The Adventures of FastMikie
in search of Truth and Beauty in the art of pocket billiards.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Giving new meaning to shooting "lights out"
Dan S. happened to be in town on business and was looking to get a bit of dinner, before he made the long drive home, so we hit the local sushi joint. Dan didn't say anything about shooting pool, and he knows I'm retired from serious competition, so I took advantage of the situation to enjoy some sake with my sushi. (Ordinarily I never drink anything alcoholic if I'm going to play some pool.) Dan decided to abstain from the sake, concerned about mixing drink and driving.
We had a leisurely meal, and I finished a nice flagon of hot sake, and that's when the devious devil Dan challenges me to shoot a bit of straight pool, knowing I'm a pushover when it comes to my favorite game... I'll play any time, any place, any opponent. The thought crossed my mind that Dan would definitely have the upper hand due to the element of surprise, my sake-soaked brain, and my lack of table time. Surprisingly, it didn't turn out that way.
Just as we started, one of the 6 lights over the table went dead, and in the middle of the game, another light went dead. Both of these lights were at the head of the table, which doesn't get a lot of use in straight pool. I didn't bother fitting some new bulbs, because I didn't want to interrupt the game! However, when you are shooting a long shot on the 8 (or 4, or 6) into the dark end of the table, it gets interesting. The only good thing, as Dan remarked, is that the pockets usually stay in the same place.
The match went well for me, and I won easily 100 - 70.
I wonder if the sake loosened me up? I played my share of safeties, but I also made some seriously strange shots, including a double off-angle combination involving four balls. It was a beauty! Sometimes wacko shots just look so right. Did the sake enhance my imagination to see such a weird shot?
I can't believe I'm even asking the question, but should I start drinking before pool?
It was almost 6 years ago that I set myself to learning this game, with the goal of seeing how good I could get with it. I feel that I have learned a lot, and won more than my share of competitions. I never had the goal of turning pro, and really never had the goal of doing a lot of competitions. It wasn't about proving myself to others, or making a public spectacle of whatever knowledge and skill I might have developed. Rather, it was a personal thing, inwardly focused. Competition was simply a way of learning more about myself and the game, not about domination of others. This blog was intended simply to document the story as it unfolded, and share what I learned.
And now, in the fullness of time, I have arrived at a point where other activities have come to the top of my list of priorities for living a balanced life. Since these priorities are not pool related, the details are off topic for this blog, so you are spared the boredom of reading about them here.
It was a difficult decision, but here's how it breaks down: Shooting pool at a high level, for me, requires a lot of time-consuming practice. It becomes an addiction, not unlike the addiction of flying an open-cockpit biplane, which consumed my life for almost 7 years, or yoga, which was my focus for several years, or freestyle Frisbee on the beach, another daily addiction for many years, and even the addiction to success in business, which consumed so much of my early life. I have certainly enjoyed these addictions, but there is a point of diminishing returns to all pleasures.
And now it is time to move on. I know this because I have been having recurring thoughts that there is more I can do, more I must do. I want to take some of the time I spend poking a ball with a stick, and re-direct it to doing something good for others, and I have already started down this path. I think I have learned a lot, especially about how to achieve goals, and I feel that it is time to share some of what I have learned with others who are looking for help.
Thank you Tony Sorto, for all your time and energy in trying to teach this pig to sing. And thank you to all the others who have contributed to my learning and great enjoyment of this game.
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Some Frequently Asked Questions
(which I have frequently asked myself in coming to this point):
Q. Are you quitting pool? Are you selling your table?
A. Absolutely not. I love the game. And I look forward to playing on my table for as long as humanly possible, and hopefully that will be for many more years, but significantly fewer hours per week. I look forward to many hours of solitude with the game, as well as occasionally sharing the experience and my table with friends who play the game well.
Q. So, that means no more tournaments?
A. True. Certainly for the foreseeable future, and that includes the US Amateur championship in September, for which the entry form is due in two days, and which helped me arrive at the timing of this decision.
Q. What will happen to this blog?
A. Less frequent postings, of course, but it will still be here. New posts will appear from time to time, as I find new things to write about. And I look forward to hearing from readers who help me keep up the list of tournaments in the San Diego area.
Q. Was this a snap decision?
A. Actually this has been coming for a long time. For each of the last 5 years, I have updated my Plan for Excellence in Pool every year around January. Except for this year. That was an early warning sign, for me. And my practice time has diminished steadily for the last 8 months, to the point where it had become obvious that my motivation was waning. It was a tough decision, because I know that with reduced time on the table will come reduced skills, and that's not a happy thought, but there is more to life than pool, as I have blogged about many times.
