting that jump cue THREE times! It wouldn't have mattered - I *might* have it, but I wouldn't possibly have made it, or been able to get safe - but I need to try those kinds of shots to see how they work and how I work.

As for the break cue - I'm still not sure what I'm getting.  The AZ Forums haven't been too much help - suggesting other brands and not even commenting at all on the three options I listed. *sigh* I guess I'll just play with them again and pick one to get it over with.  It's not like I'm going on tour with this thing anyway.

Virtual 9-Ball

That diagramming tool has a random break generator! So, click it and tried to read the rack. Once I got a rack that was pretty open, I tried to outline the entire thing.

Here's how I would want to play out this entire rack:


Now, I wonder if I could actually do it? Doubtful, but I think I will try this sometime.

Getting Some Help

I mentioned earlier that I've been really trying to get a bit more serious about my playing.  As such I've been on the lookout for training tools.  Here's what I've picked up so far:

How to Play Pool Right - was a video suggested to me by the guy at C&C (Cue & Cushion in the links list) when I asked him about training materials.  It's a pretty informative video - if you can get past the 1985 video production quality.  I picked up a few fundamental things I had not known before - and things to watch out for, like squeezing the cue and it's tell-tale signs.  Also the pendulum position for your grip.  I figured there was a special spot, but I didn't know what it was.  The video also gives some basic training guides to ensure your stroke is accurate.  Honestly, I need to work on those things - but given that I only have an hour or so a day to practice, it's hard to forgo gameplay with such limited time available.  In the advanced section he explains and demonstrates the effects of deflection (often called squirt).  It added a whole new level of complexity to the game.  All this time I just thought I was aiming wrong.  In a way, I was - but now I can at least say that my ideas were correct; but my execution was missing a key component - compensation for deflection.

About a month ago, I picked up a Jim Tempe Training Ball.  And while it has been helpful in spotting flaws in my stroke (any clean cue-ball would do this, I suppose), it's difficult to play with because you have to "reset" the target after each shot and that takes away from the pre-shot routine.

Last week, I bought a Pro Cup Measle Ball.  It was, at first, a little distracting having those extra dots on the ball when trying to set my aim-spot.  But it didn't take long at all to get around that.  Now I can see, more visually, the spin I've put on the ball.  Before this, I had to wait to see how the ball reacted to a cushion before I could tell if I hit the ball center or not.  It's much easier now to tell when I've make a mistake.  It's also much more fun to watch it spin around the table - from a childish point of view. hehe

The last few weeks I've been scouring through YouTube to try and find some good practice exercises and have found a few.  So, it's nice to have variety in practice, but I'm wondering what else is out there.