Ran 189...Well, not really.

[Salamander]

As usual I decided to simply score racks by moving a nickel around each diamond. When I miss, I move a nickel the other direction. I find it a terrific way to keep track of racks/misses. Unfortunately, I usually end up starting over again when I miss. For the most part, I can usually manage a run of 50 on a given day. Mind you, there are days where 30 is damn near impossible.

Today was somewhat special, I started out strong and just kept shooting. The final tally was 13+ racks, with 2 misses. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly where the two misses occurred, but I'm pretty sure that I had a 100 in there.

I think that part of the reason I played well, is that I really was unconcerned about the score. In the past, when the quarter would move past 4 diamonds, I'd get the "oh shit, I'm running racks" realization, and end up missing. The other reason... I credit watching John Schmidt's 154 run posted the other day.

The following observation really helped me: John seemed to really hit the pack fairly hard and got a nice spread on the balls. In the past, I've always been a bit timid when attacking the pack. As a result, I spent alot of energy opening clusters. Today was different, the packs opened nicely, I shot the balls off the table, left a nice break shot, and repeated the process. As a result, I fell into a nice rhythm. This was sort of an epiphany to me. By hitting the break shot harder, I was able to play better (easier) patterns. I did not "bog down" with impossible shots.

At any rate, while not my high run, it was definitely one of my most satisfying times at the table. Perhaps a new lease on straight pool.

Doug

 

[dmgwalsh]

As usual I decided to simply score racks by moving a nickel around each diamond. When I miss, I move a nickel the other direction. I find it a terrific way to keep track of racks/misses. Unfortunately, I usually end up starting over again when I miss. For the most part, I can usually manage a run of 50 on a given day. Mind you, there are days where 30 is damn near impossible.

Today was somewhat special, I started out strong and just kept shooting. The final tally was 13+ racks, with 2 misses. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly where the two misses occurred, but I'm pretty sure that I had a 100 in there.

I think that part of the reason I played well, is that I really was unconcerned about the score. In the past, when the quarter would move past 4 diamonds, I'd get the "oh shit, I'm running racks" realization, and end up missing. The other reason... I credit watching John Schmidt's 154 run posted the other day.

The following observation really helped me: John seemed to really hit the pack fairly hard and got a nice spread on the balls. In the past, I've always been a bit timid when attacking the pack. As a result, I spent alot of energy opening clusters. Today was different, the packs opened nicely, I shot the balls off the table, left a nice break shot, and repeated the process. As a result, I fell into a nice rhythm. This was sort of an epiphany to me. By hitting the break shot harder, I was able to play better (easier) patterns. I did not "bog down" with impossible shots.

At any rate, while not my high run, it was definitely one of my most satisfying times at the table. Perhaps a new lease on straight pool.

Doug

Very well done. I was feeling a little guilty about pre-releasing a fuzzy version of John's 154 ball run before the full version with Black Jack commentary releases. I see that some good may have come of it, so I am feeling a little conflicted.

At any rate, I think I remember John saying he likes to break them hard. When I was at a seminar he gave and told him I sometimes over-cut the break shot when I try to hit them hard, I mentioned maybe I should ratchet the speed down a little to ensure that I make it. He said, no, don't do that. Just make sure your fundamentals are good and that you are stroking it good.

In the player review of Thorsten's 149 ball run, Thorsten tells Danny D that he played around for a long time with hitting the break shots softer and retaining control of his cue ball but decide he was going to hit them all hard. He said all his high runs came about that way.

I think Neils Feijen said something similar a few years back.

 

[Salamander]

Thanks Dennis,

I used to break them in what I would have assumed to be the "old school" method. In other words, a controlled break, spreading a few balls, and trying to shoot around the pack. The trouble would start when I had only one or two shots, which limited my options. I've always been a decent shotmaker, so the risk of taking on a difficult shot after a harder break, seems worth it.

All I know is that my confidence increased, as I was able to play easier patterns. At any rate, I'm going to experiment with just break shots for a few days and analyze the spread.

Thanks again for all the uploaded videos. I also really enjoyed one of the Feijen videos you posted awhile back.

Regards,

Doug

Very well done. I was feeling a little guilty about pre-releasing a fuzzy version of John's 154 ball run before the full version with Black Jack commentary releases. I see that some good may have come of it, so I am feeling a little conflicted.

At any rate, I think I remember John saying he likes to break them hard. When I was at a seminar he gave and told him I sometimes over-cut the break shot when I try to hit them hard, I mentioned maybe I should ratchet the speed down a little to ensure that I make it. He said, no, don't do that. Just make sure your fundamentals are good and that you are stroking it good.

In the player review of Thorsten's 149 ball run, Thorsten tells Danny D that he played around for a long time with hitting the break shots softer and retaining control of his cue ball but decide he was going to hit them all hard. He said all his high runs came about that way.

I think Neils Feijen said something similar a few years back.