"There
was a young man who bunked school…. And found a pool hall and that he could
spend hours hiding out there… yes yes there were old men too (more about that
later)…
Greetings
from way down in
I
have been reading your site skipper – from cover to cover literally (I am
rather literal as you will find)… It is terribly amusing, informative
and as witty as a sharpened banana (no doubt Pat doesn’t approve)…! Ergo my
problem, between fits of laughter (sparking a snort from the ball and chain in
the other room) and deep consideration of your profound wisdom I am losing track
of my millions of questions and equally witty comments on the topics – So… I
am forced to write this bloody mail in a journal like manner addressing each
page as we plumb the absinthian depths and stygian heights of your web page…
Shall I begin? Or a little background 1st? Background 1st
methinks so you can apply yourself to some decent answers (with Pat’s profound
insight (see permission) of course)…
I
am a reasonably average pool player having played 8 Ball rules, Blackball rules,
whatever as long as there are some balls and a table involved… league for a
few years now off and on.
I
am also an aspiring snooker player having recently managed to fast talk myself
and co-conspirator (Miles), into our regional Premier snooker league… getting
our arses handed to us is great fun, but hey there is a bar as well ;o) I played
league pool a number of years ago for the 1st time out of a club
called Bad Boyz owned by a very close friend of mine, who passed away suddenly
and I stopped playing for a long while after his club closed. Having spent
quality time at University lifting many beers (and coinage) off unsuspecting
punters I had the distinct pleasure of learning the art of managing the other
guys game, as my skill level was honestly quite comical at the time. Being a
reasonably good chess, poker and other logistical management games I also used
some of those skills in working on my own game at the same time. During my 1st
league season at top flight I was skilful (lucky) enough to end second overall
and found that I could hold my own against many of these so-called pro’s. I
now proudly consider myself a fair sized schizophrenic tiger shark, and no
longer a whale or a fish as we call it over here… Since those humble
beginnings I have had many moments of inspired pool and then long periods of
drought, attached to some pretty shocking pool of course when the schizophrenia
flexes its might…
My
current goal/aim is make the national side (even as a non-traveling sub) and to
get that national green blazer (jersey? anyway) we all covet so dearly (sorry
Pat but really we do..)…
Let’s
hop to it then ->
Coaching
(well kinda) - a story quite dear to my heart as very recently I had a
minor disagreement with my team about cheering during matches. Now I come from
the old school of team sports where (between shots and visits of course!) you
clear your lungs and shake the bones of the opposing player (no Pat, no
needling, scouts honor! Well just a little mental pressure of course). Anyway
(you will find I really like that word.. it so roll's off the tongue don’t it
just?) … anyway one of my players is an up and coming female player having
recently made the national side for Blackball. I like to think she got part of
the way there with some good advice/training from yours truly (sniff she
probably doesn’t even remember tho), anyway she was playing a league game and
there I was shouting the usual chants and gee-ups when she suddenly just popped
up and told me not to. OK so I got a little defensive and didn’t want to stop
at first… I mean seriously she’s been playing with me for 3 years now and
that’s the 1st time ever. Well we eventually kinda sorted it out
with me ruefully admitting I was out of line, apologizing and agreeing not to
cheer for her anymore. Then she also drops a comment, “you should talk to your
players as some of them also don’t like it”. So being a diligent captain I
do… and among they other players who don’t like it are two younger cousins
of mine who I actually taught and brought into the game/team. Go figure… cant
change family eh..:/ So my pool passion has been mortally wounded by this, since
I have tried to be every1’s friend and a leader as captain, making no
preference for family. Now I have to sit quietly and watch my pub league pool
team fail miserably as the other team cheers them off their games…. Luckily
one player in my team (an old varsity
Coaching
2 – I have taken a few lessons myself from a player I have great respect for
over here (Marco Burrough) - mainly to help me correct my stance and arm action
after 5 years out of the game. He was quite helpful but as I am reasonably
experienced (in some things, clearly not pool..) I realized that many of the
lessons were gearing me toward his style of play. I ended it gently and we
remain great friends since… However, I would like to also impart some of
my better schizophrenic knowledge to younger talented players without making the
same mistake of trying to clone me (as it were:/ would be nice tho…), thereby
destroying any chance they would have of becoming national/world champions
inside of 20years. What type of training would you recommend? I like to think I
have managed to stay neutral on the stance and grip coaching with a slight
wobble in the direction of classic snooker stances (not a bad thing I think) but
aside from that cueing, spin, ball selection, etc are all so subjective to a
players style (don’t u think?) – So how do I address the basics in those at
their level? Is there a basic coaching manual u would recommend?
