A week ago, I was in New Brunswick, Canada, and I had a few hours to kill, so I went to the Dooly's pool hall. The day rate there is about $8/hour, which is high for pool halls around here (New Hampshire), but not bad at all for Canada.
When I got to the pool hall, there were three guys playing on a table in the back, and I set up on a table near them. Immediately one of them came over and asked if I wanted to play a game. I told him that I wanted to warm up first, but that I might be interested in a game later.
Several times in the next 20 minutes he came back over to ask if I was ready, and finally I said that we could play some. I asked what game he wanted to play, and his answer was "The real game". By this, I assumed he meant 8-ball, which turned out to be the case. Apparently he did not recognize any other valid form of pool. As he was also 15 years old, I decided I could forgive him for that.
He was a decent shot, but he did not know much at all about playing position - setting up for the next shot. As long as he had a shot, he would make it most of the time, but he would usually place himself in a position where he had no valid shot and would have to try something very difficult. I would then take over an run out (often, not always). We played about 12-15 games in two hours, and he won one of them. It was a lot more fun than practicing by myself the whole time, and while he was very much a kid ("I'm a pretty good shot for my age, huh?"), we had a good time.
It was also really good practice for the next 8-ball tournament at Buster's, as it turns out.
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Still a long way to go...
After my recent success in the Straight Pool League, I decided to enter the Eight-ball tournament at Buster's on Monday nights every once in a while. The tournament is handicapped, and the scoring is a bit strange. You play three games, and you get 10 points for a win. You also get one point for each ball pocketed if you lose. So, if all of the balls are off the table when the game is over, the winner gets 10 and the loser gets 7. The score for each game is added together and then your handicap is added in to give you the score for the match.
I played an eight-ball tournament several weeks ago, and my handicap was 12. This was one of the worst handicaps among the players that night, but I still could not win a single game, much less a match. This past week I tried again - my handicap was reduced to 11 due (presumably) to my straight pool play, but even so, I did not even win a single game. Admittedly, I was playing against very good players (the first player had a handicap of -1, the best I have seen, while the second player's handicap was 3), but I had my chances to win and I could not come through.
It is possible that I just need more chances to play in competitions to develop my confidence. Right now winning a single game of eight-ball in the tournament would be a step up, and I am not used to being in that position.
I played an eight-ball tournament several weeks ago, and my handicap was 12. This was one of the worst handicaps among the players that night, but I still could not win a single game, much less a match. This past week I tried again - my handicap was reduced to 11 due (presumably) to my straight pool play, but even so, I did not even win a single game. Admittedly, I was playing against very good players (the first player had a handicap of -1, the best I have seen, while the second player's handicap was 3), but I had my chances to win and I could not come through.
It is possible that I just need more chances to play in competitions to develop my confidence. Right now winning a single game of eight-ball in the tournament would be a step up, and I am not used to being in that position.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
In the money!
Due to the withdrawal from the league of the player who was supposed to be my last opponent of the season, I was left in an interesting position. Because of the incredible comeback in my last match, I had 5 match points in the second half of the season with one match to go. Winning a match gives you a point. Winning by more than 10 balls gives you another 1/2 point. Playing above your average (number of balls sunk per inning) gives you ANOTHER 1/2 point. So, each match there is a potential for 2 points.
The way the playoffs work, the top three players from the first half play against the top three players from the second half for the six money spots. The two first place finishers compete for 1st-2nd, the two second place finishers compete for 3rd-4th, and the two third place finishers get 5th/6th (both 5th and 6th get the same money, so there is no playoff). In our division, the two first-place finishers will play off for 1st-2nd, but the same player took 2nd in both halves, so he gets third place. The same player took 3rd in both halves, too, so that player gets 4th place. As a result, if I were to take 4th place in the second half, I would get 5th/6th money.
To do this, I needed to beat Jim, who beat me at the end of March. He was the 'replacement player' designated by the league manager to take the place of the player who had dropped out. Unlike last time, when Jim spotted me 20 balls, this time the difference was only 11. I needed to get to 64, while Jim needed 75.
He took an early lead in the match, and had a pretty consistent 5-10 ball lead as we went into the homestretch. Coming into the last rack, he needed 11 balls to win while I needed 6. After we each sunk a couple of shots, I ran off 12 balls in a row to win the game! The final score (you keep shooting at the end until you miss) was a 73-66 win! I just missed winning by 10 (If he had scored 65 or lower I would have gotten that half-point), but the 1 1/2 points that I DID get were enough to put me into the 5th/6th spot. PLUS, I got an extra prize for being the "Most Improved" player in the division!
