SBE 2009 (Pictures)

Super Billiards Expo

Finally. A little time to post. It's been kinda crazy around here with people visiting and crashing at casa de monkeys & buddhas. There was also the 2009 Super Billiards Expo (SBE) held at the Valley Forge Convention Center in PA last week, which I attended, and I haven't quite recovered from it yet.

I'm still exhausted from the experience.

The SBE is like, for recreational hacks like me, the Super Bowl of Pool. There beautiful custom cues to drool over, a Men's and Women's Pro 10-ball Event to watch, amateur events to play in and all the bar box gambling you'd want all under one roof. Not that I gamble on pool but it's always fun to sweat the action.

It's 4 days of pool, pool and more pool.

This is my 3rd time attending the event. The first year I was strictly a spectator. I played in the Open Amateur Event last year once I realized that it's $75 to play in it, and I get to use the tables when they're open for practice, over $50 for a weekend spectators pass and no table usage. I wasn't quite ready for competition at that time in my pool life and went 1 and done. (It's a single elimination competition.) This year I was determined to at least win a match. (Setting myself small achievable goals.)

Checking the board I drew a guy named Denis and I was like "Yes! A name I don't recognize!"

Now a "name I don't recognize" is a good thing because there are people who play in this event that are "pro-speed", who everyone's heard of/about, but are somehow still considered amateurs. I'm not sure how they determine who's a pro and who's not a pro as that seems to be a very, very gray area but I'm just glad I didn't draw a name and my chances of winning a match were still alive. (At least in my mind.)

I got to my table early and got myself warmed up properly since it's short races to 5 and I didn't want to start slow like I normally do. Denis arrived shortly after and I got to watch him shoot a few racks. He's pretty good. I thought he was about the same speed as me, maybe slightly better, but I have a chance. A good chance too as I think he was hung-over/still half asleep.

First set went my way and I felt I was playing pretty well. He started slow, the whole hung-over/still asleep thing, and he missed some fairly routine balls. When he missed I felt like I was getting out. I won it fairly easily 5-1? 5-2?

The second set...I lost my concentration. I don't know how but I did. I think I got a little too confident due to the score of the first set and I allowed myself to get distracted by what was going on over at the Mezz Cues/Billiard Life booth where all my friends were working/hanging out. Plus he started to wake up/sober up. Now I was missing routine shots and he's getting out. He beats me fairly easily 5-1? 5-2?

Last set - a tie-breaker for all the marbles.

I'm trying to get it back together by slowly down and making sure that I go through my pre-shot routine - plan, pause, take dead aim, shoot. Rinse. Repeat. – I fight to keep the match close.

1-0 him. 1-1. 2-1 him. 2-2. 3-2 him. 3-3.

He's starting to play a little tight - the pressure! - so I liked my chances. I’ve played under these conditions before (thanks Predator Tour!) and while he seemed to be losing it I was slowly getting my game back.

The next match was a critical one - winner gets to the hill first.

He makes a unforced error mid-rack leaving me with a wide open table. I run out and get to the hill first. It's always a relief to be on the hill first. Now there's a ton of pressure on him.

He makes another unforced error mid-rack. I’m running out but brain-fart the position from the 8 going to the 9. I got a shot on the 9 but it's a tough cut all the way up table with a shallow angle.

I shoot.

I miss.

I get lucky.

I leave him straight with the 9-ball stuck near the bottom of the rail.

(I GOT A ROLL! WOOOHOO!)

He tries a really tough back cut and hangs up the 9 for me.

YES! I didn’t go 1 and out!!!

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

My next match was against nice older gentleman named Lyn and, while I had chances, I didn’t play as well. I think I was a little too happy that I’ve already met my goal and, if I win this match, the next match would be at 8am the next day. It was in the back of my mind and it caused my focus not to be entirely there as I missed two ball-in-hand shots among some other bad unforced mistakes.

He played very well and got out open racks regularly. He also got a couple of “rolls” at the right time too. (I had left him a long rail bank on the 8 at 3-3 the first set and he double banked it in. The second set at 3-2 he missed the 7 ball and left me safe. I made the kick but the cue ball goes 3 rails and finds the side pocket.) It’s not fair to be good and lucky at the same time.

Final scores were 5-3 and 5-2.

From there, with my matches done, it was pretty much party time!

Next year I'm going to see if I can make it to the next day but, overall, a really fun time.

Quick Update

Sorry for the delay between posts but Sarah's been visiting and trying to live the Billiard Life while having a day job...man, I'm exhausted.
(I dunno know about you but I think it screams "Tourist" when you ride the Subway with a huge smile on your face. It's just a HUGE INVITE to have all the crazy people start talking to you.)

