Like a Lamb Led to the Slaughter

Is it worth $115 just to be able to say that you played…knowing that you will go two and out and probably not win a single game?

Chet Ito Memorial Tournament

The 2nd annual Chet Ito Memorial Tournament was held last weekend at the California Billiard Club in Mountain View, California. 93 players showed up for the event held to honor Chet Ito, founder of the California Billiard Club, who lost his battle with cancer in August of 2009. For extensive coverage of the tournament, visit Doug Wu’s excellent website, WestCoastPoolplayers.com.

This year the tournament was held as an Open, meaning there were no handicaps given out to players. At first I was a little hesitant to play in the tournament given the $50 entry fee and the high caliber of players who would compete, but I finally decided it was worth the price for the opportunity to play against some of the best players on the West Coast. I have to say, it was a good choice, as I played much better than I expected. On the winner’s side, I made it to the match before the money round and lost to Deo Alpajora 2-8. Deo eventually finished the tournament in 5th place. I went to the loser’s side and made it back to the game before the money round, then lost to Jared Williams 4-8. Jared eventually finished the tournament in 13th place.

I did win a few matches.  I was very happy with my 8-6 victory over a very good “A” player in the second round of the winner’s bracket, but the most satisfying match from the tournament was my 8-3 victory in the loser’s bracket over an “A” rated player which was streamed live over the internet. My proudest moment was my 9 ball run out in rack number 4…a very difficult run that starts with a table length kick shot. You can watch my entire match on Ustream below.

The biggest benefit of having a match recorded is the fact that I can watch it repeatedly and identify things to work on (which are many). Here’s a very brief synopsis my match:
Rack 1: Win. Lots of safes and kicks and the game ends with a 4-9 combo.
Rack 2: Win. I make a shot but lose position. We trade a couple safes, then I bank the 3 and run out.
Rack 3: Win. I’m hooked after the break and foul on a kick. My opponent misses a shot and I make three tough shots, only to lose position on the eight. A few safeties later, I finally finish the rack.
Rack 4: Win. I make a dry break and my opponent plays a safe. Next I make the ESPN shot of the week – a perfect table length kick on the one. I get decent position for the 2, but can’t cut it clean, so I have to pocket the 2 ball using a carom off the 3 ball.  On my next shot I must execute a very tough draw shot off the 3 ball to get position on the 4. To get from the 4 to the 5, I have to shoot a 9 foot stun/draw shot.  I somehow continue sinking balls and run out the entire rack. A very difficult layout I might add! 😉
Rack 5: Lose. We have any early battle for control of the table, the I finally manage to take control and run the rack out…only to lose position from the 8 to the 9…then I dog the 9!
Rack 6: Lose. Lots of kicks and safes. I eventually sell out on a safe and my opponent runs 6 balls and out.
Rack 7: Win. Lots of kicks and safes. My opponent misses a shot and I run 4 balls out.
Rack 8: Lose. I scratch on the break. I miss a shot and my opponent runs 4 balls and out.
Rack 9: Win. Lots of kicks and safes (starting to see a pattern here?) I hit a 5-9 combo for the win.
Rack 10: Win. Kicks and safes again to start, he misses, and I run 5 balls out for the win. Look out for the scratch in the side pocket!!
Rack 11: Win. On the hill, my game play starts to falter a little. I get lucky though and manage to grind my way through the game and eventually make a very difficult cut shot on the 9 to win the match.

CBC Open 9 Ball Tournament

California Billiard Club in Mountain View, CA will be holding an open 9-ball tournament on November 13-14.  The tournament will be a race to 8 on the winners side and a race to 5 on the losers side.  $500 will be added and the entry fee will be $50.  The start time is 12:00 on Saturday, and the tournament is open to all players.  This tournament was put together by the owners of the CBC after the CPPT Regional Championships were cancelled.  Of course, it goes without saying, I’ll be there.  Ok, I guess I said it after all.

Drills, Drills, Drills!

Drills, drills, drills!  Yippeee!  What could be more fun?  Ok, ok, don’t answer that!  Anyway, I’ve added a few more drills to my training page.  First up, we have five drills inspired by Bert Kinister.  Burt is one of the most prolific pool video/DVD guys out there, and has racked up quite a following in the pool world.  These drills will help you learn some of the natural routes to get around the table, and also make you focus on your ball pocketing skills.  In the words of Mr. Kinister, these drills will help you take home the “Dough-Re-Me”!  These were some of the first drills I attacked after I got ‘serious’ with pool.  Ahhhh…the oldie goldies!  Hope you enjoy!

Next up I present three drills that I picked up from various sources from years gone by.  I honestly don’t remember when I first saw the first two drills, or when I first used them, but here they are for your entertainment pleasure.  The semi-circle draw and corner pocket drills are well known, in fact, both appeared in the movie “The Color of Money.”  I was introduced to the third drill about three years ago.  I was playing in the Reno warm-up tournament at the California Billiard Club.  I got lucky on day 1 and was able to compete in day 2 of the tournament.  On day 2 I got blasted by Ed Ames.  Ed must have felt pity for me after the beating he delivered, so he took a few minutes after our match to share this drill.  It certainly helped me learn some of the rebound angles off the rails, so I hope you’ll benefit from this drill also.