Not bad, for such a rough start. I won four out of my five matches in the second half, for 6.5 points, and as a result my outlay for about 20-25 hours of pool (for the ten matches in the league) was about $1/hour after the prize money is factored in. :-)
The way the playoffs work, the top three players from the first half play against the top three players from the second half for the six money spots. The two first place finishers compete for 1st-2nd, the two second place finishers compete for 3rd-4th, and the two third place finishers get 5th/6th (both 5th and 6th get the same money, so there is no playoff). In our division, the two first-place finishers will play off for 1st-2nd, but the same player took 2nd in both halves, so he gets third place. The same player took 3rd in both halves, too, so that player gets 4th place. As a result, if I were to take 4th place in the second half, I would get 5th/6th money.
To do this, I needed to beat Jim, who beat me at the end of March. He was the 'replacement player' designated by the league manager to take the place of the player who had dropped out. Unlike last time, when Jim spotted me 20 balls, this time the difference was only 11. I needed to get to 64, while Jim needed 75.
He took an early lead in the match, and had a pretty consistent 5-10 ball lead as we went into the homestretch. Coming into the last rack, he needed 11 balls to win while I needed 6. After we each sunk a couple of shots, I ran off 12 balls in a row to win the game! The final score (you keep shooting at the end until you miss) was a 73-66 win! I just missed winning by 10 (If he had scored 65 or lower I would have gotten that half-point), but the 1 1/2 points that I DID get were enough to put me into the 5th/6th spot. PLUS, I got an extra prize for being the "Most Improved" player in the division!
Not bad, for such a rough start. I won four out of my five matches in the second half, for 6.5 points, and as a result my outlay for about 20-25 hours of pool (for the ten matches in the league) was about $1/hour after the prize money is factored in. :-)
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
The match of the season so far
On Sunday afternoon I had my rematch against Wayne, the guy who I lost to in my first match in the Straight Pool League. Due to the closeness in handicap, he was spotting me four balls - he had to get to 75 while I needed 71 to win.
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been reading a lot about how to restructure one's fundamentals at the pool table - stance, stroke, warm-up strokes, etc. Because I do not do much practicing between matches, I made the (kind of silly) decision to try to work on my fundamentals while playing the match.
As a result, I started missing shots from the very beginning. Wayne was shooting well, and even though my safeties were okay, and I would get advantageous positions on the table (my turn to shoot, several balls spread out and makeable), I would only make two or three balls before handing the table back to him. It reminded me of a chess player who can often get an advantage in the middlegame, but since he does not know how to convert it to a winning edge, he loses the game anyway. It is very frustrating. But, I kept my sense of humour about it all, and tried to keep things in perspective. Wayne is a nice guy, and there are worse ways to spend a couple hours than to shoot pool.
One interesting note is that Wayne never commented on the pace of my play - partly because he tended to take about as much time as I did on shots.
At one point in the match, I looked up at the score and saw that I was down by about 30 balls. He had 60 and I had around 29 or so. It was going pretty badly. At that moment, I decided to stop concentrating on the stuff I had read and just shoot pool the way I had been doing it before that day. Suddenly I found myself able to make shots with a bit more confidence. After I ran a few balls and then played a good safety (leaving Wayne no shot), I looked at him and said, "I come from the 'too little too late' school of Straight Pool". I figured all I was doing was making the final score a bit closer.
However, at one point I ran 15 balls in a row, easily my high for this league, and I began to think that if I kept playing carefully, I might work my way back into the match. When I had a very tough break shot lined up, I decided to play safe (all Wayne needed at that point was 4 balls, while I needed about 20). Even so, he had his chances to make the last few balls, but I think that my keeping him away from the table and out of his rhythm affected him a bit. He missed a couple of easy-ish shots that could have ended it.
Going into the last rack, he had 73 balls and I had 60. If I could make 11 balls before he made 2, I would complete an incredible comeback. I played as carefully as I could, making balls while trying not to leave him anything if I missed. (I even played a safety where no ball hit the rail, which cost me a point. Now I needed 12 balls in the rack to win.) At one point in the rack, he had a shot lined up on the rail. If he made that shot, his last shot would have been straight into the side for the game. He rattled the pocket, though, and I was able to make the two balls instead. Not only did I make those two, I ran out the rest of the rack!
