middleofnowhere said:

I am sure it has been discussed but the one going in the side on almost every break is ridiculous.

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Absolutely. I am amazed at how many successful 1-ball in the side breaks there were. It seems all the players were using the same cut break for the break box/9-on-the-spot racking.

85%!

Thanks for the stats, @AtLarge!

jschaefer said:

here it isView attachment 843249

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I love it!

Biloxi Boy said:

Rest of story, please. No, let me guess. Payout not specified. When the dust settled, the Calcutta Director came up with a split that favored his friend (or someone who threw him some jelly) or disfavored his enemy. Moral of the Story: split should be set out in writing by Director and announced at beginning of auction.

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A tale as old as time. It's a shame that more folks of unimpeachable integrity don't direct tournaments but I guess they have better things to do.

Lagging is a skill. It is variable just like any other skill in the game. Nobody strikes it exactly the same every time for any shot including the lag. Then you have early match jitters etc etc. Everyone comes to the table for the lag in a slightly different headspace so there will always be variation from one lag to another. It's as fine a way as any to start a match and there's nothing wrong with it.

Side note: I recently brought it to my league operators attention that some players are deliberately stalling to gain an advantage. Waiting until the opponents ball is almost stopped to strike theirs. Has happened to me twice. First time I almost froze it so it didn't matter, second time though I got it to maybe the middle of the rack depth wise and the guy easily beat me. I didn't say anything at the time because I don't like to argue during matches unless it's a BIG deal cuz all it does is get in MY head.

Mensabum said:

Hard Hard Hard. No layers. Single chunk of leather or polycarbonate. Last thing I want to be doing is working my tip all the time. I chalk after every shot. Don't want to have to stop and shape or scuff it up.

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I play with hard tips, but polycarbonate is too hard for me even for breaking. I have used layered hard tips from several brands. They are all quite a few years old. Currently I have Precision (Searing), G2, Instroke, Zan (Grip Hard), and Talisman. I also have a couple Triangle tips and one Kamui Clear Black Medium. I use a gator shaper and nothing else to treat the tips.

OK. So maybe decal cues aren't the best. Here is a French cue that puts the decal cues to waste. It is odd that in one photo some of the wood has a gold tint while in another it is white.:

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