Q. So, what's next?
A. So much to do, so little time! Many projects, too many to go into here, but one which stand out the most is mentoring: helping entrepreneurs along their path to success in business.
Pool Wars author Jay Helfert seems to be a thinking man's Forrest Gump of the pool world, always in the right place at the right time for some of the biggest pool events since the 60's. For example, Jay was racking the balls during the match when Earl Strickland won the "million-dollar" prize for running 10 racks in a row! Jay was the guy who got Keith McCready a role in the movie "The Color of Money"... the list goes on and on.
This is a great read for any pool player because Jay Helfert is the real deal. He started his pool career as a road hustler, then tournament director, then promoter. And he's got great stories about all of it. And he doesn't hold back a bit. His stories are filled with fights, knives, and guns (including his own 25 caliber hand gun).
It was a real pleasure to read this well-written first person history of pool during the last 40 years. You'll learn the inside scoop you won't find anywhere else. Pool Wars... You'll love it.
A couple of posts back I mentioned getting a new set of Aramith TV Pro Cup balls. Right after that post, Dan W. showed up to play some straight pool, and of course I wanted to try out the new set of balls. But that wasn't working out very well because I was missing almost everything; couldn't run more than 5 balls, and even that was a struggle! What's up with that?
To make matters worse, Dan was reiterating the many reasons why the Aramith balls are horrible, why they have killed the finesse game, why old-school pros hate these balls, etc.
So, after about an hour of agony, Dan hit the loo, and I switched back to my Centennial set, including the Brunswick Centennial blue circle cue ball. What a huge difference! My first turn at the table I ran 19, and it felt so good. It seemed that the cue ball was really trying to do what I had in mind, whereas the Aramith "measle" ball seemed to do whatever the heck it wanted. Not a good feature for a cue ball.
Dan says it's in the finish they use, probably for the purpose of keeping it cleaner longer, but whatever it is, it causes inconsistent results. I'm thinking that maybe the threshold for control is precipitous in the Aramith ball, but scalar on the Centennial, if you catch my drift.
The upshot of the evening is that Dan totally whupped me like a red-headed stepchild, which he always does. But that is expected, he plays at a higher level than I do, so I get to watch (and learn, hopefully).
Anyone want to buy a brand new set of Aramith TV Pro-Cup balls, only used for a few racks?
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In other news, Dan S. (not related to Dan W.) stopped by unexpectedly to hit a few. We played some 9-ball, a short race to 5, which I won at hill-hill.
And in other-other news, I found myself at the Hungry Stick in San Diego and got into an impromptu competition with David C. as my first draw. I got lucky and won the super-short, anyone-can-win race to 3 in 9-ball (my least favorite game) 3-0, then got bounced out in the next two draws.
Monica Webb read this book and recently won back to back WPBA pro pool tournaments, her first wins in 10 years of trying. I'm thinking that maybe something in this book might have been a key in her success.
After 5 years of beating up my set of Brunswick Centennial balls, I splurged on a new set of Super Aramith TV Pro-Cup balls. The first thing I did was weigh each ball, twice, right after unpacking, so there would be no chalk or other schmutz on them to interfere with accuracy. Here are the results:
Weights (using digital scale):
One ball is 168 grams Eleven balls are 169 grams each (includes the "measle" cue ball) Four balls are 170 grams each
Yo, Aramith! We can put a man on the moon (so I'm told), but can't make billiard balls of consistent weight? What's up with that?
A Facebook friend from a land far away asked my thoughts on Larry Keller's Pro Justa-Bridge, so I figured I'd share it here:
About a year ago, I bought one of these Pro Justa-Bridges and like it a lot. However, some guest players who have never used one would get freaked-out with it and ask if I had a "normal" bridge that they are used to.
One disadvantage is that they are not flat, and it is difficult to fit it in a typically crowded cue case, but that's not that big a deal as you'll be carrying other stuff that won't fit in a cue case.
The final analysis: Excellent product, well built and well designed.
I got to fiddling with my new micro-sized Flip Hi-Def video camera and it struck me that I might be able to rig it so that I could do videos of some of my practice routines, from the point of view of the shooter (me). I think I have never seen such videos, so I decided to experiment with the idea.
