LeftyIke said:

Jay Helfert explained many of the reasons, and many other s have pointed out major issues, however people just get upset and make excuses. I can accept that as currently constituted, America does not have the amount of quality Players as the rest of the World, and doesn’t know what to do about it. I haven’t been proud of American Pool on the Big Stage in a long while. Carry on, though. The American System can’t draw the interest of the Young enough to attend a Tournament for free in many parts of the Country, and they don’t even know who our Top Players are.

Click to expand...

Does Helfert even watch pool anymore? I’ll bet we have Mosconi cup soon. It’s coming.

SVB
Ghorst
Evans
Verner
Henderson

APA Operator said:

First of all, nobody, anywhere, is qualified for the 2026 World Pool Championships in Vegas. I suggest you read about World Qualifiers and qualified teams in the Official Team Manual and your area's local bylaws, both available from your Pool League app. There are also ways to lose qualification - remember, forewarned is forearmed.


Except a beer doesn't have a skill level. Qualified teams are required to remain active so your League Operator can keep an eye on your skill levels. Otherwise, you could all quit playing in the league, take lessons for five months, and show up at the World Qualifier with skill levels that are way too low. Again, I suggest reading all about it in the Official Team Manual and your area's local bylaws.

Click to expand...

It’s not just about skill level.. it’s also about money. I went for masters and we had to stay playing and our skill levels didn’t matter.

Bigdaddi44 said:

I play n a APA league. We won or division and are eligible to go to Vegas for the championships. My operator however tells us that in order to get the registrations sent by him, we have to sign up for the next session. Is this something that anyone else has experience with this? I think if we them team and players have paid the dues, won the playoffs and qualified for the tournament; we should'nt have to play the next session if we don't want to. To me its like buying a beer and telling I can't drink until I buy the next one first.

Click to expand...

Even when you win you have to stay playing in the league to remain qualified. We won a trip for masters and had to play one more session because nationals happened about a month after the league ended. Apa is a business and it’s how they keep you locked in lol

It’s common sense.. if a foul occurs on the shot you don’t get the point in any situation .

Masterfully executed, what a beautiful example of your attention to detail!!

nataddrho said:

This is a skill that needs to be learned from working in a particular industry. A lot of the time someone inexperienced won't know the total cost until they get their final quotes from their supply chain. Even then maybe some don't even realize until after they have paid.

For consumer electronics, the average markup needs to be at least 4 times the COG (cost of goods) which is what you spent to make the product, usually in bulk, in order to make a 50% profit. And that is if you do a lot of work yourself. The more logistic help you require the more the factor increases. I am sure it is similar in other industries.

"Will someone buy this for what it costs to make" should be the very first research goal, followed by "make it and see if it even works", and then "please convince me that no one will buy this" when you show it to friends/test group. I don't think the bitman rack followed these steps.

Click to expand...

Couldn’t say it better. Even if you own a restaurant and you’re coming up with something new for the menu the last question you always ask is what do we have to charge and will our customers pay that. That’s just basic business . You are very correct someone here forgot that step.

Beautiful classic and classy cue. Great designs are timeless.

Didn't get time to watch the video yet, but out of curiosity, does it contain an interesting case of purposefully shooting with the CB at an OB such that the OB flies off the table using elevation + power? e.g. in 8-ball to get rid of some of your own balls from the table while theres some clusters that prevent both from running out, or in 9-ball to get rid of a breakout ball that you don't want the opponent to utilize in opening a cluster. Questionable whether it's unsportsmanlike or not.

Jr's Farm said:

Saw the “Retired” on his sig and the date of the post and just figured he has left like many of the other names I recall from that time. I dropped him a PM just in case though.

Click to expand...

Lee passed away several years ago.

SSDiver2112 said:

https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/re-cut-fixtures.551634/

Click to expand...

Saw the “Retired” on his sig and the date of the post and just figured he has left like many of the other names I recall from that time. I dropped him a PM just in case though.

JAM said:

On a bright note, the 2026 World Cup is coming to the United States, with Miami as one of the host cities, something to actually look forward to.

But when it comes to pool here in the U.S., it’s getting harder, at least for me, to stay excited. The sport is shrinking, the payouts aren’t growing, and our pool of true pro-caliber American players keeps getting smaller. What makes it worse is the nonstop politics and mudslinging between players. It takes the spotlight off the game I have enjoyed over the years.

This year, though, something feels off. And it’s not because Team USA got whitewashed on Day 1. Hey, that’s sports, and it happens. What’s bothering me is harder to put a finger on. The atmosphere doesn’t feel the same, the spark isn’t quite there, and it’s like the soul of the event is drifting somewhere else. I love this game, but something just isn’t right.

Click to expand...

