Excuses

My last post wasn’t meant to be about any specific situation or about any specific person. With all the bullshit that goes on in pool there were plenty of examples of things being overly “exaggerated”.

I could have easily chosen any of Dragon Promotions’ (DP) press releases and ask how a person can be the #1 player in Guam when:

1) They’ve probably never set foot in Guam.

2) I can probably beat this #1 player in Guam and I suck.

3) The #1 player in Guam, who you would think is going to be at least of Guam descent, is suddenly a Filipino-American for a scotch doubles event that DP just held.

DP... maybe it should be TP for all the BS they spew. At least then those press releases would be useful.

I could have easily chosen people who put on their personal website “professional billiards player” when:

1) They don’t play on any professional tour.

2) Their main income isn’t from pool.

3) They haven't even been close to winning a qualifier for a professional tour.

Hey, just because you’re unemployed and play pool 24/7 doesn’t make you a pro.

And then there’s the Mary but that situation was already well covered...

so I chose a video that I recently watched with a good story in it.

I wasn’t trying to be specific which is why I left names and the website out but since Ms. Duddy outed herself by commenting I’d like to address a few things she brought up in her reply.

I don’t think I misunderstood the point of your story. The alcohol and getting drunk would have no relevance to the story you told if it didn’t play a role in you losing $500.

There is a difference between A set, one set, which you did indeed win, and a COUPLE of sets. It may be just semantics but it’s an example of an exaggeration.

Concerning your rules about taking pool seriously and not drinking while playing... I was at a JPNEWT event at Raxx’s in West Hempstead, NY and during a match between you and My Hanh Lac, you took a break in the middle of the set to go to the bar for a shot of alcohol. It was a pressure situation and I’m sure the shot of alcohol was to calm your nerves but I do think it breaks the ground rules that you set for yourself, no? Or is drinking okay just not getting drunk?

The video is at go4pool.net and the story starts at 34:09 of Ms. Duddy’s interview.

(If you have the time you should watch the whole thing. It’s a good interview. All the interviews are good and kudos to Jim Murnak for putting this together.)

Thanks for commenting and participating in the discussion. Ms. Duddy’s website is emilyduddy.com.

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So I’ve been really giving this exaggeration thing a lot of thought and one of the things I’ve been stuck on is why people do this. It’s truly bewildering to me as it’s easy enough to check the facts. And, when the skill doesn’t match the words, aren’t these people embarrassed? Isn’t it worse to look the fool than to tell the truth? I mean claiming that you’re this and that when the performances don’t match the stories?

This leads to “The Excuse” and it becomes a cycle of covering up words with more words and moving away from what actually matters – performance.

“I forgot to eat and got hungry in the middle of my match.”

“I just ate and was in a food coma.”

“My opponent got all the rolls.”

“If this wasn’t a handicap event I would’ve killed him.”

“He was so lucky.”

“The table sucked.”

“He no [insert skill level here].”

“I don’t know how I lost. I didn’t miss a ball.”

It seems that whenever they, the people who tend to exaggerate/make excuses, lose it’s never their fault but whenever they win it was all due to their superior skill. They based all their judgment of their abilities on the few times they had success and none of the losses rather than an overall average of the good and the bad.

I beat an A player last week so I must be like a B player now. Oh, that time I got donutted by a D player? I was hungry so it doesn’t count.

Isn’t it possible that when they won against a better player that player was hungry, didn’t get any rolls, was unlucky, etc.? You know the same excuses they make?

An excuse goes both ways.

I started to think that maybe the exaggerations aren’t for an audience to believe – maybe what they are really trying to do is convince themselves.

Aren’t excuses just things we tell ourselves to make ourselves feel better?

The people that I see around here, the ones who usually exaggerate, haven’t really gotten any better – not significantly at least. I guess they’re too busy marketing themselves with words rather than, you know, practicing? Beside, why do you need to practice when you’re already great?

Now I’m no saint and I’m sure I’ve used an excuse here or there. I’ve just come to realize that to get better, to really work on the things I need to work on during practice - I have to start taking responsibility for myself and my game and stop making excuses.

“I forgot to eat and got hungry in the middle of my match.” – I should’ve eaten something before my match.

“I just ate and was in a food coma.” – I should’ve limited my intake of food.

Rolls even out, luck evens out; the table is the same for both players.

What am I in control of? ME.

Who missed that shot? ME.

Who blew that safety? ME.

Without really looking at yourself and your game objectively..

How do you create a good game plan?

What are your percentages for making the shot over executing the safety?

What are your real weaknesses?

How do you plan for the skill level of the other player when you’re not honest to yourself about your own skill level?

Just some stuff to think about next time you think about using an excuse.

Liar Liar Pants On Fire

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.

