14.1 Secrets

Last night I opened my 14.1 match with a 26 ball run and thought I’d have an easy time racing my opponent to 80.  I was wrong.  Over the next seven innings, every time I got up to shoot I was looking at a cue ball that was frozen solid to the back of the pack.  My offense was completely negated.  From that point on I had to fight tooth and nail for every single point.  In the middle of our match I jokingly asked my opponent to tell me his secret for sticking the ball to the pack.  He declined.  Near the end of our match, with the score tied 75-75, I begged him to tell me his secret and I even offered a bribe to loosen his jaws.  He just grinned and said, “No, this is worth a whole lot more than money can buy.”  After the match was over, he finally spilled the beans and shared his secret with me.  Tomorrow, at no additional charge to you, I’ll share his nasty little technique for playing devastating safeties against the pack.

Irrational Exuberance?

No, this is not me.

No need to wait a month to see results… my new approach to pool practice has already produced a quantum leap in ability!!!  I saw the first evidence on Tuesday night when I decided at the last minute to play a straight pool match at Lucky Shot Billiards.  I shot a pretty good 14.1 game, still made a handful of small mental mistakes, but my shot-making accuracy was off the chart!  My stance felt more stable, I was seeing the shots much better, and my stroke was dead on.  Last night at Lucky Shot Billiards I played an APA 8 ball match against another “7”, again made a handful of small mental mistakes, but my shot making accuracy and speed control were much improved over my recent performance.

What did I change?  I just had two or three practice sessions (~5 hours total) where I forced myself to be hyper-focused on my pre-shot routine.  I was checking my fundamentals on each shot and forcing myself to find a follow shot that would get me where I wanted to go.  I also did the unthinkable…I threw all 15 balls out and randomly pocketed them…something I always preach that you should never do.  For each shot, I required myself to shoot pure follow shots and focus on finding the aim point, stroking with minimal arm movement, and following through.  Voila!  My accuracy has skyrocketed, my routes are more natural, and paradoxically, my speed control had also skyrocketed even though I wasn’t working on it!  Christmas in May!  Yipeee!!!

I’m Back!

Well, up until last week I hadn’t shot pool since November 6.  I have to admit I thoroughly enjoyed my three month vacation away from pool.  But alas, there’s only so much time I can stay away before the pool bug starts to bite and I have to indulge my insatiable pool cravings.  Last Tuesday night I played a 14.1 match at Lucky Shot Billiards in Sunnyvale…and what a way to get your feet wet again!  Then last Friday night I played 8ball on a 6 foot bar box at a local dive bar for a couple hours…not the toughest competition I’ve faced, but it was loads of fun and I met some great people!  On Monday night I stopped by California Billiards to hit balls for a couple hours.  It was great to see my friends at Cal and start working out on the table again.  My recent sabbatical from the game gave me a chance to recharge my batteries and now I think I’m ready for the next step in my journey towards pool excellence.

The Best 14.1 Match Ever

I play in a handicapped straight pool league on Tuesday nights at Lucky Shot Billiards in Sunnyvale, CA.  Last night I played a match that was by far the most exciting match I’ve ever played.  I was playing a quickly improving but lower ranked player in a 100-50 race.  I had to score 100 points before he scored 50.  The match started out really slow for me with my opponent scoring 15 points to my -1 on the first rack!  He wasn’t leaving me any shots and he wasn’t missing very much.  The next several racks weren’t much better, and I quickly found myself trailing by a score of 30-30.  He needed only 20 points to win and I needed 70.  Yikes!

My opponent was making every available cut shot, some of which were absolutely incredible table length cut shots.  In a desperate attempt to keep myself in the game, I started turning the table into my version of a World War I era battle of attrition.  I’d pocket a few loose balls, leave the pack tight, play the tightest safety I could find, wait for his kick or feather shot, then pocket a few more.  Fast forward an hour.  The score was now 57-42.  My opponent needed only 8 points and I needed 43.   I just couldn’t seem to catch a gear and get any runs going, but finally my opponent missed a shot… and there was an object ball near the pack… and the cue ball rolled out to the middle of the table and stopped.   It was in perfect position.  WHACK!!!  Balls started raining in.  WHACK, WHACK!!  The balls finally started running into the holes where they belonged.

Ten minutes later, the score was 86-42.  My opponent needed only 8 points and I needed 14.  On my next shot I was forced to play a safe…and it was a damn good safe I might add.  “Take THAT!” I thought.  My opponent didn’t give up.  He just focused intensely on the only object ball he could see, then made an unbelievable 8 foot 80 degree cut shot to the corner pocket.  “WOW!!!!”  He ran a total of 6 balls and then missed another tough cut.

Score:  86-48.  He needed 2 points for the win.  I needed 14.