Jack-@ss
syndrome – terribly relevant, funny and well put – I think it hides in the
lint under the clothe and in the pockets too.. the little vermin strikes
when I have the easiest of finishes and 5inches becomes 50yards rapidly (note to
self, new contact lenses on Monday) or my tip suddenly dips into a unknown
dimension of time and space, making squeaky afraid noises en-route to
(hopefully) striking the cue ball into the general direction of the object ball.
Can I copy this article/page and send it to my players? It will make things I
say to them little easier to understand I think, like my common cheers
“nothing wrong mate! take your time pal! walk and chalk mate!”, etc which as
above I can also sadly no longer do anyway….*sniff*
Dress
to win – a topic I have often thought about but never really verbalized as
artichokely as you have…(hate those things, specially when they fried)… so I
am going to bring it up at our next league game, since the image you present is
the image you achieve. Coming from snooker halls as I do, well this is even
truer with professionalism and snappy dressing (bow ties, waistcoats and shtuff,
I kid you not!) being a key component of any game I play. One question though,
what type of footgear have you found is better to play long tourneys in? I
struggle in these long sessions with formal shoes on as my feet ache after a
while, but do very well in my sneakers for obvious comfort reasons (we call em
takkies here), might just be my imagination but I’m curious about your thots
oh Pool Guy…
Legalized
Gambling – man oh man… I so agree with you… I have seen so many really
good players crack under pressure in a deciding league game, myself included of
course… BUT I crack less than others (which is why I play anchor) as I have
played many money games in my sordid past. Not for huge cash mind you, but
enough to sink the drinking/partying barge for the weekend, now THAT’S
pressure like no other. I have introduced my players to a subtle form of this
which is quite fun, no doubt oh Venerated Scholar you know this game. We call it
51 or 101 depending on the skill level of the players. The basic form is for all
players to put around 5 coins on the table and break and pot any ball on the
table legally during a visit. The number of balls you pot in each visit are
added up and the winner is the 1st to 51/101/whatever. The winner
takes the remaining coins as his prize. Another variant (amongst BIG sharks) is
all the players put say 20bucks into a hat, the player who has to break as he
potted the last ball of the prev rack has to cough up a coin for the break as
well. Its quite simplistic but having played this many (many) times during my
formative years I have learnt it aids greatly in break building skills. (sorry
Pat but I’m with Jim on this one… it should be legal and there should be a
legal cash hustlers circuit as suggested since so many great players never make
the limelight as they don’t play for trophies and fame…(which I crave… oh
and the girls that come with all that fame – you wouldn’t happen to have
Jessica Alba’s number by chance? Would you?... *sigh*
thought not… well it was worth a shot since she is my all time favourite
bottom right hand English with running side on a rail plant…. Whatever that
means… she’s hot ok!) errr… where was I?... oh yes… do you have any
other interesting games like that which I could introduce for cash aside from
regular pool? Oh and btw I have recently introduced Killer as well…
Mark
your pocket – an interesting read between the howls of laughter (obligatory
snorts from the other room of course) about that rat-thingy they call a dog….
Apologies to rats! I make no other apologies; the bloody thing should be
extinct, shouldn’t it? I mean seriously how does something like that survive
even one evolutionary cycle? Never mind the stone age and the industrial
revolution! Gawds man, its just walking eyeballs as I see it! Another thing the
Chinese cocked up on by revering it… hmmm that and this cheap keyboard that
the num lock mysteriously lights up on, on its own (note to self…)… what
does it take to have something like that put down? And I do mean permanently!
Its an insult to fluffy (hate em), athletic and mongrel dogs everywhere! I mean
the thing cries constantly (that gunk coming out of its eyes must be tears at
how ugly it is) and if not that, then its leaking brain fluid everywhere… *snort*
that cant be hygienic right? SO can we start a global petition..? Does it
seriously belong in the food chain anywhere? I DEMAND scientific proof! I’m
sure Lions and other predators tell their kids of the day their great grandpa
X50 bowled over laughing when a little ugly rat-thingy walked up to it and said
“eat me, I’m too ugly for this world…” and he couldn’t cos fell of the
mountain laughing…. Ok ok I’ll stop (sorry Pat…:/) so what I wanted to
know (aside from the petition) is how does this APA system/league work? I have
played money games against foreigners who play that rule, and its not an issue
for me as I lifted beers (and coinage) of them anyway – but I can empathize
with having to make a critical straight long range shot only to be put off by
marking the pocket first. Plus, I have a feeling it might but how does this tie
in with playing handicapped pool (not wheelchairs of course..) which you mention
elsewhere? I would love to introduce something like that to our practice
sessions to help speed up my players development…
Changing
the Guard – sadly due to the years of isolation over here, we missed many of
the great players you mentioned and only see some grainy videos from time to
time on ESPN’s ode to the greats… however being a tiger shark I have made it
one of my ambitions to acquire a quality library of great games and players,
maybe it will help me upgrade to a bigger shark… I do however think of the
three Mizerak, Segal or Varner that
my 1st choice is Segal (he knows karate doesn’t he? Could be handy
in a money game… )… lol just kidding… I don’t follow the world circuit
enough to tell you as pool hasn’t grown to such status here where lots of
tourneys are shown on the telly… maybe I will start my own station with my
library someday… do you know of any good sights where I can watch games or
download them?