Better Late Than Never

So I had all these high hopes where I would post everyday during my trip to the US Open.

Wasn't going to happened.

I never really had the time since the Monkey and I were there to support Mika and since he was on the one loss side it made for some seriously long days. (He played from 11am to 2am with no real breaks in between. Ouch.)

He won by the way.


Unbelievably, he won.

After winning his first match he lost his second match to Chris Bartram and had to win his next 14 matches to repeat as US Open Champion.

(Only the second person ever to repeat as back to back champion.)

I honestly still can't believe he won because he, quite frankly, played like shit.

(But a World Champion playing like shit is still 1,000 times better than your average everyday hack like me.)

I have never seen him miss so many wide open straight in the hole shots ever.

In his 2008 run to the US Open Championship he was on fire. He was dropping 5 and 6 packs on almost everybody and was rarely down in any of his matches.

Break, make a ball, run out with almost dead perfect shape on every shot.

He was in the zone.

This year? He had to GRIND his way to the Championship.

He was basically down in every match and found a way to win. (He got lucky at some points too - but every championship run requires a little bit of luck.)

It's was interesting to see and there was a lot learned, it's hard to put into words, but I was glad to be there to see my friend make history.

As most pool magazines and websites have covered the win I'm going to move on to some interesting observations I had while down there.

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The soft break/cut break is going to ruin competitive 9-ball. Everyone inspected/rejected the rack for like 10-15 minutes to get it "perfect" - where they can hit the break and make the wing ball or the 1 ball in the side and then run out. It made it where a guy who might not be as good as a lot of other players in anything but reading the rack and soft/cut breaking was knocking those other guys out of the tournament. There really need to change the rules and make everyone break'em hard.

Way too much of this shit going on delaying the event.

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I was watching Shane Van Boening play Mike Davis. Mike had just won another rack and had just broke dry. SVB goes up to the table, looks at the beads and sees that he's down like 7-2 or something. There's a look on SVB's face like "How the fuck am I losing to Mike Davis?" and you can see a change in SVB's demeanor, like he's suddenly really pissed off that he's fucking losing to Mike Davis. He runs out that rack, breaks and runs out the next rack...and eventually SVB wins that match.

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Beau Runningen. Is. Freakin'. Good.

Beau ready to make that 9-ball.

He's one of those great rack readers and cut breakers but you can also see that he's highly skilled as well. He had a great demeanor and mannerism around the table and it was really enjoyable watching him play. I was surprised that I never really heard of him before but I think I will be hearing more about him in the future.

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Chris "I lost so much weight my head is now too big for my body" Bartram.

Everyone looks better in Sepia tone.

Fantastic gambler who seems to be making that switch to world class tournament player. (Yeah, I think there's a difference between gambling and tournaments.) He had a great tournament and showed some seriously skills knocking out some big names. Only person to beat Mika in the tournament too.

Still...I think he looked better with a little bit of weight on him. I mean, great, now he can move his head left and right, but he looks kind of like a booble head doll.

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Stevie Moore.

Pool Hippie.

I know that you have a full head of hair, and as a bald guy I am jealous, but please, cut your hair. This 70's show hairdo look you have going on...it's not working.

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Barry Behrman.

The new "mouth".

Most tournaments the promoters are "behind the scenes" and there's a good reason for that - it's because it's the players that the people came to see.

The US Open has way too much of Barry B. on the mic.

One, it's distracting for the players.

Two, you delayed matches and made the players wait until you could free yourself up to give your 10 minute speech. (One night matches ran until 4am.)

Three, you're not funny.

Honestly, you should only be allowed to give a speech before the finals. THAT'S IT. You're not the show, the players are.

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Ralf Souquet's cue.

wtf?

I don't want to talk about Ralf, he's too nice a guy, but what I want to talk about is that damn ugly Joss cue he plays with - dude, WTF? Seriously, WTF?

I got a theory and it goes like this:

Dave Kikel and Paul Drexler bet Dan Janes that there's no way he can make a uglier cue than them. Dan not only agrees to the bet but doubles down by saying he can also get a World Champion to play with it.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Last, but not least, never mess with drunk people.

Rar!

The payback is a bitch.

2009 US Open - Day 1 (of My Trip)

I arrived on Thursday with play having started Sunday so about 1/3 of the field has already been eliminated. Some big names have already been knocked out and some big names are all on the 1 loss side. This tournament's brutal.

How brutal?


Just take one look at the guy in the chair's face.

It's Tony "T-Rex" Chochan suffering through a match with Mikey "Time Bandit" Wong. T-Rex was ready to prison shank Mikey by the time this match was over. T-Rex lost hill-hill in a 4 hour barn burner.

(4 hours is what I heard as I only caught the end of this match.)

Mikey does play slow and against a good player like T-Rex, where Mikey doesn't want to make a mistake, he plays even slower.

