An Update

Let's see...what have I been up to?  Well, to be honest, not much of anything - which is probably why I haven't updated this in a while.

A work situation has thrown a monkey wrench into my BJJ training and I haven't been able to get in and train as often as I would like.  I miss it, it is a lot of fun, but on my list of current priorities it's low on the totem pole.

My pool game has been up and down - but probably more on the down side recently than anything.  I was playing well a few months ago where I was able to break and run two racks, not consecutively, in a race to 7 in leagues, a first for me, but after that...the wheels just came off.  Now, some days I can't run 3 easy balls to save my life, some days I feel like I can't miss. 

Just the other day I was playing/practicing at Skyline Billiards and lost two sets to a guy who's a C+/B player 7-0, 7-0.  (I won my first rack on the 15th game - finally!)  I'm not saying I should win the set but getting donutted twice...ugh.  I should've won a few games at the very least.  Two donuts...but there's no one to blame but myself.  I kept shooting myself in the foot.  I would misplay a position, miss a shot I shouldn't have missed...and gave him too many opportunities to run out.

And, since I'm so up and down, what happens that evening at Amsterdam Billiards?  Just messing around/practicing I break and run two racks consecutively - my first two pack ever* - on the tight pocket table there too.  

Yeah, it's nuts.  I have no idea what's going on either.

(*I once broke in the 9-ball 3 consecutive times but I don't think that counts.)

Luckily the guys at Skyline are really nice and, the next day after getting drilled some more by the C+/B player, I got some advice/coaching/instruction on what the problem(s) is(are) and how to fix it.  

One thing that was pointed out to me was that I would sometimes hit the ball hoping it would go in rather than knowing it would go in.  It's a subtle difference but it's the difference between making the ball and missing the ball. 

It was a good mini-lesson with most of it focused on how I think over how I do.  (Yep, most of the problem lies between my ears.)  It should help - I'll let you know.

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Leagues: we got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs after finishing first in our division and first for our time slot. (Which would've matter as we could've gotten a bye into more money if we survived for a couple of rounds.)  Not a big deal as we were missing two of our better players but getting knocked out the first round meant we didn't cash - which sucks. 

Since two people were missing I actually had to play, I NEVER PLAY IN THE PLAYOFFS, and I started off terribly.  I spotted the guy one game in a race to 7 and proceeded to: missed an easy 8 with the 9 hanging, scratched on the 9...twice...miss a 9...I think I was down 5-0 at one point.  I somehow got my shit together and got it back to 5-5 but a couple of more mistakes and a couple of great shots by my opponent and I ended up losing 7-5.  My opponent played well but I wish I didn't dig myself such a big hole to start.  Maybe things would've been different.  Oh well.

Overall it was a really fun season.  My teammates are all nuts.  Seriously.

And here are about to do it all over again.  

Bad Juju. 

---

I'm reading a book on irrationality and one of the chapters is devoted to how we have too many options these days and how, having too many options, may in fact be bad for you.  

Take pool for instance - you can play 1 pocket, 14.1/straight pool, 9-ball, 8-ball, etc....and you could eventually become good at all of them. BUT, what if, you devoted yourself to just one of these games...wouldn't that improve your chances of becoming great at it?

There's a story in the book about a Chinese General who, with a small army, landed on the shores of the enemy.  In the middle of the night the general burned the boats down and destroyed all the cooking supplies.  To survive his army had to advance and defeat the enemy as there was no turning back. He had taken that option away from them.  They went on to win several battles and was one of the more feared units in that era.

Don't get me wrong - there's a lot of pros out there who are world champions in multiple disciplines.  I think the question is: did they master one game first, and then learn the other games, or did they try to learn all the games at the same time?  

(Hmm...have to remember to ask a few of them next time I see them.)  

At the same time I know of a couple of world class 14.1 players that if they were to play 9-ball against a couple of the Open players in the area, I'm betting against them.  9-ball just isn't their game and things like kicking, jumping, etc.  they just aren't as precise. 

I think it's an interesting question.  I know a lot of people believe in "cross training" and playing the other games to improve your "overall game".  I just wonder if that's actually holding them back - making them a jack of all trades but a master of none.

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Okay, that's it for now I guess.  I'm off to Chicago for a few days for a very special event.  I'll post some pictures from it if I get the chance.

Hopefully it won't be 6 months before I update again.

Pain is Weakness Leaving Your Body

Sorry for the lack of posts. I just feel burned out and tired from all the drama and b.s. that seems to surround pool. Due to this I have zero motivation to write about pool or anything else. I’m actually in the middle of a little break from competitive pool, no leagues and no tournaments for a while, and I’m using the time off to work on my game and trying to find the “fun” again. Pool is suppose to be fun right?

(Okay, I’m still playing APA but, c’mon, it’s the APA. It doesn’t really count.)

The time away from leagues is allowing me to go back to my other favorite hobby: Hurting myself. (Otherwise known as training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, BJJ for short.)

It’s funny because the only reason I got back into playing pool was because I sustained an injury from BJJ and had to take a break from training. While I was on a break recovering a coworker invited me out to play pool with a group of his friends.