When I get to inventing, the first thing I do is a prototype. It's not supposed to be be flawless, or elegant, just a proof-of-concept. The guidelines are simplicity, modular, easy to assemble/disassemble, and using materials at hand. This prototype was very simple and I was so proud that I didn't resort to duct tape! It included a baseball cap, the camera attached to a Gorilla tripod, and a necktie to hold the camera/tripod onto the hat. That's all. I was happy that it didn't feel overly heavy and didn't seem to bother me when shooting. Although the setup was totally idiotic looking, I wasn't trying to make a fashion statement
Two things need to be changed: 1. The focal length of the camera lens didn't give the right sight picture. It needs to be more wide-angle. 2. The camera would be more properly mounted closer to eye level.
One interesting benefit that I didn't expect: When you play back the video you can very clearly see when you moved during the shot.
I'll post a short POV video, soon, if I can get over a persistent case of laziness.
When I got to playing some carom with those 3 fresh balls, I noticed that the behavior seemed different, and I couldn't quite figure it out.
One thing that was throwing me off was that I was using mis-matched balls. The red and yellow are from a set designed for European 8-ball, which are about 4 grams lighter than the measle cue ball. The hit sounded wrong, so I replaced the measle cue ball with the cue ball that comes with the set of mustard & ketchup balls.
Wow! The lighter cue ball really makes a big difference in how far I can draw the ball. Now I want to use it all the time!
Another observation: This set of balls was virtually brand new although I have had them for a couple of years. I think I had never used the cue ball that came with the set. A brand new set of balls plays real nice. Fresh balls are happy, perky balls!
A funny thing happened today. Not funny ha-ha, funny strange. I was hitting some balls, experimenting with cuts, and I drifted into focusing on position, and then the position I was aiming at was another object ball, and all of a sudden I was playing 3 cushion billiards and it was fun, so I broke out a fresh measle cue ball, and a fresh red and a fresh yellow, just to make it look more like 3-cushion.
Then it hit me: this is the first time I ever actually shot 3-cushion billiards. And it surprised me that in the last five-plus years of pool, there has been no carom and no snooker, even though I have always wanted to shoot some carom.
I can't even think of where there might be a carom table in San Diego. There was one table at Family Billiards in Oceanside, but they just closed.
First thing I noticed is that carom billiards requires more brain power. It's a rare thing in pocket billiards that you have to hit 3 cushions for shape, but in carom it's every shot. And the more complex shots require more skill with a cue. I'm impressed, totally.
I did make two points in probably twenty tries, but those two points seemed to give more pleasure, more outright satisfaction, than if I ran 20 into pockets.
Other observations: the first object ball seems to come into play when least expected, such as double hits, or when playing on a pool table, falling into a pocket, and while on the subject of pockets, I found myself not being able to shoot a few shots because the pockets were in the way. Also, the larger balls used in carom would take more english and travel farther with a given stroke, so it seems that would contribute to a more pleasurable experience.
Someday, when I can afford a large house on the oceanfront, I will be sure to have room for a carom table, a snooker table, and a pool table.
Another one bites the dust - Family Billiards, Oceanside
After 18 years in business, Family Billiards Center in Oceanside has sold all the stuff and closed the doors for good, just this past Wednesday.
This was where I first won money in a pool tournament. I got 30 bucks for third place, the first time I entered the tournament. I was a "C" player then, in May 2004. Good times! Click here for the story.
And, I also won that tournament, in February 2006, as an "A" player, a few weeks after David Nakano told me I was no "A" player. Click here for the story.
I'm sure they held on as long as possible, but increased rent finally did the place in.
Good luck, Buddy (the owner). Thanks for the memories!
Imagine what you could learn about straight pool by having Hall of Fame pro Nick Varner coaching you on each shot, explaining patterns and strategy and shot-making...
A couple of days ago, I had the opportunity to have that fantasy become reality, right at home on my own table, and even got it on video, in 3 parts, for a total of only 29 balls run. When my run come to a close with a safety, Johnny Archer spots a kick into a 5-ball combination for a break, and continues his run to 120 balls. That big run is on another set of videos. These three clips are Varner coaching me.
This was all completely unplanned. The original intention was to play some straight pool to see how high a run the three of us could put together with me playing every other shot (Johnny, me, Nick, me, Johnny, me, etc). With both of them coaching me on every shot, I figured I'd learn a lot. We were going along pretty good and then Nick misses a dinky shot ("I forgot to aim!") and the table looks so good, and I've been getting impatient to hit more than one ball in a row, so I change the rules and want to run solo, whereupon Nick coaches along with some input from Johnny.
Nick Varner calls the action while Johnny Archer runs 120 balls.