Is it intentional?

Is it a shark?

Should he be forced to play faster?

I dunno but no one seems to give professionals who play slow, Ralf, Johnny, the same kind of shit.

It's a good win for Mikey. Congrats.

Oh, and Mr T-Rex? Shake the kid's hand. Take your loss like a man. Be a professional.

Thursday night was the BCA Hall of Fame Induction dinner for Allison Fisher and Johnny Archer. Great only they ran about two hours over. The 7pm matches didn't kick off until 9pm so play went on UNTIL 4am!!!! Then, the winners of those 1 loss side matches are rewarded by having to play again at 11am the next day.

Amazing.

Oh, one of those people I was watching play at 4am? Johnny Archer.

Welcome to the Hall of Fame Mr. Archer.

I have to say I've watch some great pool so far. Matches between Mika and Thorsten, Jason Klatt and Charlie Williams, Marvin Manalo vs. Darren Appleton, and SVB vs. Mike Davis. The level of play has been amazing.

Okay, off to the convention center to watch some more pool. More pictures coming as well.

The Four-Oh Starts with a Bang

Turning 40 is starting off pretty well pool-wise.

Our BCA team, Monkey Steals the Peach, defended our title and won the league at Amsterdam Billiards again.

picture by William Fuentes

2-peat!

Since this is one of the toughest leagues in the city it was nice to do it twice.

I didn't play in the playoffs as we rode our better players, smartly, to the finish again.

I finished the season 5-5 as a C player. That's about right as my game's extremely up and down - so average win/loss record as an average rated player fits me perfectly. I did have some nice wins this season but I also had some terrible losses. Some days I'm on, some days I'm way off.

We're taking a season (or more) off which is good since it'll give me time to practice and try to develop some much needed consistency in my pool game.

After winning the league at Amsterdam the APA team the Monkey and I are on, Excalibur, won the 9-ball league at Platinum Billiards.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

This was nice since we actually played.

I'm a 6 in this league and I got to play a slightly higher ranked opponent named Chris who's a skill level 7. He a really good shot maker and I was a little bit nervous going into the match. I really haven't been playing all that well and was worried that I might have one of those "off" days and he really does shoot light's out. Only, as with a lot of good shot makers, he really doesn't care too much about position.

(Why play position when you can make the shot from anywhere on the table?)

I need to play well to win and I got lucky with two things that happened that really helped me.


#1

Chris won the lag, broke the balls apart HARD but scratched on the break. I started the match with ball in hand and a wide open table. I was able to start easy and make a few balls which immediately helped to settle me down and remove the jitters. It also put a little more pressure on my opponent since he has to play catch up as I added to my spot/lead.

#2

Chris and his team developed the annoying habit of cheering all things good and bad with the word "sexy" in it.

Make a shot? "That's a sexy shot!"

Get lucky and get position? "That's a sexy position!"

Get lucky and safe your opponent? "That's a sexy safe!"

Ugh.

I don't know if it was a shark or not or if it's just the APA and the players don't know any better, I've seen APA players on other teams clap when the opponent safes himself which is kind of a no-no, but it was like the best thing that could've happened.

See, to ignore all the sexy this and sexy that I had to put up my mental "WALL" and the easiest way to do that was to focus on what I needed to do: make the ball - get shape on the next ball. They basically helped me to FOCUS better - and while that didn't turn me into a superstar, let's not get crazy here, it did at least allow me to at least play to my abilities.

It was a close match and he did make a few runs at me, he's a 7 for a reason, but with my wall up it really didn't bother me. Normally I probably would've felt the pressure and would've started to play "tight". Nope. Stayed loose as a goose and calm.

It was nice to be so focused because there were a few moments during his runs where I had to shoot back at him just to show him I'm still in the match. For example, he broke dry and left me a tough shot on the 1 without any place to play safe and no easy way to get onto the 2. He's probably thinking he's coming back to the table immediately. He's got the momentum too - after running out most of the balls the previous rack - so he can't wait.

I loaded up with low left, drill the 1 ball up into the corner pocket and pull the cue ball down off the side rail for perfect shape on the 2.

And you could just feel him and his team deflate a little.

It was close until the end but I eventually pulled it out and got the win, beating the other team's big gun, and our team eventually ended up winning.

So I turned 40 and won two league championships in the span of a week. All I can say is...

SEXY!

(Hey, c'mon. I'm allowed.)

How Do I get to Carnegie Hall?

I've been reading the book Outliers – The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, and it’s been really interesting in terms of how this book relates to pool. (Okay, it’s me - I relate everything I read to pool.)

Now this book isn't really about Outliers, Outliers basically being extraordinarily talented and gifted people, as much as it’s about success and how the people who do succeed, while gifted, still owe a lot to luck and a whole lot of preparation.

