A Journey Into Billiards

I just *finally* heard about the State Amatuer 9-Ball Tournament that's happening Feb 11,2,13.  You can get the flyer and entry form here. Details below:

Each year, I think about heading down there to check it out, and each year I'm never able to make it.  This year is the best looking option, but it is also very last minute.  I'll have to see what I can come up with, but maybe, hopefully, I can check it out for at least one day. Doubt I'll play any, but it would be nice to see how it goes.

PRELIMINARIES  (2 sessions)
Friday, Feb. 10, 8 p.m. || Saturday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m.
Round robin
Ten flights of eight
Race to 6, winner’s choice
Single foul, 40 sec. shot clock
Top two per flight to finals
Five wild card finalists

SEMIFINALS: Sunday Feb. 12, 11 a.m.
Round robin
Five flights of five
Race to 6, winner’s choice
Top 2 per flight & 2 wild cards advance

FINALS: Twelve player double elimination playoff (4 byes).
Race to six in winners bracket.
Race to five in loser’s bracket

PRIZES: The C.L. Bailey Co. /Level Best has added $200 to the tournament for prizes and expenses.
1st = $2000.00 + Trophy
      Plus David Webster Custom Cue
2nd = 1100.00  + Trophy
3rd = 700.00  + Trophy
4th = 500.00  + Trophy
5th & 6th = 300.00  each
7th & 8th = 225.00  each
9th – 12th = 175.00  each
13th – 25th = 140.00  each

DOOR PRIZES
Out of the money finishers have a chance to compete For merchandise prizes… cues, cases… including the coveted Antique Cue. Door prize competition will begin after semifinals on Sunday.

FEES & REQUIREMENTS
  ENTRY FEE:  $95.00
  GREEN FEE:  $10.00
Early entrants have choice of session in preliminaries.  Time of entry time is judged by date and time of postmark, hand delivery or FAX.

MISSOURI RESIDENTS ONLY!

AMATEURS ONLY!

Valid Missouri driver’s license or other PICTURE I.D. required for proof of residence.  NO EXCEPTIONS!

Tournament committee decides resident and amateur status.

Tournament Director reserves exclusive right to buy back and reassign any canceled or forfeited berth

Last night, I played a local I've not seen in quite some time.  We have always played "about" even, although if I remember correctly, I had to give him a ball in one pocket, but the rotation games we were even. In any case, he was at the pool hall and looking for a game.  Even though I wasn't really playing my best, I have been looking for a little action here and there and wasn't going to pass this up.  We play cheap, and so the money won't be on my mind if I lose.  

The game is race to 6 (in an effort to keep the table-time costs down). We decide that there will be no push-outs (his rule) and it's call-9 (mine). Rules agreed upon, we begin. I win the flip, break and start my way through the rack. I make some mistakes early and he gets the first one. Then I get the next 3. But because it's call-9, the 9 on the snap doesn't count, which sucks cuz I made two of them during the set. I really should've won the match 6-1, but I hung two 9-balls.

Now, I will be the first to admit that I was getting all the rolls during the match.  But, something struck me, watching it happen to someone else.  There were so many times when he'd literally gripe and complain as he got down on the shot about the rolls, about how he's not getting the rolls, can't get a roll, getting no table love, etc and of course he's upset, so he'd fire the ball 100 miles an hour and miss, and leave me in great shape.  The longer this went on, the more I wanted to say "Don't be so negative, it's bad energy and it's a downward spiral."  Now, I know this, but I still sometimes have problems overcoming the seemingly endless bad fortune that comes my way.  Specific to this match, I still had negative thoughts when I blew shape, or missed a ball, but I realized in the last quarter of the match that his negativity so far outweighed my own that it was sort of a focal point for me.  Instead of worrying about how bad I feel like I'm playing, I'm starting to notice the good fortunes I'm getting ... which I then relate to how I feel about the match overall.  I felt good about the match. I felt I was playing level-headed and had good ideas; even if those ideas didn't come to fruition as I had planned, I was still happy with them.

To the point of this entry, I found myself being glad to be back at the table whenever he missed, regardless of the position he left me.  I think I finally learned to simple just accept the table. For example, during one of my runouts, I hung the 5 deep in the jaws, and he hit the ball just the wrong way to hook himself on the only ball on that side of the table.  He instantly bitched about not being able to get a roll.  But, that was not a bad roll, that was purely a bad shot.  He's played long enough to know that cueball is gonna die off the end-rail if you fire at it full in the face. He made a bad shot selection and paid the price for it - because he didn't survey the table and more importantly didn't accept the table.

So, you tell me, is that a bad roll? It's possible becaue he's off by 2 inches in either direction, but the better question is: why risk it at all. There's at least 3 ways to get to the 6 from there and he chose the worst of them all.

When I got on the hill, he for some reason thought his score was wrong, which I was a little offended by, but whatever. I offered to discuss it fully because I'd rather not have him thinking I tried to steal one; and I would've gladly rewound the camera to watch all of the match thus far to prove my point, but he declined and said it wouldn't matter anyway.