Long
Straight Shot – wonderful… the only person I have found so far who agrees
with me on this (and those rat-thingys)… This I have imparted as a cornerstone
of knowledge to any player I help. I tell them it’s like stretching yourself
since it’s probably the most difficult shot for cueing on the table at any
time, except those high bridge long straights with check side and hint of
garlic... I am at the moment on about 8 out of 10 on these (after many many 1 of
10’s)… nice to know sound logical advice is global… even Pool Guy uses
it… When I play tournaments I bang in, roll in and clatter in as many of these
from a rack of 15 balls as I can before the start… after that I am glowing
with confidence should I sink even one…
Draw
and Stop Shot – I have often been sneered at and reviled (amongst other
things) for advising younger players not to use bottom early on … often by
so-called pros… which amazes me… it is in my humble schizo opinion a tool
mainly for obtaining position on your next shot… yes and for breaking packs,
clearing a pocket etc… BUT again in my humble opinion centre white and top
white are much a easier shots with a more natural follow through. Now picture
this… I have a 7ft gentle giant I am trying to teach the game, he can barely
bend down to pick his nose never mind look down the shaft (quite funny to watch,
honestly… especially when he wears shorts… looks like a pair of twigs
splayed out a Miami rosebush…) anyway I saw all this and advocated playing
more top and centre – he made the regional side in his 1st season
using this technique… so how can it be so wrong? I have only now started
teaching him the finer nuances of English, running side, check side, masse’s
and all the other crazy “drifts” us snooker players dazzle pool players with
during league… Again a coaching question really… what type of drills would
you recommend aside from the one on the site? I try to use one where the object
ball is on the centre spot and we play to one pocket replacing the ball each
time… trying to draw back and play to the same pocket as many times as
possible in one visit. My current record stands at 65 pots making legal
shots…(many moons ago I must add… in my girlfriend and worry free
days….)… I have been told in recent years that I play phenomenal bottom with
the ball fizzing about like a top on steroids – one aspect is that I have a
delicate touch and a well developed “rake” as you put it… but most
importantly, I CUE THROUGH THE BALL…. As a snooker player this is the most
important thing to do or else you will take out teeth at some point, never mind
eyes, toes and other extremities… in a word don’t! so I use stop, drift or
stun more than anything else
Throw
– an aspect of the game I have pondered through many ciggy’s, beers,
tequila’s, torn baizes, crummy tables and sleepless nights… before I found
my deft touch by playing 50% softer shots on the table ( I become a raging tiger
shark after a run of 5 balls or so you see… so invariably I bang the last
few… well sometimes nowadays… lol) – it is well covered in your
topic and I thank Cuemaster for bringing it up. Some thoughts/questions though
– I use it to help me cut impossible shots when a bind and it amazes even the
pro’s when I get those right (quite often in fact) – should I be teaching my
players to use this “cheat” as it really opens up many more shots? or a more
sound aiming technique till they are at least intermediates?
The
Masse’ – I could write digests about the 7 or so times I have actually used
it (twice successfully!! No really..!! I was amazed meself but stood and gave a
knowing toothy tiger shark smile to my opponents as the crowds cheered) in real
games… but the truth is there is almost no shot aside from being jaw and ball
snookered when you might need to use it… In that case you have bigger problems
than simply touching your ball, especially if deliberate fouls are not
allowed… I am confident that aside from that set up there is almost no shot
that angles with side, running or otherwise cannot get you out of… my question
on this topic is, in your experience of torn baizes (don’t deny it Pool Guy)
which masse’ is more accurate ( being a fairly proficiently cueing player
myself)? Top white (tough to cue I knw) or bottom white (the standard masse’
in any hustlers arsenal) based on the direction of the shot?
Sweet
spot – I have often tried to get my players to visualize this – I think
charting their hit pattern on the cue ball will bring it home much easier…
thank you a nice one…
Ok
ok… I’d better stop now… sorry for grinding out your eyes… suffice it to
say I am terribly passionate about the game and not that good at it (yet)…
I
really enjoyed your site (a rare thing.. even when inebriated, which I am
presently not…which reminds me…) and thank you for sharing a bit of history
and knowledge with me…
Your
in shot selection
Lee
Adams
a.k.a.
Stormace
a.k.a.
HITMAN
a.
lovingly k.a. Cappie…
p.s. I tremulously await the day I see a blinding light and get a flash of insight on how to play this evil game where everything works against you when you need it, and goes your way when you don’t… dam rat-thingy’s musta sucked up all the averaging luck to stay alive this long…