Luck is all about being at the right time at the right place and, in terms of preparation, he talks about The 10,000 Rule where, basically, it takes about 10,000 hours for you to become as good as you are going to become at whatever it is you put 10,000 hours into it.

For example, you ever notice that a lot of the top players in pool started playing the game at a very young age? Either their parents owned a room or had a pool table in the house or they came from a family of pool players. This allowed them to start working on their pool game early on and by the time they've made it to their teen years they've easily completed The 10,000 Rule.

So the fact that they were born into or were around pool early on, that they were lucky to be at the right time and place, allowed them to start playing pool young and in doing so they easily surpassed the 10,000 hours needed to become an “expert” in pool.

Now, obviously talent is a factor as well since there are a lot of people who have been at the game well past 10,000 hours and have never broken through into the pro ranks but, with 10,000 hours behind them, you can assume that they've become as good as they'll ever be.

(Not everyone makes it to the Major Leagues. Some people are career Minor Leaguers.)

Just to give you an idea of how long this is let's break down the 10,000 Rule down and put it into some perspective.

Let’s say it’s your job to play pool and you’re going to do it 9 to 5.

To get to 10,000 hours at 40 hours a week it’s going to take you about 5 YEARS.

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Living in NYC, which has a lively pool scene, I see and hear of a lot of people with Professional Pool aspirations. (Not me, I’m happy to be just your normal everyday hack.) It’s great for people to have a dream and I enjoy watching their trials and tribulations as they try and make it to the pro ranks but being the skeptic that I am I always wonder:

Are they talented enough?

Do they have the ability?

How hard are they working to achieve your goals?

Even with the talent and ability issues aside and focusing on just preparation, and ignoring the ever important Luck factor, I wonder:

How many hours are they putting in a week at pool? How close are they to 10,000 hours?

And are they really “practicing”?

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In one of the chapters in Outliers, where he is discussing music students and their practicing habits, he defines practice as:

“…purposefully and single-mindedly playing their instruments with the intent to get better…”

I think it's a great description of the purpose of true practice.

Now the other night I was watching one of the young, up and coming woman players of the NYC pool scene play pool by her self.

She got a table, threw 9 balls (well 10 if you include the cue ball) onto the table and proceeded to try and run them out. She’d miss but will play the next shot from wherever the balls ended up, playing a simulated game of 9-ball against herself I guess.

Now, being more or less a beginner, with maybe a year or two of playing pool seriously, running 9 balls in order is a pretty difficult task. To completely make all 9 balls is taking her a few innings per rack to say the least. When she does finally pocket the 9-ball she throws all the balls back out there and starts again.

Every once in a while there’s a shot that she’d miss trying to play position onto the next ball. Instead of shooting from where the balls ended up, she’d set the shot back up, try the shot again, and misses again with totally different results which leave her more than a little bewildered. She does this like 3 or 4 times and eventually pockets the object ball with a position she’s willing to live with on the next ball. (She never did seem to do what she was trying to do.) She then continues on with her simulated game of 9-ball.

This goes on for at least 3 hours.

Now, if you ask her I’m sure she’ll say she’s “practicing”.

Is she really?

I’m not sure I agree because I can’t figure out what it is she was practicing and what the goal of this exercise is.

Now, yes, I do throw 9 balls out on the table and, yes, I do shoot them in order but when I do it’s usually just to warm up – either for a tournament or if I haven’t shot in a while. I don’t consider it practicing because there isn't a focus on an aspect of the game that I’m trying to improve.

(The whole purposefully and single-mindedly intent to get better thing…)

I’m not saying that you can’t get better this way it’s just probably going to take you a lot, lot longer.

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When I first got back into playing pool a couple of years ago everything felt unnatural and I couldn't make a ball. To correct the problem I’d get to the pool room early, get a table by myself and work on a whole set of drills until it started to feel nature and I could make a shot with some consistency. Eventually, I reach a level of competency, I could make two balls in a row, and slacked off on drilling choosing to play sets with people or to just “bang balls” rather than do drills cause, you know, drills suck and are boring.

Look, I can run two or three balls! I have a clue! I can beat my friends! I can stop doing drills!

This is why the world is full of C players.

I think it’s pretty easy to go from being a n00b D player, a person who’s never touched a cue and can’t make a ball, to becoming a C player, an advanced beginner*, by just learning basic ball pocketing and basic position play.

(* Look – if you have D, C, B, A, Open, Pro and World Class Pro then C is an advanced beginner. It’s a lot closer to beginner than it is to pro.)

I think it’s a lot harder to go from a C player to a B player, an intermediate player, because it takes a lot more effort to fine tune your game. To be a B player you need to know strategy, safety play, how to kick as well as increasing your shot and position play ability. A lot of people just aren't willing to put in the work. They just stop drilling.

