Another win, and another dissatisfied opponent

My match this week was a thrilling, back-and-forth affair between me (a "grinder", who thinks about each shot before taking it) and my opponent (a "rhythm player", who just takes the shot that looks right and figures that he will get a decent enough leave to make the next shot).  He was definitely the better shotmaker, and after a slow start (I was ahead about 20-4 at one point, but all of my matches seem to go this way) he recovered to take a lead by about 10-15 balls in the middle of the match.

I kept grinding it out, though, and because of what I have been reading I am getting a better understanding of what to do.  Down 68-62, I had a pretty open rack, and I got into a rhythm of my own.  I ran off the last 11 balls, which was a win for me because I only needed to get to 73 in this match (my opponent needed to get to 75)!

Afterwards, my opponent complained that I was the slowest player that he had ever faced, and that I took him completely out of his game.  This was pretty much what the last opponent said after our match, too...but the fact is that I have 30 seconds to decide on a shot, and I have always been well within that time limit.  Also, as I have pointed out to BOTH opponents (strangely, people do not seem to complain so much about my pace when they beat me), it is not my job to make sure they are comfortable and in rhythm!  In fact, it helps me if they are cold when they come to the table, as long as I have not taken more time than I am allotted.

Why people seem to have the idea that I should facilitate their shotmaking is beyond me.

Next match is Saturday afternoon.

Tale of Two Matches

Last week I ended up playing two Straight Pool matches in four days. Monday night I played against Will, who was spotting me three balls (he had to get to 75 while I needed 72 to win). As has been happening in several of my matches, I stayed with my opponent until about the halfway point of the match. He had a 36-33 lead, and then he just turned it on. I did not shoot badly, but he shot really well and the match turned into my worst defeat so far. The final score was 75-41.

Thursday night I had to play the current division leader. He had run 25 balls in one inning during his previous match, and was only spotting me 17 balls (so I needed 58 to win the match). Well, even though I had not been actively practicing, I had been studying a book called Play Your Best Straight Pool by Phil Capelle (I highly recommend it), and the study paid off! My opponent never really got into rhythm, and while I never ran more than 7 at any given time, I played some really good safeties and made some good decisions, and ended up winning the match 58-35!!

This second match also led to some discussions of etiquette, which I will try to address in a future post. Pool match etiquette, especially in a social kind of league like this one, is a delicate question.

Last night I went out with my wife's brother-in-law to shoot some eight-ball, and while I was not able to control the cue ball as much as I would have liked, I was able to use some of what I have been learning lately. We had a good time - it was my first non-Straight-Pool game with an opponent in a long while, and it was a bit refreshing to not be playing on just one part of the table (straight pool is mostly played on the half of the table where the balls are racked, and when it is played well, the cue ball does not travel long distances, as a rule).


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