When I looked up after making the last ball of the rack, Wayne congratulated me on an amazing comeback. I had not even processed that I had won the game, but the score at that point was 73-73 (The rule is that even if you make your winning ball, you keep going until you finish the run. I actually should have kept going into the next rack, but neither one of us thought about that at the time). Because of the handicap difference, this meant that I had come all the way back to win!
So, now the missing match against the guy who did not want to play looms large. Frank had said that he would pair me up against someone else if I had a chance at the playoffs (which I think I do). It seems strange that I would not get to play the person that had played everyone else, but whatever happens, happens. I will have fun with it regardless, and a playoff berth (if it happens) will be that much more enjoyable.
As I mentioned in my last post, I have been reading a lot about how to restructure one's fundamentals at the pool table - stance, stroke, warm-up strokes, etc. Because I do not do much practicing between matches, I made the (kind of silly) decision to try to work on my fundamentals while playing the match.
As a result, I started missing shots from the very beginning. Wayne was shooting well, and even though my safeties were okay, and I would get advantageous positions on the table (my turn to shoot, several balls spread out and makeable), I would only make two or three balls before handing the table back to him. It reminded me of a chess player who can often get an advantage in the middlegame, but since he does not know how to convert it to a winning edge, he loses the game anyway. It is very frustrating. But, I kept my sense of humour about it all, and tried to keep things in perspective. Wayne is a nice guy, and there are worse ways to spend a couple hours than to shoot pool.
One interesting note is that Wayne never commented on the pace of my play - partly because he tended to take about as much time as I did on shots.
At one point in the match, I looked up at the score and saw that I was down by about 30 balls. He had 60 and I had around 29 or so. It was going pretty badly. At that moment, I decided to stop concentrating on the stuff I had read and just shoot pool the way I had been doing it before that day. Suddenly I found myself able to make shots with a bit more confidence. After I ran a few balls and then played a good safety (leaving Wayne no shot), I looked at him and said, "I come from the 'too little too late' school of Straight Pool". I figured all I was doing was making the final score a bit closer.
However, at one point I ran 15 balls in a row, easily my high for this league, and I began to think that if I kept playing carefully, I might work my way back into the match. When I had a very tough break shot lined up, I decided to play safe (all Wayne needed at that point was 4 balls, while I needed about 20). Even so, he had his chances to make the last few balls, but I think that my keeping him away from the table and out of his rhythm affected him a bit. He missed a couple of easy-ish shots that could have ended it.
Going into the last rack, he had 73 balls and I had 60. If I could make 11 balls before he made 2, I would complete an incredible comeback. I played as carefully as I could, making balls while trying not to leave him anything if I missed. (I even played a safety where no ball hit the rail, which cost me a point. Now I needed 12 balls in the rack to win.) At one point in the rack, he had a shot lined up on the rail. If he made that shot, his last shot would have been straight into the side for the game. He rattled the pocket, though, and I was able to make the two balls instead. Not only did I make those two, I ran out the rest of the rack!
When I looked up after making the last ball of the rack, Wayne congratulated me on an amazing comeback. I had not even processed that I had won the game, but the score at that point was 73-73 (The rule is that even if you make your winning ball, you keep going until you finish the run. I actually should have kept going into the next rack, but neither one of us thought about that at the time). Because of the handicap difference, this meant that I had come all the way back to win!
So, now the missing match against the guy who did not want to play looms large. Frank had said that he would pair me up against someone else if I had a chance at the playoffs (which I think I do). It seems strange that I would not get to play the person that had played everyone else, but whatever happens, happens. I will have fun with it regardless, and a playoff berth (if it happens) will be that much more enjoyable.
Monday, May 7, 2012
Catching up on the league
First, a bit of background to cover the last couple of weeks:
The match I played after my last post was a bit of a downer. I never really got going, and my opponent thrashed me pretty badly. He was nice about it, though he was listening to music on his iPod for the length of the entire match. I suppose that is allowed, though it seemed a bit anti-social to me.
My next scheduled match after that was against a player who has one of the highest per-inning averages in the division (and therefore the highest handicap), but has yet to win a match in the second half of the league schedule.
Side note: I only recently learned how the standings and playoffs and such work. For each half of the schedule, the top three players make the playoffs and play each other to determine the top six places, which all pay out. I was well out of the running for the first half, but I have an outside chance of placing in the top three for the second half. More on that later.