Anyhoo, I didn't play APA Leagues this Sunday due to the fact that our Thursday Amsterdam League schedules matches on Sunday as well. (I join a Thursday League to play, you know, on Thursdays...) I did play APA Leagues last Sunday and barely won my match against another SL5 38-35 and I was able to get a match in at Amsterdam this past Sunday and, to no one's surprise, I lost to another C player 7-3.

I played terrible.

Wanna know why?

Cause playing safeties has now introduced doubt into my decision making.

Before if I could see a relatively open pocket for the object ball I'll shot at it.

Now?

If the shots 50/50 or so I have to ask "Hmm...is it better to play safe here instead? Do I risk selling out if I shoot at this ball? It's an iffy shot. I might miss it. Safe? Don't safe?"

And the fact that I'm now thinking that "I might miss it and sell out" has introduced the thought of missing, the possibility of missing, into my preshot routine and has messed with my confidence just a teeny bit.

Now I know I'm not gonna make every shot as a recreational hack C player but I did shoot every shot before, even low percentage shots, with 100% confidence that it was going in. Now I'm doubting myself...and it's just enough to get me off my mental game.

Plus my safeties suck. As a working stiff I have to often use "game time" as "practice time" and try stuff I shouldn't be trying in matches that matter.

Like safeties.

There's just not enough time for me to practice until I'm comfortable with new things before trying it in matches.

It's why I can go into some craptastic slumps.

But, hey, craptastic slumps make good posts!

Anyway, that's the quick update as I'm getting ready to head off to Valley Forge, PA for the Super Billiards Expo. I'll be at booth 99/100, the Mezz Cues USA/Billiards Life booth, if you want to meet the Big Buddha in person.

This Week in Pool

So I went 2 and out in this past weekend’s Predator Tour. My first opponent was Scott S. I recently watch Scott S. gamble for a few thousand dollars against a couple of really strong players and Scott S. was able to hold his own against them. I don’t know if that made me nervous, and I wouldn’t even know why it would, but I started off really slow against him – more so than what I would consider normal even for me, a notoriously slow starter.

Scott S., on the other hand, was playing great and came out on fire. I missed – he ran out. He breaks, makes a ball, and he’s out. Rinse and repeat.

Final score: 7-0.

Yep, I got donutted. Ugh.

My next opponent was my good friend Caroline who is currently ranked 28^th on the WPBA. My current record against Capao is like 100-0... eh, make that 101-0 now. She knows my game too well and, being friends, I don’t think I put out the same effort or have the same focus against her as I do when I play against other people. I find it hard to want to “smash” friends, but she, on the other hand, had no qualms about it. (With a record of 100-0 my chances of winning were pretty slim anyway.)

I should’ve remembered:

“Mercy is a disease.” – Mika Immonen

It’s definitely one of the things I have to work on - putting out the same effort and have the same focus against ALL my opponents. Most people don’t have to work on it because they have a super competitive nature and/or they hate losing. I’m sort of neither. I’m motivated more by “hatred” – I need to dislike the person I play if even for a made up reason just for the match - to often play my best.

Now going 2 and out sucks... only I’m not too upset about it. I think I played fine for a recreational hack pool enthusiast and, given the skill level of my opponents, I think I put up a fight at least.

(Besides, I took it out on the SL5 I played the next day in APA Leagues anyway – crushing him 38-20 in an even race to 38 points.)

Still, if anyone’s got any tips on becoming more competitive I’m all ears.

Now I am obviously over matched, and depending on who I draw - extremely over matched - in an Open event like the Predator Tour. There is a chance to win the $100 prize for C-D players, luck of the draw mostly, but to win this event or to come in the actual money...it’s gonna take a miracle.

This sort of prompted a discussion about “learning to win” – if you believe there is such a thing.

The discussion was that an event like the Predator Tour, it’s pretty much a donation on my part and maybe I should enter and play in another local regional tour, the Tri-States, which is handicapped and where I might actually have a chance to come in the money and “win”.

It’s a valid argument.

Losing sucks and if I keep losing maybe I’ll get “comfortable” with the feeling. Doubtful but, then again, I’m not upset about going 2 and out. I think “who you lose to” is a big factor – and playing better players, losing to them, is also a form of cheap lessons and not really a thing someone should get upset over.

Winning is nice and I was fortunate to taste it once – coming in 1st in an individual handicapped Pool League. It was a nice confidence boost but, in a way, you already have to believe in yourself and your ability to win before you can achieve it. Still, confirmation of your abilities is always nice.

What do you think? Do you need to learn to win? Is it okay to continuing losing to better players? Can you learn from losing? Can you get use to losing?

