This is annual event down in Cajun country. It is held at CueSports in Thibodaux, LA and is bar table event on 7 foot Diamond tables.
The event always seems to bring in top players and it is one of the reasons I went to the event as it always an honor to compete and learn from the great players.
I've been preparing for this event in many ways as I seldom ever play on bar tables.
The last few months I have been mentored by some truly great people and I should honor them in this thread.
Stan Shuffett: Who is always ready to offer sage advice on any aspect of my game. He is a valued instructor and good friend. Stan has not only helped me tremendously with my game but has also helped guide me toward healthy diets and music designed to relax and help with meditation.
Gene Albrecht: Gene is suffering from an injury right now that prevents him from playing pool but he is always able to offer unique and valuable advice not just on aiming but on competing. He is truly a special guy. Call him some time and you will find your conversations with him to be solid gold.
The CRAWFISH: On his deathbed, he is calling me and texting me valuable advice that you only come by, by having felt the fire yourself.
DocHutch: A valued friend who keeps me on track by providing me with priceless advice.
Falcon Eddie: Who has the best (and only
) pool video on physical conditioning for pool players.
Silver Fox (aka-Charlie Blanchard): My nemesis for decades. Charlie doesn't like the big tables too much although he can play on them despite his claims of not being able to do so. Charlie is a ferocious competitor on the bar box and helped me greatly by playing gambling sets of races to 9. Our losses and winnings probably even out with each other but I can always expect a tough competitor. Charlie helped me to develop some seasoning on the bar table.
Buffalo Billiards: Always there to help with my pool development whether it is putting me in action with other visiting players or simply keeping me in shape by playing lots of quality pool on quality tables.
There are many others that I have had the benefit of being exposed to but these are the people who helped me for this tournament.
Now on to the report.
I suffer from COPD. You can google it. No need to feel sorry for me. I did it to myself. Smoking for twenty years. I quit about 20 years ago but it wasn't soon enough. So the smoke bothers my condition a bit. I now choose to go outside of the pool room between matches and sit in my car to listen to music and sounds designed by Dr. Jeffery Thompson that are designed to relax, invigorate and renew. Different music based upon different brain waves (alpha, beta, gamma theta). You can google that too. It's all good especially when it comes to meditating and deep breathing. I think the combination of deep breathing, meditating and listening to these specialized music/sounds helps me relax as well as concentrate. The deep breathing provides additional oxygen that I wouldn't normally get. (Note to AZBers: Quit smoking TODAY)
I've been taking a number of different natural supplements to help improve and maintain my overall health. So far, so good. Too many to list but a good source for herbal supplements can be found at http://www.dragonherbs.com/
The pain from my arthritis has been lessened greatly by taking anti-inflammatory medicines as well as doing some of the pool exercises in the video by Edward Cabrera www.intoshape.net Unfortuantely, I don't do all of them every day but do some of them every day without fail. For a while, I was increasing my strength but have slacked off in recent months and need to get back on track.
I try to learn as much as I can about every aspect of pool and don't close my mind to anyone no matter how unique their perspective or system is. It's fun learning about pool and contrary to what some people say, learning a new way to aim isn't going to hurt your game. It might even help you.
This event brought out a slew of players from several different states, like Cliff Joyner, Little D (Daniel McKenney), Rob Saez, Jerry Blackstock, Benny "the goose" Conway Jr., Kenny Loftis, Josh Hillard, Rodney S (houston -spanked cliff Joyner) Ken Berthelot, Mike Black, Kevin Guimond, David Parker (the rapper) and many others. I don't know what it is about this tournament but they always have a slew of talent. Maybe it is the handsome Calcutta, the GREAT Cajun food, the drinks, the music or the competition that this event fosters. All I know is if you want to play on bar table, this is a very nice event to play in. It's also right down the street from the famous www.bourgeoissmokehouse.com There you can get THE BEST carefully smoked, BEEF JERKY you have ever eaten, I guarantee.
Because I was sitting in my car listening to music or eating in between matches I didn't have much time to spend socializing with the other players but many came outside to take a break from the action.
I had some tough competition who normally play much better than they did against me in this event. That's the way it goes sometimes. The better players don't always win. I had a favorable draw, in that I did not hve to play the very best players until the last day. (Rob Saez and Kenny Loftis).
The short races to 7 make for a quick game on the bar box and alternating breaks keeps the better players from stringing racks together.
I was fortunate to have many incredible rolls if any of you watched on www.poolactiontv.com. Some of it was pure luck and other times, I was doing what I call, "working the luck". I'll explain more about that at a later time, maybe on a future livestream.
I had a number of matches where I was breaking incredibly well and other times, my break failed me. I need to get a break lesson.
Unfortunately, I can't say a whole lot about the event except what I experienced because I wasn't inside the pool room except for my matches and when I did commentary.
I can tell you that the only way to beat guys like Rob Saez and Kenny Loftis is the play YOUR GAME and not to be affected by what they do. You don't have any control over what they do anyway.