If you're curious to watch the match, you can do so below:

And lastly, I noticed that I'm becoming a bit more apathetic towards to my partner's mood/standing at the table.  If they're playing terribly, it doesn't affect me nearly as much as it did before.  Just because they're playing bad, doesn't mean I get to let up on my pressure (which I'm very guilty of in the past). I certainly played looser than I normally do - but I did that the entire match, it wasn't a change because I was ahead.  

There are many lessons I hope to absorb permanently from this little match.  And with this the first money match I've played this year - and it was a positive result, I'm extremely happy - and even looking forward to the next encounter with someone. :)

So, I've met a number of new locals at a bar that I visited for the first time over the weekend.  The place is living APA commercial, and some of the people are as well, but they seem to be genuine. The few that I talked to are serious pool players, well, serious enough to hire an expensive coach once in a while and keep up with current events, like the DCC.  I have to say, I was very impressed with people I met.  I guess I had formed an opinion of all APA players from both the AZB forums and from what I'd heard from the MO8 players. *shrug*

Now, I have to decide if I want to a) play on barboxes. b) play 8-ball on barboxes. c) did I mention play on barboxes?  

The benefits to playing in the APA: 1) There are several weekly tournaments I can play in, if I'm an active APA member out of this bar. So, I'll be getting the competition I've been looking for. 2) I'll get more experience on the barbox, which will play nicely into my goal this year to play in the Midwest 9-Ball tournament; which is all barbox. It's highly unlikely I'll play in the March event, but perhaps the October event? 3) If I get on a team that is all as serious as I am, and we do well, there's a decent chance we'll at least get to Vegas for the APA Nationals.  As I understand it, several teams from this location are sent to Vegas, so it's not entirely unheard of, nor out of the question.  

The cons: 1) It's on barboxes. 2) While there is a 9-ball league as well, it's more likely I'll end up with an 8-ball team. 3) I've already said it was on barboxes, with the mudball.

The asides: I ran into another friend who said I should check out this other bar, they have an in-house nonrated league, and they play on 9-foots (though, the last time I was there (Dec) they looked more like 8 foots to me).  Another of the APA people suggested I might want to look into the Masters league to stay away from the 2's and 3's in the regular APA. Obviously, it's tougher competition as well.  If I'm remembering that correctly, they also play out of the same bar with the bigger tables.  I'll need to clarify all of this info though.

So, lots of new potentials coming my way.  Oh, and lastly, I found a BreakRak II Deluxe for a good price, thinking about picking that up so I can more easily work on my break.  

Also waiting to hear back from Mike Fieldhammer about possibly getting a new case.  I'm so f'n anxious to get my new cue I can taste it. The weather here has been terrible; which has pushed back the production process. So, initially it was looking like around the 3rd, but now, we're looking like between the 8th and 12th. Stupid humidity screwing up things. Go away rain, I want my cue!!

Well, there's something strange about January 13th... it apparently is the day I break the tip on my break cues.  It's happened 2 years in a row.  Seriously. To.The.Day. This happened at league:

So, now I have to figure out if I want to give this tip/shaft another try or maybe try the predator shaft...

I'm just a mere 3 weeks away from receiving my first custom cue!!!  Local cuemakter, Josh Treadway and I have been talking back and forth about a custom for some time now.  A situation came up that allowed us to finally get the deal going.  Well, now it's neary complete and I seriously could not be more excited!  He's been sending me pics along the way of it's build and with each one I get more and more amped up!  The last one he sent had the rings and the joint in it.  Then three days later he calls and said "I hit some balls with your cue today. And I'm not gonna show you any more pics."  SUCH A TEASE!! I picked the wood, the veneers, the wrap, the joint, the shaft diameter, the weight, the buttcap - and even helped him figure out a way to do a new feature for his cues: screw-on extensions!!  I am SO stupid excited it's ridiculous.

Here's the last teaser he sent me:

Obviously, this is before any of the finish-work has begun.  But, I can't believe I'm this close to finally getting a real custom cue!!!

Make sure you all go check out Treadway Cues!! 

I'm noticing that my game is getting back to just about where it was back in May/June of last year.  I'm back to running out (at least in practice) at least once a night.  And when in a match, if the balls are open and I start anywhere after the 3, it's a good bet I'm gonna get out.  I'm starting to get a lot more confidence again.  For example, in the runout below, when I came up a little short on the 8, I knew I just had to make the ball, because I can make the 9 from pretty much anywhere. :)

Last night, I played 2 races with my practice partner, and I won both, 9-5 and 9-2.  I really need to work on my break though.  I'm getting a good spread usually, but I'm not making a ball and my cueball control is gone.  I've traded accuracy for power lately and I need to go back to a more controlled break. Watching any of the recent sets on video I can see that I'm htting much harder than I used to - averaging now around 22mph (prior average was around 19), but I'm loosing the cueball every time.

This is just too damn cool!  I have a long video where you can watch Gail Glazebrook, Tony Robles, myself and another local Alan all playing, but this is a pretty nice runout by Tony and I.

you can see the rest of the evening here.