Jay Helfert explained many of the reasons, and many other s have pointed out major issues, however people just get upset and make excuses. I can accept that as currently constituted, America does not have the amount of quality Players as the rest of the World, and doesn’t know what to do about it. I haven’t been proud of American Pool on the Big Stage in a long while. Carry on, though. The American System can’t draw the interest of the Young enough to attend a Tournament for free in many parts of the Country, and they don’t even know who our Top Players are.

The Making it in America one pocket tour main event at KB'S Grille and Pub in Kennesaw, Georgia starts at 7pm today, Friday.
Players auction 1st then 1st round matches.
Go to PoolActionTV.com for all the purchase options to watch.
Players list:
Jordan Pearce
Jason Morhaus
David Cantrell
Theo Martucci
Redgie Cutler
Matthew Yeager
Ronald Young
Tim Orange
Lloyd Phipps
Chester Hurt
Kim Davenport
Chris Freeman
Ivan Riley
John Fiore
Anthony Green
David Domingo
Rob Coleman
Nick Pettway
Paul Song
Randy Flakes
Jahron Jackson
Yash Ajmera
Ernest Dalton
Shakim Tilley
Josh Roberts
Hunter White
Johnathan Hennessee

DrCue'sProtege said:

I've never whined and cried abou t not being able to run out when I get a decent spread.

For the 10,000th time..........MY GOLD CROWN IV RARELY GIVES ME A DECENT SPREAD TO TRY AND RUN OUT WITH!!!!

That's the big problem. My table needs an exorcism. I wonder if Father Merrin is available?

Click to expand...

I have slept a few times since reading this or any of your threads so a sincere question: How many different ball sets have you tried? Clean your balls one at a time by hand.

Start with the cue ball dead center, put one ball beside it, swing your cue ball to the other side of that spacer ball and take it off the table or back in the rack if you need it to complete the rack. Now use 1.5 to 2 tips low, half a tip left, english. If you are left handed, use have a tip right instead of the left. Now forget a hard break. Keep hitting the cue ball slower until you can get an absolute dead center hit on the one ball. Not the front of the cue ball, where a ghost ball would completely shade the one ball. Equal overlap both sides.

Always check for gaps in the rack. If there are any, break into the solid side of the rack trying to put the force away from the gaps.

The break is first about accuracy, more important than speed. I can make a well racked set of balls explode with a half speed break. A dead center hit on the cue ball or half a tip of low will work too. Main thing, always consider how the power is going through the rack.

Probably rehashing stuff I have already said but it is late night and I'm playing rachet jaw. Quit fighting the break and let your cue stick flow into the cue ball. While working on the break a long pause, several seconds, before the final forward stroke is good. Later you can reduce the pause to very little or nothing but the forward stroke should start forward very slowly and accelerate through the cue ball. Think of it as a gathering of force in the arm you are stroking with. Your whole body feeding force to that one arm. If the break doesn't work for you after three or four tries, use your spacer ball to move it over again. Repeat until you get a break. You might try moving the cue ball back to the line across the first diamonds on the side rail too. Break off of the head rail. Try dead center then put your spacer ball dead center and set the cue ball alongside it, only a half ball off the center line. Then try moving the cue ball over one ball width at a time until you find a sweet spot. Bridge off the rail with the cue ball only one diamond out.

Have fun!

Hu

So what's the score going into day 3? Didn't catch last 2 matches

uk_9_ball_convert said:

He's played really well in this match

Click to expand...

shane looks really up for it this year, and is playing great. THAT shane could have made a big difference other years. this time, tyler and billy are aiming for the rails and sky and fedor are limping. at best he can inspire the latter two to grab a point or two..

lfigueroa said:

Is there even a market for that?

I mean seriously, who the faguzin' is he going to get by including all of NA, lol! That would be, excluding the US, players from:

Antigua and Barbuda
The Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Grenada
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago

Lou Figueroa
bettin' on the
Jamaican bobsled team
to rebrand and take up pool

Click to expand...

he wasn't referring to the mosconi cup format

just more open events, tour stops. i think asia is the market myself, but then again florida open was a great addition. could be good stuff coming.

i'll keep harping on about what i think is needed for young US players looking to reach the next level. group up. live close. works in spain, works in poland, works in taiwan. some of those players moved to have competitive daily practice. snooker players figured this out long time ago with their scotland gang, sheffield gang(s), leicester gang.. lonewolfs like shane and filler are outliers..

There is a local supply store that lets you test shoot with cues including chalking. I think they don't have any custom cues. A place called "Billiards and Bagels" (in Oregon? ) used to do the same with higher-end cues. A friend of mine spent an hour or so there before buying.

maha said:

isnt 3 foul used in most 8 ball leagues? ...

Click to expand...

No. For about two years in the 1980s, the BCA rulebook had an optional 3-foul rule in 8 ball. They also had ball in hand anywhere for a foul. That combination meant any failed runout -- like missing on your last ball -- was a sure loss if your opponent knew a little about safety play. And against a 3, fouling would be easier and safer than running.