I ran two balls then decided to play another damn good safe.  The only shot I left him was another very difficult table length cut.  He seemed unfazed.  He blasted the ball into the far corner AND got position on his last ball.  Note to self:  Never leave this guy ANY cut shots!

Score:  88-49.  He needed 1 point for the win and had position.  I needed 12.

There were only three object balls left on the table.  The best shot he could take was a 4 foot shot with about a 45 degree cut angle.  He got into his stance.  Pressure!  He got up and looked at the shot again.  It was the game winning shot – had to make sure it went in!  Satisfied, he got into his stance.  Stroke, stroke, stroke… and then he fired his last ball into the pocket for the victory!  Wahoo!  50 POINTS FOR THE WIN!!!!

But…wait a minute!  WHERE’S THAT CUE BALL GOING??!!!!  Whitey had ricocheted off his last ball and was headed directly toward the opposite corner pocket.  It inched closer and closer and closer… “No…  No…  Noooooooooo!”  A scratch in the corner!  Unbelievable!

Score:  88-48.  He now needed 2 points for the win.  I needed 12.

I got ball in hand behind the head string.  There are only three object balls on the table and two of them are tied up.  I tried to sink the ball on the foot spot and it rattled in the corner pocket!  “Arrgggghhhh!”   My opponent scored the hanging point and managed to break open the 2 ball cluster but didn’t have a makeable shot.  I was able to sink the next to the last ball and run the cue ball two rails to get perfect position for a break shot.  WHACK!!  A solid hit!  The balls spread nicely and all I needed was 10 balls for the win!

Score:  90-49.  He needed just 1 point for the win.  I needed 10.  PRESSURE!

Although the rack spread nicely I had only one shot available to me and it was not an easy one.  I put all my concentration into it and made it.  Whew!!!  I paused to study the lay of the table.  It seemed the universe was playing some sort of trick on me as I could only see a 6 ball pattern.  I knew at some point I’d need to take a high risk shot to open up some balls.  I made 3 more loose balls and accidently left myself with a bad angle on my next shot. 

Score:  94-49.  He needed just 1 point.  I needed 6.  PRESSURE!

This was it.  If I made this shot, I’d open up the remaining balls for an easy win.  If I missed it, my opponent needed only 1 ball and I would certainly lose.  It was a tough cut, but I wanted to make sure I got position on the next shot.  I took the shot and got perfect position on the next ball, but the cut shot didn’t drop.  Boo Hoo!  My opponent made the last shot for the win:  94-50.  Yeah, I lost, but it was the most fun I’ve ever had playing 14.1!

Am I Nuts?

Maybe so.  Over the last six months, I’ve been spending a lot of time really thinking about what I want to do…what I want to accomplish in life.  I’ve been reevaluating my personal goals, deleting some, adding others, and modifying my day-to-day routine to try to increase the probability of achieving the goals that I create for myself.  This is a work in progress, and of course, pool is going to be a big part of the final solution, but I just wanted to share a few things that I’ve thought about or changed in my life recently:

No TV.  For the last six months, I’ve watched no TV.  None.  What?!!  Am I nuts?  I didn’t really decide one day not to.  It just happened.  I got busy, moved to a new place, and never took time to setup the cable service.  “One less bill to pay”, I told myself.  I kept putting it off, and voila, 6 months later, I don’t miss it at all!  I recently read that the average American adult male spends about 29 hours per week in front of the TV.  Really?  That’s almost like a full time job.  I am choosing to spend that extra time at the pool table.

Dancing.  I’ve started taking ballroom dancing classes.  Yes, you read that correctly.  And why not?  With all the extra time that I’m gaining, there’s plenty of room for an extra activity or two.  Anyway, could I really spend the entire extra 29 hours per week bent over a pool table?  Even I would probably balk at that.  I’m very much a beginner in the dance arena, but I’ve found that ballroom dancing is a lot of fun and a great way to meet new people.

Moving.  Yep, it turns out, the pool hall that I frequent is only about a mile from my office, so why not just move closer and drastically cut down on travel time to both work and play?  Done.  Now, instead of fighting interstate rush hour traffic for an hour and a half daily, my commute looks like this:  2 miles to get to work, 1 mile to the pool hall after work, then 1.5 miles to home again, all on nearly deserted surface streets.  Much less gas, less stress, and more time to spend doing other things, like shooting pool!  The much shorter commute also helps in the event that I oversleep, which seems to be a chronic pool player malady.