Keeping It Fun

Last week I invited a friend to shoot some pool with me at California Billiards.  He’s a very good athlete in the cycling world, but a true beginner in the pool world.  When we began our session, I had to explain the fundamentals of pool: stance, body position, bridging, stroke, aiming, etc.  After a brief discussion, we shot pool for a couple hours and had a great time.  During the evening, I periodically made suggestions or corrections as needed.  What I discovered from this experience is that having to explain the fundamentals to someone else really made me think about my own game.  For example, as I was explaining the ghost ball aiming method to him, I realized that I was actually not as disciplined myself in using the aiming method as I needed to be.  I was not visualizing the center of mass as I should, and this realization subsequently helped my game in the CPPT tournament in Santa Cruz last weekend.

Is pool really all about angles, friction, geometry and physics?  Hardly.  If you get too caught up in the math, you run the risk of losing your passion.  After my learning experience from last week, I decided to put together an APA League team at California Billiards for the fall session.  This accomplishes several things at once:
1. It’s an excuse to get together with friends and do something social
2. It gives me the opportunity to teach others what I know and help them grow
3. It helps out California Billiards by bringing in new customers
4. It helps the pool industry in general by expanding the customer base
5. It’s just plain fun, and is a stress reliever

We are currently putting together the team roster, and need to select a team name.  If you have any witty suggestions, please leave a comment.  The most important thing to keep in mind is this:  when you set goals and are working very hard to achieve them, make sure to include some type of activity to keep it fun and keep yourself motivated to stick with the plan.

California Pool Players Tour

There’s a new 9-ball league forming in California.  It’s the California Pool Players Tour, a series of high quality 9-ball tournaments held in Northern and Southern California.  The inaugural event will be held at the  California Billiard Club next weekend.  The tournament will start on Saturday morning and probably last until late Sunday.  Here’s the really nice thing about this tournament series:  players are rated and grouped into brackets based on their skill, but there’s no handicap.  The format is a race to 7, double elimination.  Players are divided into 2 brackets, one for Pros and A players and one for B and C players.  Both brackets play simultaneously until the top 25% of each bracket is determined.  Those finalists advance to a combined bracket for the cash payout round. 

One of the benefits of this structure is that it allows less skilled players to play against similarly skilled players (i.e. no one gets blown out of the competition), and at least half of the players who cash out are from the lower skilled bracket.  The highly skilled players play against other similarly skilled players, and must earn their way to the playoff brackets…no easy draws.  This forces the highly skilled players to immediately bring out their best game.  This motivates the lesser skilled players to improve, have a chance to make it to the money bracket, and have a chance to play against highly skilled players, from which they can grow and learn.

All around, I think this is a great format, and is one of the improvements that I think will help promote the game here in California.  No more whining about sandbaggers and no more blaming the equipment.  It’s time to shut up and shoot some pool!  Unless I get hit by a truck, fall off a bridge, or get shot during a botched bank robbery attempt (huh?), I will be competing.  Whoo hooo!!  How do I think I will I do?  Ahhhhh…who cares?  I just look forward to playing and learning from some of the great players who I know will show up.  More on this later.

On the road to Recovery

California Billiard Club

Yesterday after work, I had the opportunity to drive over to Mountain View and visit one of my favorite places in the world: The California Billiard Club (CBC).  Located on El Camino Real near I-85, the CBC is only about a ten minute drive from my home.  When I moved to California ten years ago, this was one of the first places that I visited.  It received an award in 1998 from Billiard Digest Magazine as one of the top pool rooms in America.  The room has 30 nine foot Brunswick Gold Crown III tables, eight of which are configured for tournament play.

Yesterday I rolled in having had no breakfast or lunch, so I was hungry.  Being the foodie that I am, I’ve always been impressed with their culinary offerings.  Most pool rooms only serve drinks, chips, and candy; if you’re lucky, maybe a hot dog or hamburger.  Not the CBC!  They have an extensive menu.  Not only do they serve a variety of hotdogs and hamburgers, but they also serve Philly Cheese steaks, teriyaki chicken rice bowls, vegetarian hamburgers, sausage links, tri-tip sandwiches, salads, and over 40 other mouthwatering temptations.  They also serve a variety of soft drinks, beer, and wine.  But wait, there’s more!  They even serve breakfast!  If I didn’t have to work for a living, I would probably just roll in early every morning and shoot pool all day, while at the same time enjoying some great food.

Octavio Shooting

When I walked into the room, I saw that Eddie and Charles were in the middle of what was probably their five-thousandth one-pocket match.  Octavio and one of the owners of the room were sitting in the restaurant area watching the duel.  I asked the gentleman at the bar for his culinary recommendation: the hot pastrami or the Philly cheese steak sandwich?  “Definitely the Philly.”  I ordered the Philly and a Sam Adams, then joined Octavio to watch the match.  Great sandwich by the way!  After finishing off the sandwich, Octavio asked if I wanted to shoot some.  “Sure!”  We ended up playing three sets of eight ball, each a race to five.  Octavio is a pretty good player, and I thought this would be a good test for me as it would require that I get into the zone and really focus in order to have any chance to win.  Over the next two and a half hours, we played several racks of eight ball, and we both played relatively well.  I ended up winning the first two sets, then lost the third.  For me, it was a great mental and emotional victory, as it validated the progress that I’ve made over the last couple of months.  I was able to stay in “the zone” for the first hour and a half before I started to fatigue a little mentally.  In the first twelve games, I think I only missed about three or four shots.  If I wasn’t running the table, I was playing into tight safeties, not leaving my opponent any easily makeable shots.  In the latter half of our contest, I starting making some mental and physical execution mistakes, but that’s ok.  I’ve captured the issues in my notes (yes, I take notes) so that I can work on them in future practice sessions.  I’m coming out of my slump, but I need to be careful not to celebrate too much.  The path ahead of me is filled with potholes, and I need to maintain my focus.

And now, it’s time for some Turkey…I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!