I’m not 100% sure I believe in the “learn to win” theory which is why I’m kind of on the fence about playing Tri-States.

I have tried the Tri-States a couple of times and... bleh. I just don’t seem to care.when I'm playing in it. In an Open event, I can play a guy who’s a lot better than me and that will sometimes draws out of me a really good effort. Handicapped events where I’m playing other hacks just doesn’t seem to get what little competitive drive I have going.

My main problem with the Tri-States, and why I don’t play in them that much, is that I feel the prize money distribution is extremely off and too much of it is going into the pockets of the Tournament Directors. (There’s no proof of this but the math never seems to add up to me.) By playing in it and supporting the Tour I feel like I’m giving the Tour Directors my okay to continue this practice.

For example, there’s a Break and Run contest where the prize money is $300 every event. So no matter how many $10 tickets are sold to people the prize money for this contest never grows. Where’s the rest of the money going? Into the tour? Into the prizes? Where?

If they had an open book policy where you could see the calculations, the Blaze Pro-Am Tour does this, then I wouldn’t feel so bad. At least I’d know. I’d be okay with them saying the Break and Run contest is a way for the Tournament Directors to recoup cost – it makes senses - just be up front and clear about it.

Only they don’t have an open book policy so we’ll never know.

Unfortunately the Tri-States is one of the few events available where Hacks like me have a chance to win.

Ugh.

What to do what to do...

Anyway, back to this week in pool and my matches!

After the Predator the next thing I played in was the Tuesday Skyline Open Tournament. My first match was against Joey who I know from the APA and is another SL5 I think. I started slow, again, and I wasn’t really all that into the match. I also wasn’t paying attention to my pre-shot routine and missed an important step - proper alignment to the cue ball. Since my alignment was off I was missing simple shots and not getting out on some pretty routine racks. I only figured it out after my match which I lost 5-0. (Donutted again but still not that broken up about it.)

Next match was against Olga a greatly improving local woman player. It’s funny but every time I play her I’m exhausted. Last time she donutted me, 4-0, cause I was asleep on my feet and, unfortunately, this time’s no different. Working and late night Tuesday tournaments don’t go very well together. She, on the other hand, doesn’t work a full time job and looked fresh as a daisy.

Long story short, I was down 3-1 and came back to make it 3-3, sleepwalking my way through the match. (I had one nice run out from early in the rack during my comeback so that was good.) I think I missed the 2 or 3 ball and left Olga a pretty open lay out. Ogla was running out the rack but got funny on the 7 ball. She had to hit it cleanly into the side pocket, it was a tight angle, while drawing the cue ball back for the 8 ball. For some reason I knew she was gonna miss it. that I’d have a chance to win this match! Well she did miss it. Only the 7 ball hit the nipple of the side pocket, came straight back, glanced off the cue ball and went into the corner pocket. The cue ball, having been moved by the 7 ball, fell into perfect position to pocket the 8 ball with natural position for the 9 ball.

Grr. What a way to lose. I would've felt better if she would've just run out. That's how it goes sometimes.

I’m now 0-2 against Olga and I’m starting to get mad. (I’m working on my motivation for next time.) Just once I’d like to play her when I’m awake to see if that makes a difference.

Last night was Amsterdam League night and I got to play. Yay! My opponent was Scuba Steve, C+, and he had to give me, a C, 1 game going on 7.

Now remember how I posted last time that I was going to try and not get mad at the table’s speed and how bouncy the rails are at Amsterdam? How I was going to play smart and play what the table was given to me? Well all that went right out the window last night.

The cue ball just kept rolling a little bit more than I wanted it to for position and it was driving me crazy. I should've been able to get out a few racks but the rails and the table speed... ugh. I got into this frustrated mode where I was taking a crazy low percentage shot over playing safe trying to complete the out. (I had it! I still wanted it!) I had a decent lead, 6-3, but I was giving it away with my refusal to play safe. He got to 5 before I was finally able to close him out but it was one ugly match as both of us weren’t playing very well.

I was reprimanded by my teammates for not playing smarter by playing safe when I had to only I HATE PLAYING SAFE! I SUCK AT IT! And with the conditions at Amsterdam I’m as likely to sell out on a safety attempt as I am shooting a flyer. I’d rather go down shooting!

(But I guess when the current Player of the Year, Mika Immonen, and the number 28^th ranked women in the WPBA, Capao, are the one’s doing the reprimanding I probably should listen huh?)

I really have to develop better short term memory loss and not think about how I got screwed by the table and just play what is right there, at this moment, and what’s the best thing to do in this situation and deal with what’s in front of me.

Still... I’d rather go down shooting...but I should play to Win.