Hey, I understand – I hate them too and with work and a lot of other activities that eat up my free time I’d rather play pool and have fun rather than doing boring drills over and over again.

For me - that’s okay. I’m not trying to turn pro. And I do drill, here and there, just to try and be the best hack I can be. I’m just wondering if a lot of these aspiring pros are working on their game by doing drills half as much as a hack like me.

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Okay, here are two drills that I do regularly.

This one I got from my buddy Sarah and it’s easier if you just go on over to here site and read all about it.

Not So Simple Drill

It really helps with my pocketing, getting the feeling of my stroke down and having confidence in nailing long, straights shots.

The other drill I just started doing regularly is playing the ghost. I play the 5 ball ghost and that’s where you rack 5 balls, break them up and then, with ball in hand, try and run all the balls out in order. If you run them out, you get a point, if you fail, the ghost gets a point. You play like a race to 7 or something and you treat it as if you were in a match.

Now this differs from throwing 9-balls out and just shooting around because there’s a purpose in playing he ghost, running out the rack. I can also keep track of my progress and the difficulty can be adjusted. If you are getting crushed trying to run out with 5 balls? Go down to 4. 5 balls too easy? Increase it to 6.

It’s really tougher than it sounds.

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Yeah, I'm a little all over the place with this post but I think there's a point in there about something. (Maybe not. Oh well.) I just wanted to get something up sooner than later since I'm going to be away in Vegas for the APA's at the end of August.

Anyway, one final quote from the book:

“Practice isn't the thing you do once you’re good, it’s the thing you do that makes you good.”

I'll try to post some more as I have a couple of other ideas formulating in my head.

The Talented Mind

"Pool is such a mental game that you can't let anything negative in." Sarah Rousey

Sarah gave me these little words of wisdom during a discussion where I was telling her how I was letting slow players, the speed of the table and other things get into my head and get me off my game. I guess while I was working on changing my bridge, my stance, my stroke, I forgot to work on the mental aspects of the game. I think I've been playing "better" cause I've been trying really hard to not let any type of negative thoughts in while I'm playing.

"While positive thinking doesn't always work, negative thinking, unfortunately, almost always does." Mind Gym

Everyone seems to always be looking for that little secret that will suddenly take them from good to great and they always seem to focus on technique or equipment. It's why there's a million forum threads on aiming (and it's always a heated argument), why people own dozens of cues (guilty), and why people continue to accumulate dozens and dozens of books and videos. They seem to always be looking to find that secret technique or that magic wand that suddenly going to transform them and their game. Nobody ever seems to look within. I'm starting to think that what separates the good from the great is the 6 inches between people's ears. I mean, seriously, how often do we work on all the physical skills of pool, or any sport for that matter, but never on the mental parts of the game?

"Ninety percent of the game is half mental" Yogi Berra

I was once asked why I play in these Open tournaments when I absolutely have no chance of winning. Besides it being "fun", well it can be at times, it's a good way to work on a lot of the mental aspects of pool - one being the ability to perform under pressure.

"Competitive toughness is an acquired skill and not an inherited gift." Chris Everett

I look at the NYC women pool players and I notice how many times they have gone to Vegas, competed in the national events, and come home with a prize of some sort. I've heard people say "well you're in NYC and with a huge population you're bound to have a lot of talent women playing there." While there's some truth to this I think it's more that pool's very much alive in NY and there's tons of competitive events for women to play in - The JPNEWT. The Tri-States. The Blaze. The Predator Tour. Weekly Open events at various pool rooms. Hell, even the Amsterdam League is hyper competitive! The women that are going to Vegas and bringing back the cash are the one's you'll see every week in some tournament or another. I don't think it's so much that they are more talented than everyone else it's just that they are more mentally prepared. They been tested under fire and they're ready to win.

"Under pressure you can perform fifteen percent better or worse." Scott Hamilton

I recently wondered what do pro players do when they sit in the chair waiting for thier turn cause I never knew what to do. I too often let my mind wander and, in turn, lose my focus. Well, I found a new thing to do - I watch my opponents mannerisms. Having started to do this I can sometimes tell the moment when the players has "lost the match". I wait for the eventual bad roll or missed shot or any of the millions of things that can go wrong at the pool table and I wait for their reaction. I wait to see how they recover from it. Do they shake it off? Is it still bothering them? How long are they gonna let it keep bothering them? Are they starting to thinking negatively? If you watch closely you can tell, it's all in thier body language, and you'll know if they've already lost or not. (And, yeah, I was "that guy" not too long ago.)