To my surprise, this next opponent called me and offered to forfeit the match. Apparently he was very frustrated with his results in the league, and just did not want to play any more. I discussed the issue with Frank, the man running the league, and he decided that if I needed my final match in order to decide if I would make the playoffs or not, he would pair me with someone else. The player that wanted to forfeit would not play again in the league. This was okay with me - it would feel weird to be playing someone with something on the line (for me at least) while knowing that my opponent really did not want to play.
Which leads us to yesterday. The final match (maybe not for me, if I need to make up last week's match) is played against the player who is closest in handicap to you. In my case, this meant that I was getting a rematch against the player I lost to in the first week of the league. It would be a good test of whether I had improved. It would also be a test of whether I could incorporate all of the theory I have been reading about the fundamentals of my game and how to improve them.
The match I played after my last post was a bit of a downer. I never really got going, and my opponent thrashed me pretty badly. He was nice about it, though he was listening to music on his iPod for the length of the entire match. I suppose that is allowed, though it seemed a bit anti-social to me.
My next scheduled match after that was against a player who has one of the highest per-inning averages in the division (and therefore the highest handicap), but has yet to win a match in the second half of the league schedule.
Side note: I only recently learned how the standings and playoffs and such work. For each half of the schedule, the top three players make the playoffs and play each other to determine the top six places, which all pay out. I was well out of the running for the first half, but I have an outside chance of placing in the top three for the second half. More on that later.
To my surprise, this next opponent called me and offered to forfeit the match. Apparently he was very frustrated with his results in the league, and just did not want to play any more. I discussed the issue with Frank, the man running the league, and he decided that if I needed my final match in order to decide if I would make the playoffs or not, he would pair me with someone else. The player that wanted to forfeit would not play again in the league. This was okay with me - it would feel weird to be playing someone with something on the line (for me at least) while knowing that my opponent really did not want to play.
Which leads us to yesterday. The final match (maybe not for me, if I need to make up last week's match) is played against the player who is closest in handicap to you. In my case, this meant that I was getting a rematch against the player I lost to in the first week of the league. It would be a good test of whether I had improved. It would also be a test of whether I could incorporate all of the theory I have been reading about the fundamentals of my game and how to improve them.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
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.
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.
Monday, April 9, 2012
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).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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).
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
A good match, but...
Last Saturday I played another Straight Pool match. Fresh off of my win, I had high hopes, and when I found out that I only needed to get 55 points (as opposed to my opponent's 75), I really thought I had a chance. I stayed right with him until we both had about 40 points, but then I started missing chances that I had to make, and he got into a groove. He beat me 75-47. I feel like I shot okay, and in fact in the first rack I made eight in a row, which started me off well, but I still missed shots I needed to make, and my cue-ball control needs a lot of work.
Monday, March 19, 2012
A measure of revenge, and my first win!
One thing I did not mention about last week is that the night after my Straight Pool match, I ran into my opponent at a different pool hall, and we played some 8-ball. I won the 8-ball match 3-1, and while it did not really count for anything, it gave me a bit of confidence that I had been lacking.
This past Saturday, I had my next Straight Pool match. Due to the handicaps, I had to get to 69 while my opponent had to get to 75. I did not shoot lights-out, and I had a few break shots where I missed the shot while breaking the rack (always a bad move in a Straight Pool game), but I was steady. I generally made shots I meant to make, and I was able to string together runs of 5 or 7 balls a few times. Suddenly I looked up at the scoreboard and realized that I only needed four balls to win! I ran out four shots in a row for my first Straight Pool match victory in about 15 years. Good to get the first one under my belt! Final score was 69-56.
So...not sure how the rest of the season will go, but it seems to be (maybe) going in the right direction for now.
This past Saturday, I had my next Straight Pool match. Due to the handicaps, I had to get to 69 while my opponent had to get to 75. I did not shoot lights-out, and I had a few break shots where I missed the shot while breaking the rack (always a bad move in a Straight Pool game), but I was steady. I generally made shots I meant to make, and I was able to string together runs of 5 or 7 balls a few times. Suddenly I looked up at the scoreboard and realized that I only needed four balls to win! I ran out four shots in a row for my first Straight Pool match victory in about 15 years. Good to get the first one under my belt! Final score was 69-56.
So...not sure how the rest of the season will go, but it seems to be (maybe) going in the right direction for now.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Still not close to where I want to be...
I played my second Straight Pool match last Sunday afternoon, and while mentally I was a lot more positive about it, I lost by even more than before. My opponent gave me chances, but I missed a lot of shots. Even though I only had to go to 66 while he had to go to 75, I lost 75-48. I have a lot of work to do...next match is tomorrow afternoon, so we'll see what happens.
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