I feel like I have a lot to say about my game lately, because I can see that it *is* coming back.  I'm running more balls than I have been, I've ran out a few times when I should have... I feel like I'm about to get back where I was in July.  It's a great feeling.  But, my day-job is ending in 10 days and I'm just too busy with job-searching to really spend too much time on AZB or reading the blogosphere unfortunately.  Nor do I have the time (or attention span) to really lay out my game analysis.  So, here's some videos that get rendered and processed while I'm at work or sleeping. heh

Who Want's a Montage!!

A pretty nice out, if I do say so myself (after a poor break).

Here we have three sets with me and a pool buddy. Each is a race to 9. Here's set 1 (6-9) which I totally fall apart after the halfway point. Then I make a monster comeback in Set 2. Finally, set 3 was a close one, but I edge it out to in 9-7.

I'm currently rendering another race to 9 with Josh of Treadway Cues wherein we literally close the place down.

OH!! Speaking of, I will very soon (about 6 weeks now) have my very own and very first custom cue, courtesy of Treadway Cues. I am stupid excited by this. :)

This month's edition of Pool Synergy is all about how to recharge your pool game while dealing with being burnt out, rundown and generally exhausted.  Be sure to click the header image above to read all of this month's entries.

For me personally, whenever I'm at the table and the balls seem blurry and I can't seem to stand up straight and no matter what I do with my back arm, the cue ball goes somewhere else, I know it's time to call it quits.  The question is always: For how long?  Sometimes, I adhere to half of the old pool player's advice "Take 2 weeks off, then quit."  I will take a week off, completely, not watch pool online, not play pool games on my phone, not read AZB.  Just a full system shutdown. Things have to be pretty bad for that to be the answer though.

Although, not every break has to be so severe.  Sometimes, I'm just having a rough couple of weeks outside of the pool hall and simply don't have the energy to practice, but still want to be doing something pool-related.  Those are the days where I troll AZB reading filtering through the messages looking for helpful advice or a good discussion of a player's mechanics, etc.  Those are also the nights where I might play a game of pool on my phone before falling asleep to sort of unwind from the day, but still get some kind of pool-playing feeling.  Or, if there's a good match on UStream, I'll watch a live stream. If not, YouTube has thousands of hours of great pool matches.  It all helps me keep pool in mind without physically draining me.

And each time, regardless of the break intensity, when I do finally get back to the table, I'm refreshed, and excited to be there. I don't do any drills, and instead basically knock the balls around. Not put any pressure on myself, just let myself enjoy the simplicity of the game.  Powerstroking shots just for fun. 3,4, and 5 rail banks just to see if they go. Essentially rediscovering the wonder and awe the game can provide when you're not confined to the strict rules of KISS for the money/match/league/title/tournament.  It's like learning how to love the game all over again. 

My game is slowly but surely coming back. League was this past Friday and while I did win, removing me from last place, it was not an overwhelming victory.  However, I can see aspects of my game coming back.  When I started back up when my hand was ready, I thought my ability fall-off was due to just being away from the table.  But, 5 weeks into league and only now am I starting to see elements of playing like I did a year ago.  Table-time is always part of the issue, sure, but there was one thing that has been driving me bonkers since my return to the game. Whenever I miss shots, it seems I'm only every missing by an inch or so. I'm talking about shots that I get down on and feel 100% confident I'm sighting it correctly. I thought it was my stroke-arm being messed up, but my stroke-straightness tests are about where they were just before I broke my hand. The only difference left to consider is my weight loss. This year, I've lost 60 pounds and whole lot of inches off my body. I've recently considered that my shape change has also affected my stance and alignment. The muscle memory I built was built around keeping my arm away from my older and larger body mass. But now, it's too far out from my body, yet it feels "natural". The problem is that it also relied on my body mass as something of a "guide" to swing parallel too. If I had continued to play all year long, I'm confident that the alignment adjust would've happened in sync with the weight loss, but since I was off the table for 3 months while my hand healed, but continued to lose weight, the automatic adjustment is now out of relation with the weight-loss.

For example, here's one of my favorite shot-angles (because I can put the cue-ball just about anywhere on the table from this spot):

But whenever I shoot that shot - I hit it as diagrammed. Most of my missed shots (save for really difficult cuts, etc) are missed by that small a margin. I'm not sure how I'm going to fix this small alignment issue, but I've taken some steps towards it. Starting with eye-placement without changing my stance too much. I've found, with less body mass I'm more able to get over the cue with less work, stress on my neck, and in doing so, I'm seeing the shots much clearer. I still have to adjust left or right depending on the cut and distance, but not as dramatic as it was before. I'm using more "center-eyes" where I used to use extreme left or right eye.

Below is a rack from last week's league match. It certain is not pretty, but it was a run-out, that I didn't really expect to finish once I got out of line.

This is a great confidence booster (forgetting that my attempt to play a safe on the 1-ball was an utter failure.); as this out relied on shot-making more than good position. Obviously, I want to focus on position so I don't have to come up with great shots, but regardless I got out when I should have - no matter how ugly it was.