I thought to myself “I like pool. I use to play a lot with my brothers. Plus it’s a nice safe activity where I can’t injure myself. Ok.”

Well one thing leads to another…I met some cool people who became my really good friends, I joined a couple of pool leagues, I met a girl who fell for my fat guy moves …and, well, here I am, 4 years later.

Time really does fly when you're having fun.

It’s been really nice “hurting myself”* again. I've forgotten how much I enjoyed it and how much fun it is.

(*So the first week back, 3rd class I’ve taken since being back, I strained or hyper-extended my big toe on my left foot. Now it hurts when I flex it and I can't really push off it. Joy!)

Besides the minor injuries and bumps and bruises - I do feel better. I feel more energized and my head seems to be clearer – more focused, less stressed and less bothered by the little things. I guess it’s because there really isn’t any time to think or over-think things as all these young “Next Ultimate Fighter” kids are trying to tap you out.

And, believe it or not, BJJ is actually helping my pool game. As strange as it may seem pool and BJJ share a lot of similarities. I now find myself thinking about pool differently, from a BJJ perspective I guess, and I find myself applying things I learned from BJJ to my pool game.

For instance, one of the things that BJJ has me thinking about recently is how important proper execution of a technique is. There’s steps to properly execution a technique in BJJ, like an arm bar, and the difference between a black belt and a novice would be in how well they execute the technique. A novice would perform the technique sloppy and loose, a black belt would do it clean and tight. Same technique, no tricks, just done “better”.

Which brings me to pool.

One of the most controversial topics in pool is aiming systems. People love to argue about it ad naseum. I find the argument silly due to the fact that aiming doesn’t matter if you can’t hit what you’re aiming at. It's funny how many "experts" there are on aiming methods yet only a few of them seem to play at a high level. While they may have the knowledge they seem to lack the ability to execute the technique of shot making properly.

I know when I miss a shot, and I miss A LOT, it's not usually because I aimed incorrect . It's usually a failure in my execution. I poked or jab stroked it, I tightened up my grip at the last minute, I didn't line up right but I shot from there anyway, and a host of other execution issues.

So recently I've been playing more attention to all the steps required to make a shot, the little details, and trying to execute them "better". I've been playing more attention to how I'm addressing the shot, how tight or loose my grip is on the cue, how much tension there is in my arm as I shoot, how much did the cue follow through during my stroke...and it's helping. I feel like I'm pocketing the balls more consistently, running out more, getting better shape...all while actually practicing and playing less. I'm actually hitting what I'm aiming at now!

Okay, not all the time. I mean you still got to factor in dominant eye and throw and deflection and...oh just forget it.

Quit pool, do zoo zhitzoo.

It may hurt more but it's less complicated.

bleh.

I’ve played in 3 tournaments since the last time I posted. I wanted to put some of the things I’ve been working on to the test. There was some up and downs, some new things to work on and a few lessons learned.

The first tournament was July 11th at one of My favorite rooms, Raxx Bar & Grill in West Hempstead, NY. It was the Mezz Tour where professionals and amateurs are together in the same field and the entry fees are based on your skill level. (I, of course, pay the least.)

In the first round I drew George “Ginky” San Souci, one of NYC’s best players and a local legend.

The tournament is an alternating break format and I won the flip so I had the first break. Here’s how the match went:

I break. Don’t make a ball. Ginky runs out.
Ginky breaks. Makes a ball. Runs out.
I break. Don’t make a ball. Ginky runs out.
Ginky breaks. Makes a ball. Runs out.
I break. Don’t make a ball. Ginky runs out.

It’s 5-0 before I get my first good look at a makeable shot.

I, of course, miss it.

Badly.

By like a whole entire diamond.

Ugh.

At 6-0 he gives me a gift by taking a risky shot on the 9-ball and hangs it up so that I could avoid the dreaded donut. Final score: 7-1.

Now people might say that this is why I shouldn’t play in professional events – that I’m way outclassed - and yes, it’s true, I am outclassed, but let me just say that watching Ginky shoot, the performance he put on as he blitzed me, was worth every penny of my entry fee.

His stroke was so silky smooth and effortless that he just made the game look so easy. It was actually pretty enjoyable getting crushed as it was just one of the most amazing pool performances I've ever seen and a great free lesson in stroke mechanics - which is one of the things I’ve been working on to improve my game.

I didn’t win my next match which was against another C player - I had a brain fart on a kick when the match was hill-hill. I knew I was going to scratch but rather than listen to myself, get up from the shot and come up with a new plan, I went with my initial thought and scratched. My opponent ran out from there with ball in hand.

Two and done.

(By the way Ginky would eventually win this tournament.)

The second event I played in was back at Raxx on August 8th and was another Mezz Tour event.

My first round match was another beat down by another Open/Pro player, Rob Pole. I squeaked by my girlfriend, the Action Monkey, in my second match and was gifted a win with a forfeit in my 3rd match. Now, in my 4th match, I find myself up against Matt Krah.

