fastone371 said:

I never thought of a paper towel, I use a regular piece of paper out of a small note pad

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Cleans the ball when breaking, ha ha.

The stains that could be blood tended to elevate my Fight or Flight condition level. Situation awareness is a survival skill.
A favorite Cole story as told to the cab driver:
Cole was up about 15 hundred playing in the Deep South. The pick up truck with gun rack full and seat full parking in front of glass entry provoked Cole's request, "How about I just give You all your money back and leave?"
Crickets "How about I give your money back and all of mine and leave?" Deal struck.

You gotta know when to hold 'em. You gotta be able to

FordSVTCobra said:

One of the best parts of the story was Billy interjecting with his impression of Earl.

He is far and away my favorite Accu Stats commentator and I could listen to him tell stories for days. Articulate, knowledgeable, great sense of humor and likeable.

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Billy is, by a mile, the best ever American commentator.

FordSVTCobra said:

As a side note, I think many of us would love to hear SJM on a future podcast telling his pool-life story.

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Amazingly enough, Molina Mike once invited me onto his podcast, but, with gratitude, I declined. I really don't need the attention.

muskyed said:

I use a small piece of paper towel about 1 1/2"x2" as a break pad for practice at home and never pick it up. I move it around at times also just to break from different spots but that's it. Just not that important in your home practicing. I also virtually never chalk my break cue tip at home, but if I miscue I will hit that glazed over spot with some chalk. More important things to worry about.

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I never thought of a paper towel, I use a regular piece of paper out of a small note pad

Island Drive said:

Thx for the write up.... well explained perspective of ''the moment''.
With the world now involved in pro nine ball events, this is a major long term concern for Pat.
I think he might have to make a big change.... Or just do a Smaller production.

Your below post Stu...... made matters very clear.

''Field size and depth in the pro events disappointed.
The main reasons, in my opinion: a) the Predator event in Spain caused many top Europeans to skip it.
b) five top Europeans were in Scotland training for the Mosconi.
C) player burnout, as the top pros just got home from two months hopping from country to country in Asia.

Pat will have to look at the world events from now on to find His Spot on the calendar.
I think his best bet might be this.
Wait till he knows what MR is going to do in 2026 with the US Open 9 ball.
I don't know if Pat has the connections in TX like he does on the Atlantic coast.

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An undeniable complication, Bill, is that 2025 has likely introduced us to how pool is going to be from now on. It's very possible that the pros will, again, spend two months in Asia next September and October. The breadth of the world pool calendar has made things very complicated for players to manage both their schedules and their expenses. Still, there is no denying that, more than ever, they can pick and choose their events, no longer obligated to play in everything to earn a living at pro pool.

The rapid globalization of the game in the past decade has, unquestionably, made our sport better, but it has come with some growing pains, and players, event producers, and even fans face new choices.

DrCue'sProtege said:

I went back down to the table tonight. Broke 14 racks and only had one halfway possible runout. The type that prime Efren might have been able to get out.

Finally I said the heck with it, this will be my last break tonight. I am simply tired of this voodoo, hex, pool spirits, etc, being against me. So I broke and ended up with this spread. I quickly laid the break cue on the table and walked away before I threw it. Or did something else that I would regret.

https://pad.chalkysticks.com/3f9c1.png

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That last layout is a cue ball control issue. Control the cue ball and you should be fine.

I would hate to ask the obvious, but are you that good of a player that you insist on playing against the "pro" ghost? Why not take BIH after the break like the majority of people who play the ghost.

I hope you realize that a pool table is nothing more than a rectangle with some pockets, cushions, and a flat surface made of slate, expecting one table to break much different than another is borderline insanity. Surely you have played on other tables besides your own, do you frequently get runnable racks on those but not your own??

Doug Leech has been at it a long time. He is from Wheeling, West Virginia.