I recently had a guy hill-3, race to 7. He came back and beat me. He never let being down bother him while I, on the other hand, just expected him to give up due to the lead I had. And as he started to inch closer and closer I started to play tight and I started to make very careless mistakes. I dropped my mental guard, he keep his up and he deservingly so won a tough match.

I just read Mind Gym, it's where I got most of the quotes above from, and while not breaking any new ground on sports psychology I still thought it was a good, simple to understand, very quick to read, and very thought provoking book. It causes one to do a lot of introspection and to realize that you are what you think of yourself more often than not. I guess it makes you pay attention to your thoughts more. In a match, for example, if you draw the #1 seed - what is your reaction? Oh no? Or oh yes! Have you already "lost" by thinking you can't beat the person before the match has happened? It's those types of thoughts I'm now more acutely aware of.

I haven't read Outliers yet but I have read about it's theory of 10,000 hours. I think it goes something like - to become a master at something you need to spend at least 10,000 hours performing it. While I do see it's point I think it should be ammended for something like sports - 10,000 hours will probably get you to the peak of your natural abilities. It will take you only as far as your talent will let you. I think I can spend 1,000,000 hours practicing basketball but I lack the physical skills, I'm slow and I've got a 1/2 inch vertical leap, to make it to the NBA. It doesn't mean I won't be good after playing so long but only as good as my talent allows me to be. I started to think about pool and all these people that are planning on going pro and I wonder how hard are they working at it. Are you anywhere close to the 10,000 hours? Has it been 10,000 quality hours? If so, are you at your ceiling? Are you as far as your talents going to take you? I see a lot of people in the pool room who have been playing for years and they are stuck at the same level. Is this why? Something to think about I guess.

I also, having read these two theories recently, been wondering how much of the mental game is talent? I mean would Mariano Rivera be who he is if it wasn't for the fact that he's such a clutch performer? There's a lot of guys who can throw just as hard as he can, who can pinpoint their pitches just as well as he can...only they can't seem to do it when the pressures on. I look at Derek Jeter - here's a guy who's good but not "great", numbers wise, but is gonna be remember for years to come for his clutch performances. A-Rod? He's the direct opposite. Arguable the greatest player in the history of baseball, numbers wise, but will forever be discussed for his inability to perform in the clutch.

Isn't that a little bit of what seperates the top pros in pool? They all can break and run out. They all have all the skills to win any tournament they enter yet it seems to always be the same names finishing high in these events. Do the "better" pros just perform better under pressure? Can you learn it or is it just part of what we call natural abiliity? How much of talent is mental ability? Something else to think about I guess.

Okay, it's getting late and, as you can tell, I'm rambling. I started this one a while ago and never got to finish it. It's still not finished but, eh, whatchagonnado.

Grrr...

Yeah, yeah, I know.

I actually have had a lot to say recently but I'm trying to do the "adult thing" and keep it to myself. You know, the whole "if you don't have anything nice to say..." Grr.

But don't worry. If "it" keeps up any longer I'm gonna have to say something cause I just can't take it any longer. (And by the looks of things it's no where near the END. Keep milking it for all it's worth Pretty Little Reapers. )

Other than that I've been busy and haven't really had time to sit down and write a real entry. Gonna see if I can sneak one in on Saturday since I'm gonna take a break from pool. (I know!)

So that's it for now. Bleh.

If You're Not First...

Well in case you're not on Facebook or following me on Twitter... I won my first APA match of the season!

Oh, and I took 3rd place in the Predator ABCD event over the weekend as well. (And, in case you're wondering, I'm still an SL5.)

3rd for me, a recreational hack, is a really good result.

And, yes, I'm as surprised as hell too.

And happy.

And $500 richer.

Cha-Ching!

It was a surprise since I was playing pretty "craptastic", as my good friend OMGWTF would say, pool for a quite a while. Luckily I got some good friends who play some damn good pool to help me out when I hit a bad slump. I got some good mental advice from Sarah, some shooting/deflection tips from Holden, safety play info from Caroline as well as my friend Eric, and a change to my stroke from "Cadillac" Lac. I also figured out something about the way I was aiming as well.

All of this sort of clicked for me in the last few weeks. I wasn't letting things, like table conditions and slow players, bother me as much, I was making smarter choices during matches by playing more safeties and I was pocketing balls more consistently and making fewer unforced errors. I felt pretty good, like my game was finally coming together.

Now let me first state that I did not go into this Predator event thinking I was gonna "snap it off". In fact the Monkey and I had already decided where we going to go have dinner after the tournament ON FRIDAY, Gyro's II by Madison Square Garden, expecting that by 7 or 8pm we'd both be knocked out of the event. It's also why ,when asked if we wanted to get into the calcutta, we said no. I could've bought myself for $10 but I thought I'd be wasting $10 so I didn't - and it paid $275 or something like that for 3rd place. Oh well.