Matt Krah, who has won a few of these Mezz Tour stops before, versus me, a hack who’s gotten annihilated by the last two Open/Pro caliber players he’s faced.

I’m hanging tough this time around. I think I got loose and comfortable, having some opportunities to actually shoot, during my match against the Monkey.

At 2-1 with Matt Krah leading, I break and run a rack on him! It was a little tricky and it wasn’t a textbook out but I’ll take it. It’s not something I do every day and never in a tournament against a high caliber player.

So it's tied at 2-2 and I got Matt Krah shaking in his shoes. (Ha!)

In the next rack Matt misses a tough but makeable 7-ball. (He was frozen to the rail.) I run out and I’m actually AHEAD 3-2.

Wow. I’m actually WINNING.

The next rack Matt runs out to the 9-ball, it’s a pretty easy cut shot, but the ball skids on him and he misses it.

(This is why I never give anyone “courtesy” 9-ball.)

I’m left with a tough shot on the 9-ball but it’s makeable.

Only... I kept thinking to myself “Man, if I make this I’m going to be up 4-2 on MATT Frigging KRAH!”

I, of course, miss it by a diamond.

And that was that.

I never got it back together after that miss. Matt also realized I was a hack - who else but a hack would miss it that badly? - and upped his game a gear. Final score: 7-3

It's not all bad news doh - due to the forfeit I won highest finishing C/D player and got $50! I “cashed” in a Pro-Am event!

(That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)

Tired of being annihilated by Open/Pro players I headed to the Predator Tour stop on August 14th at Mr. Cue Billiards somewhere in the far reaches of Long Island.

The Predator Tour is structured differently than the Mezz Tour. This tour doesn't mix Pro/Open players with the amateurs. It also splits the field between C/D players and A/B players. I will only play people more or less my own speed unless I make it deep into the tournament.

First match I played a D player and spotted him one game on 7. Right off, I could tell that this was his first tournament because he was NERVOUS. He also told me he hasn't slept which I easily figured out by the number of Red Bull's he was drinking.

Nervous, hopped up on Red Bull... I beat him 7-1.

Next match was played on one of the front tables which was 1) very cramped and 2) had a lot of foot traffic. It was really a bit too distracting trying to play pool on this table as people just kept crossing your line of sight.

Not that it would've matter - this was just one of those matches that I had no chance of winning.

No, not because I was outclassed again - it was that the Pool God's weren't going to allow it.

For example…

In the first rack of the game I run out from like the 2 or 3 ball. I got an easy 9, about a diamond away from the pocket, and I'm dead straight on it. I can't miss it.

I miscue.

And miss it.

The entire match pretty much goes this way.

I lose 7-5.

The next match I'm put in the middle of the room and drew another C player. He looked pretty good when he was warming up and I thought it was going to be a good close match but without the distracts of the front table and with some rolls finally going my way, the Pool God's were making amends, I beat him 7-2.

In my 4th match of the day I’m playing Diana “Snookie” Rojas – one of the leading C players on the Predator Tour.

I started off a little lucky – I broke and made the 1 ball and had an easy 2-9 combo. I won the next two games too and was quickly up 3-0.

I was feeling like I was playing pretty well, I was a little lucky and I was focused so I really thought I had a good chance of winning this match – and that’s when the guy on the next table just started to act up and distract the hell out of me.

No idea what the guy was on but he was on something. No way a normal person acts this way.

He’d miss and started to do some weird ass Kung Fu moves before sitting down.
He kept fidgeting in his chair as he waited for his turn.
He was talking loudly to his opponent, to himself was even singing every once in a while.

Earlier in the day I saw him take his shirt off down to his wife beater only to put it back on. He also removed his belt at one point too only to put it back on again.

And with my mind now on his antics rather than the table I was done. I made mistake after mistake and got punished for it – she plays too good to give her so many opportunities at the table.

Final score 7-5.

Ugh.

Overall, over the 3 tournaments, I’m happy with my performances. I really have to work on my “wall” so that I can ignore the things around me and focus on making the balls.

Ignore the fact that I might go up 4-2 against a pro.
Ignore the antics of the players on the other tables around me.

The little things I've been working on seem to be helping my game and I feel good about how things are coming along - I just have to stay focused and relaxed.

I think I'm going to try and play with headphones on and see if that helps me to focus and to block out distractions.

That's it for now.

Miss Me?

Sorry for the long break. I figured out a few things about pool and my game and rather than write about it and ruin it I decided to ride it out. Had a good little run there where I felt like I was actually playing okay and was maybe about to turn a corner...

Well the ride's over. I took a week off after getting a little burnt out on pool in Vegas and lost it. Never did make it around that corner either. Two steps forward, one step back...

I'll probably write something soon about what I figured out hoping it helps some of the other hacks out there who struggle just like me but, right now, I think I'm gonna write about "How to Fix Pool." If this topic sounds familiar it's because it's also the subject of this month's Pool Synergy which is a bunch of pool bloggers who write about the same subject once a month.

No, I'm not a part of Pool Synergy nor do I wish to be, I couldn't get my shit together once a month and, honesty, I'm not that interesting - I just find this topic intriguing and after reading some of the articles...well rather than writing a bunch of long comments I thought I'd just address it here.

