Last week I did not play the tournament, but I did go to Buster's to practice for a couple of hours on the night of the tournament. The practice went pretty well, and I ended up playing a mini-match with Perry (someone from out of state who showed up to play the tournament) before the tournament, beating him 3 games to 2 in eight-ball.
During the past week, I started negotiations to get a new cue made. I have been using the same two cues (switching back and forth between them over the years) for the past 15+ years, and even though the extension I am using currently is helping a lot, it would be better balance-wise to have a longer cue without the extension on it. I am hoping that I can get pictures of the cue in its various stages of development and post them here. What will be the butt of the cue is right now a beautiful piece of unturned spalted maple, with another good-looking piece of bird's-eye or curly maple used as the contrast. The shaft of the cue will likely be a long low-deflection blank from Predator or a company like that.
The idea is that, in several months (the cuemaking is a sideline for the man who is doing it, so he works on cues when he has time), I will have a beautiful one-of-a-kind cue that will be long enough and balanced enough to use without the extension. I will likely need a new case for it, too. It will not be cheap, but it is not as expensive as I thought it would be. Part of what keeps the cost down is the fact that I just want the natural wood - no wrap, no points, no inlays. Part of what drives the cost up is the requirement of a long low-deflection shaft, which is likely to cost me about $200 by itself.
Last night I got back into the tournament, and there were five of us total. I squeaked past Geoff in the first round (it helped that his handicap is -1 and mine is 8), and then beat Chris (a newcomer) in the second match. My third match was against Tracy, who beat me in the finals a few weeks ago. I got my revenge this time, though, beating her by a slim margin to advance to the final for the seventh time in a row.
Tracy beat Geoff in the semi-final, and so (like the last tournament where we played) Tracy and I ended up playing each other for the first (and only) prize. She needed to beat me twice, but I won the first match and the first prize! Made $40 and shot pool for almost four hours!
So..thinking of this in Olympic terms, I have SIX golds and a silver in my last seven events! I have no idea how long this will last, but this is the best streak I have ever had.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
What a difference a week makes!
One week ago last night, I went to the pool hall for the weekly 8-ball tournament. While waiting to see if anyone else would show up, I had my normal hour or so of practice. The practice went really badly - I was missing shots that I should make, and my position play was way off. Luckily, no one else showed up for the tournament, and I got back my entry fee and went home.
On Thursday, my wife went to visit family for the weekend. As the weather was pretty bad for most of the weekend, I spent quite a bit of time at the pool hall (about 10 hours over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday combined). I met a guy named Scottie who plays there a lot, and he and I played quite a few games and did some drills and such on Friday and Saturday. We even played another couple of players in a team match (both 8-ball and 9-ball). Scottie taught me the rules of 3-6-9 (a variant of 9-ball) and I taught him how to play straight pool.
One of the main bonuses of playing with Scottie is that he often plays on the hardest table in the pool hall - table 16. This table combines a fast surface with smaller-than-usual pockets, which is a combination that forces a player to be VERY precise with their shots. If you get good on table 16, you will be able to shoot on any table. Of course, the process of getting good on table 16 has its frustrations, as many shots that would go in on another table will miss on that one.
Sunday I was on my own for practice, and I managed to run 20 in Straight Pool practice, only the second time I had ever run that many. Other than that, though, the practice on Sunday did not feel like it went all that well.
That brings us to yesterday - the day of the weekly 8-ball tournament. I went to the pool hall for my hour of warmup, and at first it seemed that I would be the only one there. But, before the deadline, three other players showed up, and suddenly we had a tournament!
Suffice it to say that my practice paid off! I beat each of the other three players on my way to my SIXTH straight payday and my FIFTH tournament victory out of those six! I missed a few shots that I could have made, but in general my level of play was pretty high.
After the tournament, Harold (the one I beat in the final, and someone I have played quite a few times in the tournaments) asked me if I wanted to play him in Straight Pool to 50 points for the pool time (meaning that the loser pays for the time used by both players). He has been after me to do this for a while, and the timing was never right, but this time I said I would play. I knew that he plays in the higher division in the Straight Pool League, so I figured I was in over my head, but I also had an extra $30 in my pocket from the tournament win and I saw it as a way to get a Straight Pool lesson for not much money.
Instead, I beat him! Again, I missed a couple of shots that I really should have made, but so did he, and the final score was 50-42.
FOUR hours of pool, and I came away with $30 more than I went in with! Much better than the lousy practice of the week before.
On Thursday, my wife went to visit family for the weekend. As the weather was pretty bad for most of the weekend, I spent quite a bit of time at the pool hall (about 10 hours over Friday, Saturday, and Sunday combined). I met a guy named Scottie who plays there a lot, and he and I played quite a few games and did some drills and such on Friday and Saturday. We even played another couple of players in a team match (both 8-ball and 9-ball). Scottie taught me the rules of 3-6-9 (a variant of 9-ball) and I taught him how to play straight pool.
One of the main bonuses of playing with Scottie is that he often plays on the hardest table in the pool hall - table 16. This table combines a fast surface with smaller-than-usual pockets, which is a combination that forces a player to be VERY precise with their shots. If you get good on table 16, you will be able to shoot on any table. Of course, the process of getting good on table 16 has its frustrations, as many shots that would go in on another table will miss on that one.
Sunday I was on my own for practice, and I managed to run 20 in Straight Pool practice, only the second time I had ever run that many. Other than that, though, the practice on Sunday did not feel like it went all that well.
That brings us to yesterday - the day of the weekly 8-ball tournament. I went to the pool hall for my hour of warmup, and at first it seemed that I would be the only one there. But, before the deadline, three other players showed up, and suddenly we had a tournament!
Suffice it to say that my practice paid off! I beat each of the other three players on my way to my SIXTH straight payday and my FIFTH tournament victory out of those six! I missed a few shots that I could have made, but in general my level of play was pretty high.
After the tournament, Harold (the one I beat in the final, and someone I have played quite a few times in the tournaments) asked me if I wanted to play him in Straight Pool to 50 points for the pool time (meaning that the loser pays for the time used by both players). He has been after me to do this for a while, and the timing was never right, but this time I said I would play. I knew that he plays in the higher division in the Straight Pool League, so I figured I was in over my head, but I also had an extra $30 in my pocket from the tournament win and I saw it as a way to get a Straight Pool lesson for not much money.
Instead, I beat him! Again, I missed a couple of shots that I really should have made, but so did he, and the final score was 50-42.
FOUR hours of pool, and I came away with $30 more than I went in with! Much better than the lousy practice of the week before.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
End of the line...sort of
Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Last Monday night, there were six players in the tournament, and I did not finish first. However, after being knocked to the loser's bracket, I worked my way back to the finals before losing again. Both losses came down to a single shot...these things happen.
Still, second place and my FIFTH straight time in the money...I'll take it. Second prize was the same as my entry fee, which means that I got to play four hours of pool for free. I'll take that too :-)
Still, second place and my FIFTH straight time in the money...I'll take it. Second prize was the same as my entry fee, which means that I got to play four hours of pool for free. I'll take that too :-)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)