The match format in this event was that the A's and B's would playing each other and the C's and D's would play each other, game being spotted if need be, and eventually the two divisions would met up near the end. I'm rated a C and would be playing other players more or less my own speed.

My first match was against Mike H. and before our match we had this little conversation (as well as I can remember it anyway).

Mike H: Hey, aren't you on that team "Monkey Steals the Peach"?
Me: Yeah.
Mike H: You guys beat us in the playoffs! I'm glad your team won the whole thing after beating us. You guys are really GOOD!
Me: Thanks.

Me (thinking): Oh man. Way to shark yourself dude.

I dunno, maybe it's me, but I'm not going to give the guy I'm playing any compliments and build his confidence before we start and I'm definitely not putting that "he's good" thought in my head before the match as well.

Mike H. jumps out to a 4-1 lead cause I'm missing shots. Easy shots. I'm like WTF? Then I realized that. I. Forgot. To. Aim. I mean really aim. Cause a lot of times I think I'm aiming when I'm really not. (Seriously.) I start to pick a pinpoint spot on the object ball, focus, pause, quiet my eyes, then shoot. I remind myself of this on the next few shots and it helps. I'm now stringing a few 4 and 5 ball runs and getting out the rack and making a comeback. I also get a little bit of help as Mike H. missed 3 different 9-ball combination's and, each time, left the 9-ball hanging in the jaws for me.

Final score: 7-4.

My next match was against Diana R. an up and coming female player in the NYC pool scene. She started off slowly and I took advantage of her early mistakes to get out to a bit of a lead. Once she warmed up I could see that she has a BIG STROKE which was both good, she moved the cue ball around easily, and bad, she was losing control of the cue ball. This loss of control of the CB caught up to her as she kept scratching during key points of the game - going from the 8 to the 9 ball for example. Too many mistakes on her part allowed me to eventually win the match.

Final score: 7-5?

Next up was...Matt? Mike? I can't remember his name, sorry. He beat the Monkey in her first match and the scouting report she gave me on him helped. He seemed nervous or something as he'd make a great shot but then follow that up with by missing an easy one. He'd get out a tough rack but then dog the out on an easy one. He was getting some early rolls in the match, he'd miss and hook me, he'd miss the shot but bump into another ball that would fall in, etc. I just laughed it off, played smart (no fliers!) and waited him out and hoped that the rolls would eventually even out. Which they did.

I won and, sorry, I can't remember the score either.

By now the Monkey and I are thinking "WTF?"

How am I -

1) still in this thing?
2) still on the winner's side?
3) going to be able to eat at Gyro's II before they close?

We check the board and realize that if I win my next match I could leave and come back tomorrow. Losing would mean I'd have to continue to battle it out in the Loser's bracket, at least another 2 or 3 matches, and it was already 9pm...

which would mean there would be no chance what-so-ever of making it to Gyro's II before it closes.

In this epic battle to make it back to the next day, and for me to get that delicious Gyro sandwich, I matched up against a guy named Al. I've seen him around at various pool halls as he runs around with this group of Dominican pool players and gamblers. It was this same group from whom he was constantly swapping equipment with throughout our match - break cue here, pool cue there, swap the pool cue for another cue... I didn't think it was allowed, I think the rules are you play with the equipment you brought with you, but I didn't complain because it really didn't seem to be helping him anyway.

I'm not sure how I did it but I got out to a 6-2 lead. And then...

I developed the shanks.

Ball straight in the hole? I missed it. Several times.

I'm suddenly no longer able to run 2 balls. And. I. Have. No. Idea. Why. I go through my preshot routine. I check off all the steps on my list. I aim. I pause. I quiet eye. Nothing. Still missing.

So, of course, he makes a come back. It's suddenly and inexplicably Hill Hill. And it's his break.

He breaks and, luckily, doesn't make a ball.

I make the 1-ball but don't really have a pocket for the 2-ball. The 8-ball is hidden behind the 9-ball and are tied up and blocking one of the corner pocket so I can't play for a 2-9 combination. There's a bunch of other balls tied up as well so this is gonna be a tough rack to run out. So I do the smart thing - I played a safe.

And what a GREAT safe it is!

With the cue ball I nudge the 8 out of the way of the 9, hiding the cue ball directly behind the 9, with the 2 ball going to the middle of the table. With all the traffic caused by the other balls there's no easy kick for him to make contact with the 2 and he knows that if he misses this kick I'll get a great shot at making the 2-9 combo.

He does the smart thing: he nudges the 9 ball away from the pocket.

Only...it's not really that far from the pocket...and the 8 ball's still there on the bottom rail making the pocket a little bigger...and I can't currently make two balls in a row...and I can't "see" the runout...and DAMNIT! I PLAYED A GREAT SAFETY! I DESERVE TO BE REWARDED!

