Bob Jewett said:

The Asian leg of the tour seems to own October.

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Precisely. The Peri Open, with a first prize of $40,000 this year, is the lead in to the Hanoi Open in the first half of October. If the Manila Open is a success and becomes a mainstay, the Manila and Reyes will take up late October-early November.

My guess is MR will always want the Florida Open to front run the U.S. Open. I doubt they would move the U.S. Open beyond early September. I expect them to stick to August.

The WPC takes up July, and the Scottish, UK and European opens seem to be settling in around March-April-May.

MR doesn’t really do anything the first few months of the year. Hard to see that changing.

They also have to leave space on the calendar for WPA/Predator and other events to prevent future conflict. The more MR settles on established dates, the more Predator/WPA can do the same. Good for all, ideally.

manwon said:

Great looking cues, and nice photos. I really love that series of Mali Cues. Green label Malis like yours are known as the M-series and they were produced, from 1984-1985 and they are beautiful playing cues. I have bought and sold many of them overs, like you I love them, the craftsmanship in these cues was fantastic at the time, and they were made in the United States at the Mali Factory. The Mali factory in the United States was open from 1961 until 2001, all cues after 2001 are Chinese imports, and they are unfortunately poor quality, unlike your cues.

Here is the my favorite M Model, it is a M-15 the most expensive cue the came out of the M-series like your cues

View attachment 845985

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Here are some very nice ones of the same series with inlay on EBay.

1. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1677176451...d=link&campid=5335988529&toolid=20001&mkevt=1.

2. This cue was the first cue in the series. https://www.ebay.com/itm/3762714907...d=link&campid=5335988529&toolid=20001&mkevt=1

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Actually, I think I have a couple or three M-15 cues as well as a few other of the "better" Mali Cues. I'll probably dig them out for pictures soon. That one is certainly a beautiful example. I am pretty sure I have an unusual one with figured ebony and one jet black like that.

Love the old Mali cues.

sjm said:

Who watched the USA Open on stream and what did you think of a) the coverage, b) the interviews, and c) the commentary?

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Watched a ton. No issues with the stream or announcing. Except when JJ was still in it, and the others had to do double duty. MR is doing more interviews, but athletes answer the same in all sports!

Looked very good visually.

DynoDan said:

Me too (though I hate playing 8 ball). Tips in the video re: checking the rack, are rather irrelevant in a social setting (considered rude). Slug racks are common, and you just live with it. On a 9 footer, english that brings you back into the pack can leave you stuck if the rack is loose.

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I check racks but never say anything. You can glance at a rack and see most of what you need to see. If I'm playing in a league that's more social I'll do the ultimate faux pas. I'll pop break it head on with just enough speed to stick the CB to the 1B. It's loud but nothing much happens. I'll then look at the table and say "Huh, that rack seemed funny." Might be a dick move but I find it amusing, and generally after that they will rack tighter. Even league players who are known for giving slug racks usually won't repeat the offense if you say it loud enough for the spectators to hear.

SeniorTom said:

Here is an example which I am going out on a limb a little bit. Cue stick looks very good with the black speckled Irish linen, but I just sent it out to be redone with a leather wrap. I just feel the stick was a bit unimpressive , lacking a little pizzazz , so I thought I would try to Spruce it up a bit. It is a Pechauer that has very good grain look to it , but could use a little flair. The photos below show the stick as I sent it out, and the wrap I intend to put on it. Any thoughts? Feel free to elaborate!

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Stack leather?

Who watched the US Open on stream and what did you think of a) the coverage, b) the interviews, and c) the commentary?

thrillsoft said:

Just got an email back from Steve Janes. He said absolutely recognizes those sticks. They were not made in the same year. The one is at least 1978 or 1979. The other one that you guys say was probably made by Bill Stroud. Is absolutely before 1975. So even though they were bought on the same day for two brothers. They were not made in 1979/1980.

And he says he'll recreate the logo on the one that's missing. He said he'll do it for free. But I'm going to send him some money anyway if he does it.. Would that hurt the value if Steve recreates the logo on the one that's missing? Or should I leave it as is?

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Definitely get Stephen to do that logo. Period. Do it.

IMHO.

Bob Jewett said:

So, it might be good to use against a run-out player to slow them down?

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This used to be the "common knowledge." I used it all the time. Anymore I don't believe it. Generally a run out player has more table knowledge than someone who can't run out. This means, while you might slow them down a bit and maybe get a turn at the table, they still break clusters better than you and have offensive firepower to get out. A smart player, which most good players are anymore will just out move you until the time is right.

Now, if you were playing a really dumb and purely offensive player with no safety knowledge, it might help you beat them. But the truth is that anymore unless you're playing in some bar league you'll not see a player like that. Players with the skill to run a rack mostly have all their ducks in a row nowadays. 2 Decades ago sure, cluster the balls. Now the bastards have gotten smarter.

If you're playing a similar level player that you are and you can't run more than 4 balls, it might favor you but even that is questionable if you can't break clusters.

I think at best it's situational advice. I see this all the time in our town leagues: The older ladies and lesser skilled casual players will do second ball break. It extends the innings but they still get tromped into the ground by better players. The absolute worst matches are between two lesser skilled players, neither of which can deal with clusters, yet they insist on second ball breaks. It makes a 10+ inning match where you might as well flip a coin.

The best 8 ball I've seen lately is the Ultimate Pool USA format. You have to get a 3 point break. A combination of made balls or balls past the center line of the table. It gets rid of slow play, and when you're on a shot clock and a match clock and might be spotting 4-5 games you literally don't have time to play pitty-pat pool. You have to either run out or have a plan. I love 1P but on a weeknight league I don't want to be there till 2AM. There's not near as much just bunting balls around and buying time, because time is one thing you don't have. The funniest part is if you do an illegal break (doesn't meet the 3 point rule) you lose the break and your opponent breaks. Sometimes they too do an illegal break so you get it back. But... it's alternate break, if you lose your break and they break that rack legally, they still get to break on the next rack. It sounds nuts but it really does improve the game, gives you a bit more urgency which is something pool leagues can lack.

Poolmanis said:

Yeah. Predator 10-ball uses no template and a lot of cement in racking with triangle makes it random though. My pro friends not want to go those because race to 4 sets and racks are so bad they say "no thanks" for flying to another part of world get that.

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Understandable. Truthfully, Predator now using their tables for their 10 ball event is more than enough reason to avoid that event IMO.

T411 said:

Well it takes one to know one. And I see that you don’t speed read… I do consider many here my friends I did mean feinds.

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I don’t need speed, or any other drug, to read……well, maybe a black coffee.