GideonF said:

I haven’t read the whole thread so sorry if it’s been said, but some players have skipped the WNT event because it conflicts with the US Open series. It’s not just about money IMO. SVB, for example, had great loyalty to Mark Griffin and he plays these events to honour Mark I believe.

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Good stuff here that brings up a really important matter.

As noted earlier in the thread, it is a sign of the times. Top players can pick and choose and need not play in every big-purse event to make a living. SVB's loyalty to Mark Griffin is understandable, as Mark greatly supported him early in his career. Still, loyalty is a funny commodity. For example, Matchroom has done a lot for Shane over the years, but he was among those that skipped the 2025 UK Open in favor of an Expo in Asia.

SVB might be thinking that even with reduced participation in WNT events, he will surely qualify for both the Reyes Cup and Mosconi Cup. Then again, Emily has come down very hard on players that skip WNT majors, so we shall see.

Bottom line here is that the most elite players wield more power than in the past, and event producers will have to do more than ever before to ensure their participation in the biggest events.

Pool's landscape has changed, and everybody must adjust.

Make sure you use video or a video call to ensure the seller actually has the item. That and PayPal good and services as the payment option. You can never be too careful when dealing with a stranger. I didn’t learn that here, but it is good to remind any forum member

That's nuts he ran that much. I thought he was pretty much retired. I would have bet large he couldn't beat his 626 today. It took him 1-2 years the first time. Great job.

outrider1 said:

It a good clean cue,straight w no issues
What do ya'll think?View attachment 889009View attachment 889010View attachment 889011

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Some of us had a laugh, but what are you looking for in a cue? If price is your first consideration, check out a Viking cue. If you want a little more design, you could get a used Joss. Just a couple of ideas to start with since laughter alone won’t get you closer to a decent cue to play with.

I heard from a mutual friend that just before the 820, John had two runs in the 190s.

The 100+ BPI for a week is crazy.

Haha, I hadn't noticed "Default style slightly grayer" before, that name cracks me up.

I'm a "Shades of grey" fan myself.

The inconsistency in the spelling of gray/grey bugs me though.

Could trade both for a CF radial pin shaft

Bob Jewett said:

Marcel did not rule it as a foul. Marcel declined to overturn the ruling of the ref at the table. They do not have video review.

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I think the call still could (and arguably should) have been overruled by a good knowledgeable head referee, and part of the issue here was that Marcel is not a good knowledgeable head ref (to put it kindly).

In his protest Pongers presumably told Marcel "the ref declared the balls to be frozen, and I shot through the balls with a normal stroke as allowed when the balls are frozen, so it was not a foul". Presumably Marcel then asked the ref why he felt it was a foul when hitting into a frozen ball is legal (or he certainly should have if he didn't), and if the ref said something along the lines of that it was based purely off of the "cue ball and object ball moving forward together at the same speed" Marcel should know right there that is not the measure for whether that shot is a foul or not (since it would have been the expected action) and overruled the call.

If the ref instead said something along the lines of "well it just looked like a push stroke to me" Marcel should have then asked some follow up questions such as "what speed did he hit the ball at", "what made you think it looked like a push", and "did he first put the tip on the ball and then push forward" along with a couple others as needed. When the ref presumably answered with something like "he hit the shot fairly hard, and no, he didn't put the tip on the ball first and then push, he just hit it like a regular shot, it just seemed to me that the tip was in contact with the cue ball a little longer than it would normally be" Marcel should have known that the ref just didn't know what he was doing on the call and clearly made a bad call. With good questioning from a qualified head ref I think there was enough there to overrule the call, although I also understand the hesitation to do so without the ability to look at a replay in this particular case.

One thing is certain. Matchroom refs in general, and Marcel in particular, need a lot more knowledge and training before they are qualified to be refereeing professional level events.

Bob Jewett said:

It's too bad John Schmidt doesn't post here any more.

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Has he published the video yet?

PickPocket said:

Hey AZB,

This is yet another, TIP advice request.

I've got both CF, LD & Regular Old School wood shafts, I've put various tips on them, and switch between playing with them all regularly. I've leaned towards the Kamui Tips for years now, but I have several that have other brands installed. (Ultraskin, Triangle, Pred Victory, G2. Kamikaze)

My Main LD Wood player = Tiger Sniper
CF#1 = Prev Victory (Med) - Not a fan, have one also on a wood shaft & just don't love either one.
CF#2 = Soon to be an Kamui Athlete.
Have a couple wood shafts with Kamui Blacks
Have 3-4 with variations of the Ultraskins.
and almost everything I only shoot with occasionally has a Triangle on it.

I like the Sniper, I like the Kamui's I think the Ultraskins are a good all-around tip, but I want to try something new, and after reading a lot of threads/posts & doing some youtube review watching, I was hoping to narrow down to installing (2) new tips on a couple of spare shafts.

What should I go with?
I've read some good things on the Caiden tips, HOW Titan etc...

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Do you know which hardness level you prefer? Many of these tips are marketed as S/M/H, but another question might be which tips are consistent? I believe this requires a durometer to even get close to accurate on hardness testing. I would bet a bunch of people have a good experience with one brand tip, but the next time the buy one, they have no idea if the hardness is less than or greater than the previous tip.

It's too bad John Schmidt doesn't post here any more.

JPB2 said:

Well, the point I remember from the Polsky book Hustlers, Beats, and Others was that pool was the bastion of the heterosexual permanent bachelor. That demographic shrunk post WW2 with many guys starting families, moving to the suburbs etc…

I think the changes in pool may reflect pool being discovered and played by a different demographic- more diverse in many ways. I am not sure and we’ll see how it develops. It has the advantage now that it is not digital and has a real social aspect. I think many people will like that aspect. Get off the computer and go play something etc…. Posting from my phone but I’m at the pool hall.

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I think many were basically asexual. I just looked this up and got this definition.

"Asexuality is considered a sexual orientation, similar to being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual, and it is defined by a consistent lack of sexual attraction to others"

I have to say, that may have applied to many pool players I have known. The part my wife didn't get was the way they acted with each other. Often talking and laughing and giggling with each other like little girls. They would often make rude comments about women. I think most of them were scared to death the women.

Badpenguin said:

If that was the rule already, this would not have been ruled a push foul by Marcel.

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We don't know if either the area ref or Marcel ruled it a push or a double hit, or what Marcel did (although, as has been suggested, he might have just told the player that he wouldn't overrule the area ref)...

Badpenguin said:

... Either that or just make them shoot away from it like APA, lol.

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The official APA rules don't actually require shooting at an angle, but they do suggest that or jacking up to 30 degrees elevation to reduce the chance of a double hit on a close ball. The APA seems to be the same as the WPA for a frozen ball.

I enjoy it. The two currently playing may not be the best, but still enjoy the format.