Making a List.  No, I’m not Santa Claus.  I’ve decided to put together a list of things that I want to accomplish.  You know, before I die.  Wait, that’s sounds a little dark.  Scratch that.  Let’s call this list the “Things that I’ve always wanted to do, but I never did, so I’m gonna do it now” list.  Yeah, that’s better.  I’ll publish my list at some point in the future, but for now, here are some of the items that I’ve already put on my list: (1) learn to dance (doing it), (2) become a professional level pool player (working on it, but it’s a tough one!), (3) participate in a week long paleontological dig in Montana, and (4) watch a manned rocket launch from Cape Canaveral.

Ooops, there goes the 5 o’clock whistle.  Time for my straight pool league match at Lucky Shot Billiards.  More on this later!

BACON!!!

This Wednesday my team’s weekly APA 8 Ball match was an “away game,” so I headed over to Lucky Shot Billiards in Sunnyvale, CA.  When I got to Murphy Street, I discovered a music festival was just starting up, and the street was filled with folks getting ready for the festivities.  The road was blocked off and there were several street vendors selling various goods and snacks.  I ignored most of them…they were merely a nuisance…an impediment standing between me and my pool night…when suddenly I smelled bacon.  Hot fresh bacon!  Whooahhhh!  Time out!  I followed my nose and ended up here:

Street Vendor: Bacon on a Stick!

A street vendor named “Bacon on a Stick.”  Wohoo! They were offering bacon wrapped dates and bacon wrapped water chestnuts.  Sweet and savory.  Of course, I went for the sweet.  I placed an order for the bacon wrapped dates and devoured them quickly.  Yummy!  I needed some real food for dinner, so I walked down the street for a little grilled salmon and spinach, but quickly returned for dessert.  Yep, you guessed it:  more bacon wrapped dates! 

Is it just me, or does everything taste better with bacon?  Bacon wrapped prawns, bacon wrapped dates, bacon wrapped tire tread, bacon wrapped concrete slab…all good.  Too bad my cholesterol is already a little high, or I’d eat bacon for every meal.  Take a look at these delectable little treats…like manna from heaven!

Bacon Wrapped Dates and Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts

I’ve been a little remise in my pool postings lately.  I have a list of over a dozen pool related things I want to write about, but I’ve just been too busy lately to force myself to sit down and write.  Hopefully, this post will get me going again.  And now, what’s for dinner tonight…? 

Licking My Wounds

I hate losing. Well, maybe that statement is not completely accurate. I guess it’s not the losing that I hate, as there have been many matches where I’ve lost but felt good about it because I knew that I had played to the best of my ability. Last night was not one of those cases. I played in an 8 ball tournament Friday night at Lucky Shot Billiards. I think there were about 20 people in the tournament, and I ended up with 4th place, but I was very disappointed with my performance.  Even in the matches that I won, I never really felt in control of my game.  Nothing ever “felt right”. In my final match I played a guy whom I know to be a better player than me, and I was hoping to give him a tough match.  Alas, I stunk!  I had several opportunities during the match to take control of the table due to some weak safeties that he played, but in almost every instance I failed to capitalize on the opportunities and left him with runnable tables.

They say a lot of this game is in your head, and to a large extent that is true, but when you are given opportunities to make a shot and take control of the table, you must be able to make the shot!  Ugggh!  Enough of my whining.  I contemplated playing in the 9 ball tournament tonight at California Billiards, but I still don’t  feel mentally with it, so I think instead I’ll just take the day off and rest.  I’ll also spend some time thinking about my performance to identify aspects of my game that I need to work on.   After all, there’s always another tournament!

The 95% Rule

I was at Lucky Shot Billiards in Sunnyvale last night for APA league night.  In the first game of my match, my opponent broke and didn’t make anything. I looked at the table, saw three sets of clusters that would prevent a run out, but I decided to go for it anyway (too aggressive!). I was able to navigate through the layout and break up the three clusters, but I lost position on the last ball and was forced to attempt a tough bank. I missed. With a wide open table, my opponent ran out.  In my second game, my opponent made a ball on the break but missed his first shot. I didn’t like the layout of my balls, so I played a shot/safe where I intended to open up a couple of my balls that were frozen together. I hit one ball out and tried to freeze the cue ball behind the other, but got a little sloppy and left my opponent a makeable ball. Two or three minutes later, I was down 0-2.

Shot Decision Process

Even though I was shooting pretty good and made just two mistakes, those two mistakes had resulted in two losses. I knew my opponent was capable of running out if I gave him the chance, so I had to change my strategy. For the remainder of the match, I decided to implement my “95% Rule.” The rule is as follows: “Before every single shot, assess the layout of the table. If I’m not at least 95% confident I can run the entire rack, look for the best safe and play into it.” For the remainder of the match I easily played 30-40 safes, trying my best to prevent my opponent from being able to see any of his balls. That proved to be the differentiator, and I eventually won the match 5-2. The only downside? The match took over two hours! (uuggggghh!)