First, I think the topic should be changed to "How to Fix PROFESSIONAL Pool." I just came back from two of the largest amateur events there is - the Super Billiards Expo and the BCA National Amateur Championships - and while it wasn't as big a turnout as it's been in previous years there still was plenty of people.

The Local amateur tournaments also seem to be doing okay. I see full fields for the Predator Tour and about 30-40 people showing up to compete in the Tri-States Tour regularly.

I also don't see an issue with the amateur leagues. Amsterdam Billiards Team 9-ball on Thursday nights has 200 plus players for the summer season, a typically slower season. And the APA is still one of America's best and fastest growing franchises.

The problem isn't with pool in general, it's with Professional pool, as the amateur game is just fine.

Second, why is pool always expect to become a "mainstream" sport that's on par with baseball, football, golf or tennis? Why isn't it ever compared to other sports more in it's category like bowling or bass fishing, two other recreational sports?

What are the normal payouts for a professional bowling tournament or a professional fishing tournament? What do those professionals make a year?

Look, I love pool and it would be great if a professional pool player could make Tiger Woods type money but, honestly, it's just not going to happen. Even when pool was at one of it's most popular points, right after the movie the Color of Money came out, I didn't see extremely huge payouts in tournaments, companies rushing to sponsor players or great media coverage during that time. If it didn't happen then it's pretty doubtful that it's gonna suddenly happen now or in the near future, especially in this economy. It's just an unrealistic expectation.

Third, it's not pool's image of the gambler, the hustler, the degenerate, that's the problem and I wish people would stop using it as an excuse for all of pool's woes. Poker is based on gambling yet poker's extremely mainstream now. The UFC use to have an image of being too violent and look how much that sport has grown. The image isn't the issue - that can be overcome so quit blaming it.

Having said that I do have an idea on how to fix professional pool and it's GET ORGANIZED.

There's no organization in pool. Even when there is an organization they're so disorganized.

*cough*cough*WPBA*cough*cough*

Then, when you do have an organization that you think would be on the up and up, say like the WORLD POOL ASSOCIATION, an organization that sanctions all the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, they have issues like, you know, PAYING THE PLAYERS.

Just a small little issue but something that probably should be addressed don't you think?

Get organized. Make a standard for being able to call yourself a professional. Make it means something to BE a professional.

Oh, and make sure you get paid.

That's Why They Call It Action!

There's a point of view out there that gamble is bad for pool. I, on the other, think gambling is good for the sport and if people would stop trying to clean up pool and embrace the gambling aspects of it, promote it even, the game of pool would be a lot more appealing to mainstream America.

Q: Why is pool so popular in Asia?
A: Because you can gamble on it!

(I don't know if you have to be Asian to understand it but if you are Asian you know exactly what I'm talking about!)

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Gambling in and of it's self isn't bad but people tend to attach a lot of negative attributes to gambling that simply are not there. For example:

Gambling Encourages Cheating

This is simply untrue. People cheat just as much in tournaments as they do gambling.

Have you never seen Johnny Archer give someone his infamous slug rack? Or seen Jeanette Lee put on her little show to shark her opponents?

Oh, right. It's not cheating, it's "gamesmanship".

There also seems to be this believe that this is exclusive to pool, that all other mainstream sports are exempt from unsavory characters and unprofessional behavior. Unfortunately, cheating happens in all sports.

Can you say "performance enhancing drugs"?

It's the lure of money and the lack of character that makes people cheat - gambling has nothing to do with it.

---

Let me let you in on a little secret: Tournament pool is BORING to watch. Yes, I'm a HUGE pool fan and I'm saying this BECAUSE it's TRUE.

It's boring because, 8 out of 10 times I have no emotional attachment to the outcome i.e. I really don't care who wins.

If the Denver Classic Finals was between Don Ho vs. Bob Smithers would you care who wins? Would you even bother to tune in and watch?

Well, to mainstream America, when Allison Fisher plays Ga Young Kim for the Woman's US Open title, it's EXACTLY THE SAME THING.

No one knows who these players are, no one cares if they win or lose, and the way the WPBA has dumb down it's matches...it's far from entertaining or exciting. Yes, it's being broadcast on ESPN but trust me when I say that only true fans are watching. (And just barely...the format...ugh.)

One thing that can increase excitement and emotional attachment to an outcome, making it much more viewable and enjoyable, is to increase the risk factor.

Why are the playoffs in any sport so much more exciting than the regular season? In the playoff's there's a risk of having your season end, of being knocked out of contention, that visible in the attitude of the players and their efforts. Seeing players "leaving everything on the field", as they say, is probably as exciting as it gets.

How are we going to increase risk in pool? By having top players playing each other in high stake matches by GAMBLING.

(Yes, I do believe TAR might have the right formula to attract mainstream America.)

I was in Vegas during the BCA Tournament last May...and honestly there seemed to be more people watching Chris Bartram play Rodney Morris on TAR than there were people watching the Professional tournament that was going on simultaneously.