This video starts off with Nick Varner coaching me through my last rack, where I get myself in trouble and play safe. That's when Johnny Archer spots a kick to a 5 ball combination for a break shot and proceeds to run out the rack (12 balls) and keeps on going for a total run of 120 balls.
What is exceptional about this run is that Johnny does it despite all sorts of distractions, interruptions and while carrying on conversations about the shots and the strategy as he goes.
There is a lot that can be learned from these videos!
Maybe I'm too busy with facebook to do a better job of reporting, but in the interests of completeness and transparency (which seems to be a new buzz word), there are a few random bits for the record.
1. In the first of the recent three tournament wins in a row, the worthy opponent was a guy I had never seen before, John H. In the finals, for the last game, I broke and ran out. He never got out of his chair. Bummer way to lose, but a great way to win. So to see what he had going for him I invited him over to shoot some pool at the Fun House, and he chose 9-ball. I don't remember the score, dammit, and that's why I should be writing this stuff down as it happens. Maybe I'll do an iPhone app for keeping scores... In any case, I do remember that I played pretty good and won convincingly. He's a good dude. Into radio controlled airplanes.
2. In the second of the recent three tournament wins in a row... there ya go again... I can't remember the details, so if you were in the finals of that 8 ball tournament a couple of weeks ago, and you want me to mention your name here, as the guy who came in second, just let me know. Maybe I'll remember later, and maybe I'll remember that I forgot it, and maybe I'll come back here and write it here, and nobody will ever know because nobody reads this stuff anyway.
3. In the last, most recent of the 3 wins in a row, the big Quarterly Tournament, which gets my name on the plaque on the wall, thereby granting me immortality in some very small degree... the worthy opponent was "Ball in Hand" Benny. He is a lot of fun. When he makes a great shot, and when he misses, he says "I love this game!". Gotta like a guy like that. Anyway, I played good, and so did he, but I won.
4. When Samm was in town, we played some pool here at the Fun House. In 9 ball, and she won 9-5 and we played some straight pool and I won 50-27. She was using the ICEBREAKER break cue and getting some great action with it. My break was not working at all.
5. Samm Diep and I played in the Hard Times tournament up in Los Angeles, and we both did the 0-2 barbecue. I could not get motivated, and I was not pleased with my performance. Objectively, I should be able to win against both of those players. But not this Sunday.
6. Mike R. called me out on my facebook page, so I messaged back "Bring it on..." and the match took place at time that couldn't have been more poorly chosen, and amazingly, I'm the one that chose the time! How did I get to be this old and still be an idiot? Maybe I was being efficient by trying to schedule lots of things to happen all on the same day, so I can have the other days all to myself (which is what we hermits do), but I wound up scheduling a pool match...
a) immediately after a lunch appointment with one of my favorite female friends, so this guarantees that my mind will be completely unfocused on pool. Usually I will clear my entire day leading up to a tournament. More time for preparation.
b) at the same time when my assistant Carol would be here working. Her cooking is always a distraction in a very good way, but not if I need to be shooting some serious pool. Since it was her last day before her vacation, there were extra details to be dealt with, and of course this did not help my focus.
c) at the same time as I had scheduled a plumber to do some maintenance. Isn't that the most bone-headed thing to deal with during a pool match? It seemed that every 10 minutes the plumber would be missing a part, need to make a call, needed to ask a question, or just wanted to watch a few shots!
What was I thinking to have scheduled this perfect storm of madness? Needless to say, and as much as I choke on the saying of it, and in the spirit of full disclosure, transparency, and such, and as I agreed that I would so do, I am giving the score of the match in the smallest of font sizes because I refuse to admit it into my reality, so here:(9-ball, 7-5, 7-3) Didn't see that? Well try highlighting that area with your cursor... In any case, I do have to admit that he was breaking well and getting plenty of opportunities for early outs with combinations. It seemed that all I could think of was how stupid I am for scheduling this match for such conditions.
It occurred to me that a wise man would have chosen a more appropriate time for combat, and then it hit me... these are the words of Sun Tzu in his classic "The Art of War":
Thus we may know that there are five essentials for victory: He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight. He will win who knows how to handle both superior and inferior forces. He will win whose army is animated by the same spirit throughout all ranks. He will win who, prepared himself, waits to take the enemy unprepared. He will win who has military capacity and is not interfered with by the sovereign.
Italics in the above are mine, to indicate where I screwed up. Maybe I'll remember next time.
7. The $20 gift certificate for pizza which I won in the last tournament (I would have preferred a trophy), I intended to use to treat the guys in that tournament. When I called to order a couple of large pizzas, it was $37. What the heck. Hope they enjoyed it.
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