Hungarian said:

Same for me but involves #2

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oh, I know, but I was addressing the problem in numerical order!!!

I have had my share of craptastrophes

Bob Jewett said:

I much prefer the way they do it at snooker. You can take a break after any frame and if you really have to go in the middle of a frame, that's OK too. On the other hand, I think a player should only be allowed a break so they can go to the bathroom or solve an easy equipment problem. I consider taking a break to "ice" your opponent unsportsmanlike.

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In snooker they also have planned intervals during a match of any length. Like after 4 frames (regardless of the score) there is a 15 minute break. I like this approach (they recently did this at the Canadian 8b and/or 10b, the break was supposed to be after a certain number of games).

I should note that in snooker there has been concern expressed that players do leave between frames ostensibly to go to the bathroom but may not (I’m not sure what the real harm is there as they have a commercial break between frames anyway).

I agree that a quick bathroom break should be available when needed (although having bathrooms available close and not occupied can be an issue).

If you don’t have a designated break, I still like a player having the right to take a break to compose themselves, but that should only apply (IMO) if it’s that player’s turn. So I can take a time out when it’s my turn to break, not in the middle of your package.

I lived in Angeles City in the Philippines from 1979-82 and played almost everyday.

Jose Parica was the Philippines champion at that time and Efren was from Angeles City and had not came to the USA yet.

My friend Joel, a Filipino rack boy who worked at the club on the air base, mentioned Efren to me several times and always said I should play him. I never ran across him, so he must have been in Manila where there was more money to be made.

At that time, most of the places had inferior equipment and air conditioning was almost nowhere to be found.

Some of the places were kind of like sheds with no sides...just a pool table covered by a roof and maybe several benches to sit on. They were usually right on the street, so smoke, noise, and exhaust fumes from the jeepneys, trikes, and cars were ever present. It wasn't uncommon to have dogs, cats, chickens, etc. to come wandering through.

I never made it to play in Manila because I always travelled alone and I didn't trust any of the locals when it came to taking me to Manila with a wad of money in my pocket. I grew up working in a pool hall as a kid for years and played all kinds of seedy places in the USA and I knew what kind of things could befall you if you didn't keep a good sense of awareness about you. Getting in a trap in Manila was not something I wanted to get into.

You could find enough money games everyday to keep you busy and I always came home with more than I left with.

My chair is like 15 feet from the toilet, and sometimes I don't make it, because the mere act of getting up out of the chair triggers the urination. Oh, the golden years are SO much fun, and in about 30 minutes I will be a year older....78.

I don't like the contrast, but respect the work. Great effort!

You might want to consider us old guys (especially us with urology issues) where the urge to pee comes one very fast and if we can't go pretty soon, we end up peeing on the carpet where we stand because it is physically impossible to hold it any longer.

cueball2010 said:

What exactly is the difference between soft, medium, and hard layered tips? When makers/brands mass produce these tips are they using different hardness leather layers? Or do they just use the same leather for all of the hardness offerings and just compress them into different hardness specifications at the factory?

Can you take a medium hardness leather tip and compress it into a hard, and have the exact same thing as if you bought the hard layered tip to begin with?

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Just getting back into pool about 3 years ago so much has changed, I swore I would never buy a CF shaft, I didn't lie....sorta....I own a complete CF cue made by Becue, I love the way the cue plays so much I wondered if someone would invent a rubber tip or something like it, I learned that a rubber tip would be illegal as it's not a fibrous material, Bulletproof tips came out with the Recoil tip, made of complete synthetic man-made material, the problem with leather tips is they are made from animal hide, you will never get consistent skin, I think that's why sometimes the tip is great and sometimes not so much, the same thing you get when using wood, I have 3 shafts with the Recoil tip on them and they play the same, if a tip popped off during a match I could spin on my spare shaft and not have to think about how this shaft plays compared to my main shaft, a consistent proper stroke will help make you a better pool player, my Becue cue and Bulletproof Recoil tips help me play more consistently, that, and a lot of practice.

Moe Szyslak said:

There's no system for every ticky or every situation you're going to come across. But for basic tickies there obviously is a system, it's right there. I use it all the time, works really well. There are plenty of times I don't use it and just have to go on feel. But if I absolutely have to make the point below, I just use the system, I've used it thousands of times, I know exactly where the ball is going, right to 30 on the third rail. Why would I want to reinvent the wheel in the middle of a game with some counterintuitive mix of english and hit? A pro might to get better position or something. Me, I'll be satisfied with making a point.

We're not world class players here, Bert. Nobody has the time to devote three hours a day to practicing every possible iteration of ball hit and english on something that doesn't really come up all that often like tickies. It's a game I play for fun, and it's a tough game. I have more fun when I make points, and if I can remove one variable out of the ten you have to consider on every shot, I'll take the advantage. When I retire, I promise I'll work on playing by feel.

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I suggested you explore and discover in practice. In your quote, you do it in the middle of a match. There's a big difference.

Matt_24 said:

I picked up a brand new Treadway cue. Birdseye and cocobolo. This cue plays fantastic! Big pin, hand-picked Le Pro tip (Josh tests and hand picks them). Fun, fun!

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Understated, and all business. My kind of cue. Very nice.

Finally got someone to make my sight markers.
They are only vinyl decals but they came out amazing.