Watching two people battle it out mano-a-mano, risking huge amounts of "their own" money, just seems a lot more exciting to me, and a whole bunch of other people, than watching someone win another tournament match.

Normally no one would watch two hacks play but if two hacks played each other for 3k each I'm sure a hell of a lot of you would be tuning in to watch. (And a lot of you did.)

It's not like suddenly, because of the stakes, the two hacks ability to play pool got better and you were going to watch some great pool. (It was actually the opposite - they played worse under the pressure.) It was exciting because of the risk each player has involved: 3k of their own money.

People will tune in and watch if the stakes are high enough.

There's a lot of issues with the current state of pool and the discussion on gambling in pool, good and bad, can go on forever but I do think that the promoting of high stakes matches between top players, gambling, and the colorful casts of characters involved in these matches would be a step in the right direction in making pool much more exciting and appealing to the general public.

As the post says: that's why they call it action!

(Hmmm...a TAR reality show...like the UFC's ultimate fighter...TAR: the ultimate hustler? Hmm...)

Miracle of Miracles

On Sunday, February, 21st, at the 2nd stop of the Mezz Tour at Atlantic City Billiards in Egg Harbor NJ, I finally did it.

Miracle of Miracles, I finally did it.

I won a match.

I. Actually. Won. A. Match.

I am now 1 and 5!!!

I'm a little surprised because I've had a really bad week of pool.

It started on Wednesday leagues at Skyline where I jumped out to a 6-0 lead only to lose the match 7-6.

It continued on Thursday leagues at Amsterdam where I needed to win two games to mathematically clinch it for the team win and I only managed to get one game as I continually shot the balls into the rail.

The one game I did win was only because my opponent scratched in the side pocket going from the 8 to the 9 ball.

I lost 7 to 1.

(Luckily I didn't cost the team the win because the Monkey ended up beating her opponent. We won 3 matches to 1.)

Obviously I went to Atlantic City Billiards not feeling very confident and was hoping to draw someone who was equal to me in skill level so I'd get a chance to work out my "competition" issues - closing out matches and staying focused and ON ROUTINE under pressure.

So of course my first opponent is my Thursday league teammate Rob who's ranked, oh, just 5 levels above me.

And, this being an open tournament, I have to play him an even race to 7 rather than getting the 6 games on 11 that I would be getting if this was a league match.

Not that it would've mattered...

I got crushed 7-1. I played a couple of good safeties and I had a couple of chances to get out with only 3 or 4 balls left but I was still shooting balls into the rail as I never really got comfortable or going.

So off to the 1-loss side for me and a long wait before my next match.

A 3 hour long wait.

Which is fine - I got a little bit of practice in, I got to talk to the awesome staff at Atlantic City Billiards (hi Kelli!), I got to eat a little bit (the pretzels are good) and I got a little rest (I hope my snoring didn't shark anyone).

I also got to scout my next opponent, Tim G. (I think. Ugh. My mind is a sieve.) He just played, and lost to, another one of my Thursday league teammates Caroline.

(I could've driven two hours to play two people I can play any time I want and who I don't have a chance against. I'm so glad she won.)

She played a lot of safes on him and his kicking didn't seem very strong. His strong suit was that he was a good shot maker but he seemed to be having difficulty controlling the cue ball. Run outs where he'd have to move the cue ball around the table were a little bit suspect as he continually got out of line.

So I basically played the same strategy as Caroline.

(Or as close to it as a Hack can to a WPBA professional.)

I was also lucky because he seemed a little shell shocked from losing to Caroline. He really started off poorly missing the simplest of shots. It allowed me extra chances at the table and I started to find my groove. I got up 6-1 quickly.

He made a little bit of a come back but he missed an easy 9-ball and hung it for me for the win.

Final score was 7-3.

Woohoo!

My next match was against...ugh. Forget it. I can't remember. "Opponent #3" it is.

The table we were assigned was newly re clothed and it was playing so fast. We both had trouble adjusting and we kept trading racks. I sat nervously on my hands with the score at 4-3 him and Opponent #3 running out. He somehow misses the 7 ball and I have an opportunity to tie the score up.

I got to the table, went to bridge my cue, and my bridge hand felt a little funny.

My thumb feel asleep.

I was literally sitting on my hands and my thumb feel asleep on me.

Being a dumb-ass I tried to shoot through it rather than take a break and get feeling back into my thumb.

I made the 7, made the 8 and had a fairly easy cut on the 9, which of course I dogged.

Instead of 4-4 it's not 5-3. Ugh.

Well it just went downhill from there.

I ended up losing 7-3.

Overall I didn't feel like I was doing too badly. I just have to remember certain things, like following my pre-shot routine, and take my time. My rhythm seems to be off recently and I seem to be playing too fast and it's making me make careless mistakes.

Hmmm...not sure what event I'm going to do next. There's the Predator ABCD event, the Amateur Empire State Championship, at Raxx's. There's also a Mezz Tour stop at Main Line Billiards in Frazier, PA.

I'll be at one of them and hopefully I can win 2 matches!