So I line the combo up.

Yep, I'm gonna take me a FLIER during a HILL-HILL match.

And I WHACK the HELL out of this combo.

And I MISS!

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

But the 9-ball goes two rails...

bumps into a bunch of balls...

goes another two rails...

and slowly...

slowly...

craps it's way into the side pocket.

Yes, folks, I shitted in the 9-ball by taking a flier during a hill-hill match, locking up 5/6th place and now I get to leave and come back tomorrow. (Unfortunately, since it went hill-hill Gyro's II is closed.)

Hey, I do play in the APA - the Any Pocket Asshole - League. Shitting in the 9-ball...that's normal.

I get to the room early the next day, I was too excited and couldn't sleep, and I worked on all the shots that gave me trouble the day before - one being a long, straight shot with the cue ball a half inch off the rail. I also figured out what caused me to get the shanks and I made a mental note of it as well as the correction.

My first match of this day was against Ron M. whom I've played several times before. I think the last few times we've played I won and that was before all my recent changes and improvements. Needless to say I felt very comfortable and even a bit confident going into our match.

I get out to a 4-2 lead. Ron, smartly, takes his break, and comes back strong. He shooting a lot better and ties it up at 4-4. Great. Maybe I was too confident? Took him too lightly? It's a race to 3 now.

He's running out the next rack but gets a little straight on the 9-ball. It's a tough shot but makeable...only he overcuts it and hangs it up for me. I make it to go up 5-4.

Obviously, he's PISSED.

And he's already used his one 5 minute match break...

I can see him still thinking about that missed 9-ball during the next game and it's affecting the way he's playing. He comes to a similar 5-ball shot and tries to baby it in. Instead of going in, it hangs up. I run out from there. Now it's 6-4 me.

He's now officially on TILT.

Next rack he's slamming shots. He's making them but he's just letting the cue ball go. He misses the 5 ball with only the 5, 6 and 9 left on the table. It's a long shot straight shot on the 5 ball with the cue ball about a half inch off the rail.

Good thing I was practicing these before our match.

I make it and I make the next two balls as well to win the match 7-4.

Now I can't do any worse than 3rd place!

I play John A next who went through the A/B bracket undefeated and somewhat unchallenged. Since he's an A I get two games on the wire going to 7. He's definitely a good, young, up and coming player. I wasn't intimidated, hell I'm guaranteed 3rd and all this is just gravy, but I was...worried. I just didn't wanna get blown out of the water.

John's seems to be struggling with the table conditions and is not at his best. He's making mistakes, really silly mistakes, and giving me chances. With every chance I got, and in trying to ignore the fact that I'm playing a much better player, I kept telling myself "It's my turn. It's what I can do at the table during my turn." And somehow, and I still don't know how, I get to the hill first. 6-5.

In the next rack John's running out but gets funny on the 8 ball. He plays a decent safety, leaving me no real shot to make the 8 ball. I try to play a safe back but hit everything too hard. Nerves? Maybe. He makes a good shot on the 8 ball and makes the easy 9 to win the game. Now it's 6-6.

Hmm...not sure how I got a shot but I come to the table with a look at the 3 ball. There's not really a pocket for it so I try to play a safety. I "just miss it" by a hair where I would've hidden the cue ball behind a pack of balls and John would've had to kick at the 3 ball. Instead I left him a look where he could make the 3 ball, which he does. And then , under all the pressure of a hill-hill match, he smartly weaves his way around a very tough 9 ball rack to win the game and the match.

My next match - eh. Unspectacular play by me and some extremely good play from a very under handicapped Jose C. Jose also has my "kryptonite" as he plays at a very slow place. I get crushed 7-1 with the 1 being a "gimme" - a 9 ball that Jose hung up. I think I was out of gas by this time and maybe, just maybe, a little too happy that I've already finished in 3rd.

In the finals I heard, since I had to run to make it to my APA match, it was hill-hill as well with John A. pulling out the win. Congrats John.

Anyway, this is my highest finish ever in an event that paid cash money. I'm now even listed on AZBilliards!

Here's some pics of me shooting in it taken by "T.O." Allison Fischer for the NYC Grind.




Okay, with form like this how the hell do I even make a damn ball?

It's Rack Your Own and I still manage to slug rack myself...

Back from Vegas

I'm back from Vegas but too tired, and jet lagged, to post anything of significance so here's one of my favorite pictures from the trip.

Congrats to all the people from NYC who did GREAT in Vegas.

Mark Vidal and Liz Ford - Scotch Doubles Champs!

Team Kiss of Death - Women's Open Champs!

Oh, and to Samm - so very nice to finally meet you. [People should head over to her site. She posted a video of people eating LIVE (actually fresh killed but STILL MOVING) Octopus. it's nasty!]