So what counts as a long run?

Danny Harriman said:

I respectfully disagree, its a good idea to make as many similarity's to practicing and competing. To set a goal and have even the slightest reward is in my view to compete. I understand what your saying but again my suggestion is to not put too much emphasis on having an opponent. Belittling the run in any way due to not having an opponent in the chair and ' in a game' is note about the ego. If player wants to state the high run was in a 'game' then that is their business.

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BC21 said:

Thanks for the reply.

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Dan White said:

I'm very interested to see you write this, Danny. It never made sense to me to say that this run or that run isn't worth as much because it wasn't done during competition. It would be like going to the home of a great violinist or pianist and hearing them play beautiful music in their living room. Would you really say their play is tainted because they weren't playing in front of a huge crowd on video tape? A beautiful 100 ball run looks the same whether it was competition or not.

Now, if you want to say this or that player isn't as good as another because he chokes in competition, then you are discussing how good of a competitor he is, not how knowledgeable he is about straight pool.

Personally, I often play better in competition because I am more motivated and sharper.

Competition is competition, straight pool is straight pool.

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Danny Harriman said:

I agree, also like the home musician analogy. You're no dumby Dan the man. We can work on building a solid foundation and later down the road practice as if we were (visualize) competing. The solid foundation must be built first.

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Danny Harriman said:

Looks like we lost 'any footage' of bc21. I read it says pocketing balls .com on his avatar. Sum m tells me he will keep rattling em. Oh how polytickly correct that is of me. Players often use the tight pocket excuse - just has hustlers will act like it does not bother them to lose in a tournament. Or well at least I think that is correct. See ya in the funny papers Brian with tight pockets. You'll have to forgive me Brian - after no response - well let's say I got a bad vibe. Oh sometimes it feels like its uh long run.

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Dan White said:

I think a "long run" is all relative. A long run to you is not a long run to John Schmidt. I'd say at your stage of the game just work on your weaknesses and don't worry about making long runs. Often your best runs come when you forget about how many you've made.

In tournament play, I'd say a "typical" long run is anything in the 50+ ball range.

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ideologist said:

My wife says 6 is long enough

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Danny Harriman said:

It would seem one of your posts was removed dan- welcome to the new age. If you say BC 21 is OK well then ? Like u say he probly had a good reason to pretend he was genuine about purchasing a copy of my 351 (25 consecutive racks without an error). He had a chance to be genuine and rattled it in his loose pockets _ gold member if u ask me - people who try and manipulate others in order to get a reaction are truly eight up. Who can go the distance we'll find out in the long run. Like I said before see u in the fun.y papers bc21.

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Danny Harriman said:

I have recently lost a friend who took his life, he had an opiate problem. any hue i am not looking to be a victim nor for drama - just have been down a bit as of late. my friend who passed was a good player and I taught him to play from ground up (on the road together also). He was only 32 - just had a baby, please if anyone knows his name I ask it not be posted on any forum. This is not the first time I have lost a loved one like this. Any way I am attending a group for suicide survivors and i hope this helps, i did over react to your any footage comment brian. I do think that even if u were referring to picture quality it was a bit in-sensitive to say 'any high run footage' but I was out of line and I am man enough to admit it. i will not make any posts on here if I am feeling down anymore. If your no longer interested in the copy of my 351 I understand - I can assure u it's not just " any high run footage". so if u decide to take a break from the break cue and aiming threads Dennis Walsh has a copy for you, he handled the editing Plus as u can see the picture quality is decent from my monitor. adios and better days.

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BC21 said:

Sorry to hear about your friend. I've already sent a message to Dennis, just waiting on his reply. After seeing the pic Dan posted, I'm not concerned about video quality. Looks alright to me. The only 14.1 instructional material I've really studied is Johnny Holiday's "Continuous Hi-Runs". Still have it. I figure your DVD will be like an illustrated commentary of some of the same principles in that book. Anyway, after reading a few of your posts (before our little drama played out) I thought your advice about high runs was solid. And when someone mentioned the DVD I may have behaved like a kid in a candy store at first ...sorry. But I'm excited to get a copy so I can hear what you are thinking during this awesome 25-rack run. I will bust a hundred before the end of summer, and I'll record it. I hit a run of 47 last night, wearing glasses, which bothered me. I'm gonna take a break until I'm able to wear contacts again in a couple of weeks.

Thanks Danny.

Brian Crist

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Danny Harriman said:

I have read Holidays book, in relation to sight and eye issues.have you tried the glasses " see what you've been missing"? Howard Vickery developed them, they sit up higher and the rim never gets in your sight. I don't wear them but I know some good players who do.

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Danny Harriman said:

I have known a few world class players with poor vision, Louie Roberts used to close his eyes (once aligned with shot). He could accomplish difficult thin hits this way and pot the ball, Eddie Taylor was legally blind and needed assistance walking round the room in a dim lit area. However he could still bank and had a smooth powerful stroke. His glasses were as thick as a coke bottle, he too spoke of alignment. So maybe some good news for those who have less than perfect vision. Buddy hall said the nerves are usually the first thing to go and that effect's the eyes.

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BC21 said:

Didn't know that about Eddie Taylor....pretty cool. After reading this post, I tossed 9 balls out on the table and then ran them. I thought, hey, a few shots were blurry but the balls hit the pockets. Thinking instinct is probably more of a factor than clear vision, I tried it again. Second time wasn't as smooth, missed a simple shot on the 4. It was about 3 diamonds from the corner pocket and just 2 or 3 inches off the rail. Cue ball about on the head spot. I set it back up and missed it again, hitting a little thick everytime. So I line up to hit it thinner and miss again. So much for putting for my instinct above my vision. I think the first rack was purely subconscious, then when I began thinking about seeing or not seeing I was consciously trying to pocket the balls based on fuzzy guesswork.

I think the brain automatically knows how to approach/align the body and stroke for most shots, but sometimes the eyes send conflicting signals that override the automatic mode. Maybe that's how these great players could do so well despite poor vision....the brain stays in auto mode, basically ignoring any conflicting signals from the eyes.

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Danny Harriman said:

Roger that brian, only two ways to miss a shot - aiming and mechanics. Nervous eyes ( taking eye off object ball is aiming error). Mechanics - stroke, bridge, and last but not least alignment. Don't forget to give me your opinion on the 351 after viewing. I think you will find it well played.

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