The Mezz Tour

My latest adventures in competition had me driving to Drexeline Billiards Club in Drexel Hill, PA for the first stop of the newly formed Mezz Pro-Am Tour.

Before I begin I just want to say something to the people of Drexeline Billiards and to anyone who plans on having a tour stop there:

It would be nice if you’d let everyone know that you’re located in the back of the building as there is no easily visible sign or any indicators from the road whatsoever to let you know you’ve reached your destination. I drove around for an additional 15 minutes until I finally saw the sign. You know the one that’s attached to the side of the building and is only visible from the other side of the highway.

The Mezz Pro-Am 9-Ball Tour is run by Jose Burgos, formerly of the Blaze Pro-Am Tour. You can say that, basically, the Mezz Tour is replacing the Blaze Tour. The Blaze Tour was one of the better one day Pro-Am tours in the Northeast area. All the same rules for the Blaze apply, like alternating breaks and races to 7, as well as Jose Burgos Open Book policy on how he calculates the payouts.

(How I wish some of the other tours in this area would adopt this policy as there’s some fishy accounting going on – I swear.)

Anyway, since I couldn’t find the place and I got to the room late I didn’t really warm up. My match was called almost as soon as I got there. I played another guy named Jay, easy to remember!, and it was a good match. I had plenty of opportunities to win but just didn’t capitalize enough on his mistakes – partly due to a lack of focus.

I’m always a bit distracted at these events as I like to look around and see who’s playing in the event, who’s playing whom, how the room is, etc. I usually take care of this before my match starts but since I showed up late…

I also noticed another thing that I do, and it was pointed out to me as well, which causes me to lose a lot - If there’s that 50/50 ish shot, even if it’s 30/70, I’m usually going to go for it. It’s like if I’m at the black jack table…and you can take a card or stand…fuggit, I’m taking a card.

(If any of you have seen the way I play roulette this would all make sense.)

So in a safety battle I’m the guy that’s gonna blink first and, yeah, I have to stop doing that as it ends up costing me matches.

Case in point: I end up losing 7-5. (I sold out as 5-5.)

Next match I was put in the back of the room where the tables are way too close together. If I can’t comfortably shoot the cue ball when it’s frozen to the rail then you shouldn’t be using these tables for the tournament. My ass shouldn't be resting on the table next to me, where another tournament match is going on, just so that I have enough room to shoot a shot. Just my opinion.

I played a pretty good player (whose name I’ve already forgotten…Bobby? Billy? Brian? Ugh). I had some nice outs but the tables being too close together and a more interesting match happening next to me (distracted again) messed up my focused and I got drilled like 7-3.

Bobby/Billy/Brian said he needed to go and since I drove all this way from Brooklyn he forfeited the match to me.

So I got another match! And went the ever elusive 3 and out.

I played…oh forget it. I’m not even going to try. It was an older gentleman with an old school style and big ass windshields for glasses. Let’s call him O.G. Man, did O.G. play good. He played like a guy who’s been around the game for the last 50 years. He’s probably not strong enough to compete with the younger, stronger and more talented players in the event but against a lower level player like myself…he showed me how it’s done. Kicks, banks, safeties and his cue ball control…all very good. I didn’t have a chance. Lost 7-3 again I think.

I do have to say that while didn’t draw a pro or someone super strong I did learn a lot and I did seem to have more fun playing in an Open event. Everyone played “right” and watching someone like O.G. and how he maneuvered the cue ball around the table – it was a thing of beauty. It just fun to watch the game played at a really high level and to have a front row seat for it just makes it just that much better.

I do feel like I’m getting my competition legs back under me and I’m getting more comfortable playing in events again. I’ve got to stop selling out and I have to definitely work on my wall so I can focus and block out the distractions but a few more events and I should have that worked out.

Just got to remember to call the room before hand and make sure there’s signs there so I can get there early enough to warm up.

Congrats to Joey Testa, Ignacio Chavez and Victor Nau for their great performance.


Next stop: Atlantic City Billiards on Feb. 21st!

The Week in Review

Well that sucked.

The APA team I'm on, Excalibur, just came up short of repeating as league champions. What did we get for being 2nd?

Zip.

Zilch.

Nada.

We had a good chance to win. It was tied 2-2 and our team had the lead in points but in the 5th and deciding match our captain came up a bit short.

That's what kills me the most - we were so close! And, strategically, we had it set up the way we wanted with the match up we wanted only it didn't turn out the way we wanted.

Ugh.

I'm taking a break from the APA leagues to focus on playing BCA leagues and tournaments - "real" pool.

---

So I've played 3 matches since going 2 and done in the Predator Tour and making that correction to my pre-shot routine (which is to actually have a routine and to follow it).

In the APA league finals I played 2nd in the line up with our team down 1-0. I played another skill level 6 so it was an even race to 46 balls. I started off really slow. I missed some dead easy shots, hanging them up in the pocket, and was down 12 balls at one point.

I chalked it up to nerves and I figured I had to relax, stick to the routine, and then those balls I've been hanging up would eventually drop.

I mounted a nice little comeback and ended up winning by 4 balls. Whew!

Wednesday BCA leagues at Skyline I got 2 on the wire in a race to 7 from...Dave? (I think his name is Dave so let's call him Dave. I'm so bad with names.)

Now I went into the match pretty confidently due to the fact that I've played Dave before, during Skyline's Tuesday night Open tournament, and beat him even up. Granted, the Tuesday Open is a short race, race to 5/race to 4, but it's still a good confidence booster to have going into a match.

I stuck to my routine, stuck to my strategy, tried not to let lucky rolls or anything bother me and ended up pulling out the win 7-5. I had a couple of nice outs during the match which I felt good about - ran out a tricky rack from the 3 balls for example.

Now comes last night match, BCA leagues at Amsterdam.

Ugh.

I got one on the wire in a race to 7 from Damien. (I remembered!) He's a decent player and it was a good match up. I had a lot of chances to win only I let myself get sharked by the table.

The tables at Amsterdam are very inconsistent to say the least. On the same table you'd have bouncy rails and dead rails. You'd even have some dead spots on a bouncy rail. Plus the balls are filthy, the tables are dirty, the cloth is worn...being one of the busy pool rooms in the area I guess they don't have time for simple maintenance stuff as the tables are almost always in use.

I'm following my routine, I'm sticking to my strategy, and then I hit a shot and what I was expecting to happen doesn't happen. The cue ball comes off the rail flat and I don't even get close to where I want to be leaving me a very tough shot on the next ball.

Fast forward a little bit in the match and I get another similar shot only at a different spot on the table. I hit it a little firmer, since the last time it came up short, and now, being a different rail, it comes off the rail like a rocket going twice as far as I expected leaving me another tough shot on the next ball.

So now how do I adjust now? I'm at a lost. I start over thinking every shot and I lost confidence in being able to make the ball and get into position for the next ball. I started to poke stroke, to not fully follow through on my stroke and, basically, get off routine in the middle of the match and have a mental collapse at the same time.

And basically that was that. The minute I'm off my routine I'm dead.

Ended up losing 7-4.

On the bright side the loss exposed how fragile my mental game has gotten and it gives me something else to work on. We'll see if I can turn it around this week.

Go Saints!

Predator Tour 2010

Well that sucked.

In my first tournament of 2010, in the new "easier" format of the Predator 9-ball Tour...

I went 2 and done.

No excuses - I wasn't ready and I played horribly.

On the bright side: I needed this.

I forgot how to compete.
I forgot how to win.
And I got lazy with my pre-shot routine.

(All the tinkering I did in 2009 didn't help my pre-shot routine either.)

A good pre-shot routine is suppose to help with execution. It helps with focus, calming of nerves, developing a rhythm, etc.


Since I wasn't following my routine:

I was, surprisingly, nervous.
I was distracted by everything going on.
I was shooting way too fast.
I was hitting everything way too hard.

Not a formula for success.

I lost my first match 7-2 (I think) and the 2nd match 7-4 (I think).

My opponents were okay, good but not great, and I had my opportunities. I just couldn't execute when I needed to and I made way too many unforced errors. I was happy with my strategy and with my game plan but you can't win if you can't put the ball into the hole.

On the even brighter side: I practiced later that night and worked out all the kinks. The next day I had a break and run out against two separate people. I usually do it once a month, maybe, but never twice in a day let alone within a few hours.

Since I'm really bored at work I'll give you all my thoughts about the Predator Tour.

The new format of the Predator Tour is where all the C and D ranked players are grouped together in the bottom half of the brackets and all the A and B ranked players are grouped together in the top half of the brackets. Pro and Open ranked players are now in a separate 10-ball tournament.

Since I would only play people of my own ability, more or less, until the money rounds it's "easier" than the old format. In 2009, with the old format, there was a really good chance you're gonna draw someone who's much better. This format guarantees that a few C and D ranked players are going to finish high in the money - something that would never happen in the old format.

First prize in this event was 1k with payouts to 12th place. And it's the real payout too. Not the payout with the side pot/Calcutta added in which the Tri-States reports to make it seem like they are paying out more.

It drew a big field too - 75+ ABCD ranked players. Unfortunately it only drew like 14 Pro and Open ranked players. (And with a couple of people in the Pro and Open event who weren't Pro or Open speed.)


While I think the format is successful I'm not sure if it's for me. I LIKED playing better players. Part of the reason I enter these events is to play better players. It's a form of cheap lessons. There's so much to learn from playing better players and the opportunities to play better players in a serious match, short of gambling with them, are few and far between.

The trade off is winning. It's nice to win. It's nice to cash and win decent prize money.

For people of a higher level, Pro and Open, I think this format is going to kill the event. Why is an Open player going to pay the same entry fee as a Pro if the Open players doesn't *really* have a chance? In the old format an Open player can win top money by getting a "good draw". Pros will met Pros and knock each other out, you can have a good match and win against A pro...but in this format there's no "good draw". All the players are going to be tough. Plus is the risk vs. the reward there? Paying $125 to try and win a 1st place prize of $850...

Now my idea would be to hold ABCD events but to take a part of the money to fund a true Open event. Like, say, one or two ABCD events a month and one true Open event every couple of months.

If they took $5 from every player in the ABCD event, and let's say they get 64 players, they'll end up with $320 to put towards the Open event. After 4 ABCD events that's an extra $1280 added into the prize money. With the money added in from the ABCD event it would be worth it for a lot of Open and Pros to get into the event.

The prize for the ABCD event aren't going to be lowered that significantly. 1k becomes $950 or $900 or even $850. That's still a pretty decent payout for an amateur event I think.

The only issue would be to figure out a way to reward the ABCD players so that they don't feel like they are being used to fund a Pro event. Maybe every $5 become an entry in a raffle for some sponsored items?

I don't know. You can't please everyone and not every tour is for everyone. Just thinking out loud and I'm just glad that at least in this area there's choices.

2009/2010

2009: Retrospective

I think I spent the majority of 2009 working on the basic mechanical aspects of pool. In trying to build a better foundation on which to improve my pool game I tinkered with the length of my backstroke, straightening my bridge arm, straightening my stroking arm and messed around with my head position and my feet position.

Results:

I shortened my backstroke. It’s improved my accuracy but now, sometimes, I end up poking at the ball. I need to work on keeping a shortened backstroke while still stroking through the cue ball.

I straightened my arm but it caused increased difficulty with my back (I have chronic back issues) so I went back to a modified bent arm. It’s “straighter” but it’s still bent.

I never could straighten my back stroking arm. It just wouldn’t straighten. I’m stuck with it being in towards my body a little. (Chicken wing.)

I raised my head up a little until, just recently, someone pointed out that my feet might be too close together. Now I’m widening my stance which allows me to bring my head lower and which might relieve some issues with my back (less bending) and allow me to sight the balls better.

With less pain in my back I might have to go back to tinkering with straightening my bridge arm again…

In short, 12 months of tinkering only resulted in a shorten backstroke with a pokey stroke.

Productive huh?

It was actually very helpful.

I think I needed to experiment to find out what works for me – my body type and my body quirks – and to settle in on “my style”. This is the way I’m going to stand, this is the way I’m going to hold my cue and this is what works bests for me.

PRODUCT PLUG: I got it in my head that there’s a “textbook” way to stand and hold a cue - since it’s always the same in every instructional book on pool out there - until I saw the IPAT video. Watching video 1 and watching how the Germans determine your stance and cue position helped me in being comfortable being “non-textbook”.

I only got video 1 so if anyone wants to send me videos 2 and 3…

IPAT videos can be purchased from those cool dudes at Pooldawg. Use Billiard Digest’s cover girl Sarah Rousey’s code: ROUSEY when purchasing at Pooldawg to get 5% off your order.

It was a good year and I think I've made improvements to my pool game or, at the very least, have a good foundation to develop a pool game.

2010: The Game Plan

I’m pretty comfortable with my mechanics now, but no guarantees that I won’t stop tinkering, so I think 2010 is going to be about working on my consistency – something all the tinkering around screwed up. For example, I couldn’t settle on a pre-shot routine since my pre-shot kept changing you know?

And with every change I made it was two steps back in hopes of going three steps (or more) forward which showed up in my match records for the year. Some great wins and finishes, 3^rd in a Predator A-B-C-D-event being the best individual result for me, but some ugly nasty losses as well. (Too many to recount here…and let’s not bring up that ugliness.)

Now that I’m settled in on my foundation I’m hoping I won’t have those extremely ugly losses to go with my moderate successes and to play at a more consistent level. Well, as long as I keep practicing regularly.

I’m also settling on a cue. I kept changing cues, trying low deflection shafts…and I’m going to TRY to stick to one cue for all of 2010 which should, I hope, also help with my consistency. This is, of course, unless I somehow end up getting another cue. I tried a Dennis Searing cue the other day…me likey. (Too bad I don’t have the 3k-5K+ to get one.)

Along with being more consistent in my mechanics and my approach I have to learn to be more consistent in my strategy. I have to play “smart” all the time and approach every match the same way regardless of opponent or situation; regardless if it’s “just practice” or a league match.

Here's an example:

Recently someone pointed out to me, after I took a really tough cut on a ball down the rail, that there are two things that are going to happen on that shot: you’re going to make the ball but its LOW PERCENTAGE or you’re going to miss and the result is you’re going to leave it hanging in the pocket. The best move here is to play safe and extending the game and hoping for another chance at the table rather than selling out and never getting back at the table. It’s recognizing these shots, playing the safety and not saying “fugit” and shoot at it anyway that I have to improve upon. (Either that or get really good at making really low percentage shots.)

I also plan to compete more in 2010. Due to the economy and changes in my financial situation I couldn’t compete in as many tournaments as I liked – and I think because of it my game focus and competitiveness waned. Things are better now financially and I’m hoping to compete more since it’s a lot of fun.

So that’s my game plan for 2010 – being more consistent and building on the foundation I set in 2009. We’ll see how long it lasts.

(Probably until March – March has the Super Billiards Expo event and I should have my tax return by then and with all those cuemakers...)

Laters.