Rob Saez and I played twice. The first set I was VERY lucky getting frequent good rolls and Rob not getting as many. I managed to squeak out a win 7-6. If you had seen the last game of the first match you would have laughed and cried at the same time. The second match, Rob took control from the very beginning and never relinquished control very much. The opportunities that I had were squandered and I paid the price iwth a loss of 7-3.
The Kenny Lofts match was not a good one for me either. Kenny gave me a few opportunitities and I failed to take advantage of them. He spanked me pretty severely as well. I forget the score but that reminds me, I have my last three matches on a 8GB thumb drive. PoolactionTv.com will put your match on your thumb drive for ten bucks. When I have time, I want to go back to my matches with Rob and Kenny to see what I did well and what I failed to do well.
There were some $500 sets of nine ball from some of the other players, a ring game or two. Friday night Cliff won a ring game with some other good players.
Nick Arcement and Jason Lafleur, the owners of CueSports, put on a good show and the place was packed every day.
I'm lining up stake horses and accepting applications for my next event at White Diamonds in Lafayette, LA. Just PM me the details and I will respond back but will pick the best offer. :thumbup:
Oh yeah: 1st: Kenny Loftis (unbeaten) 2nd: Rob Saez (5 tournament victories in a row and only a second place finish in this one)-poor guy, 3rd place, Joey "Lottery Joe" A.
The event always seems to bring in top players and it is one of the reasons I went to the event as it always an honor to compete and learn from the great players.
I've been preparing for this event in many ways as I seldom ever play on bar tables.
The last few months I have been mentored by some truly great people and I should honor them in this thread.
Stan Shuffett: Who is always ready to offer sage advice on any aspect of my game. He is a valued instructor and good friend. Stan has not only helped me tremendously with my game but has also helped guide me toward healthy diets and music designed to relax and help with meditation.
Gene Albrecht: Gene is suffering from an injury right now that prevents him from playing pool but he is always able to offer unique and valuable advice not just on aiming but on competing. He is truly a special guy. Call him some time and you will find your conversations with him to be solid gold.
The CRAWFISH: On his deathbed, he is calling me and texting me valuable advice that you only come by, by having felt the fire yourself.
DocHutch: A valued friend who keeps me on track by providing me with priceless advice.
Falcon Eddie: Who has the best (and only
) pool video on physical conditioning for pool players.Silver Fox (aka-Charlie Blanchard): My nemesis for decades. Charlie doesn't like the big tables too much although he can play on them despite his claims of not being able to do so. Charlie is a ferocious competitor on the bar box and helped me greatly by playing gambling sets of races to 9. Our losses and winnings probably even out with each other but I can always expect a tough competitor. Charlie helped me to develop some seasoning on the bar table.
Buffalo Billiards: Always there to help with my pool development whether it is putting me in action with other visiting players or simply keeping me in shape by playing lots of quality pool on quality tables.
There are many others that I have had the benefit of being exposed to but these are the people who helped me for this tournament.
Now on to the report.
I suffer from COPD. You can google it. No need to feel sorry for me. I did it to myself. Smoking for twenty years. I quit about 20 years ago but it wasn't soon enough. So the smoke bothers my condition a bit. I now choose to go outside of the pool room between matches and sit in my car to listen to music and sounds designed by Dr. Jeffery Thompson that are designed to relax, invigorate and renew. Different music based upon different brain waves (alpha, beta, gamma theta). You can google that too. It's all good especially when it comes to meditating and deep breathing. I think the combination of deep breathing, meditating and listening to these specialized music/sounds helps me relax as well as concentrate. The deep breathing provides additional oxygen that I wouldn't normally get. (Note to AZBers: Quit smoking TODAY)
I've been taking a number of different natural supplements to help improve and maintain my overall health. So far, so good. Too many to list but a good source for herbal supplements can be found at http://www.dragonherbs.com/
The pain from my arthritis has been lessened greatly by taking anti-inflammatory medicines as well as doing some of the pool exercises in the video by Edward Cabrera www.intoshape.net Unfortuantely, I don't do all of them every day but do some of them every day without fail. For a while, I was increasing my strength but have slacked off in recent months and need to get back on track.
I try to learn as much as I can about every aspect of pool and don't close my mind to anyone no matter how unique their perspective or system is. It's fun learning about pool and contrary to what some people say, learning a new way to aim isn't going to hurt your game. It might even help you.
This event brought out a slew of players from several different states, like Cliff Joyner, Little D (Daniel McKenney), Rob Saez, Jerry Blackstock, Benny "the goose" Conway Jr., Kenny Loftis, Josh Hillard, Rodney S (houston -spanked cliff Joyner) Ken Berthelot, Mike Black, Kevin Guimond, David Parker (the rapper) and many others. I don't know what it is about this tournament but they always have a slew of talent. Maybe it is the handsome Calcutta, the GREAT Cajun food, the drinks, the music or the competition that this event fosters. All I know is if you want to play on bar table, this is a very nice event to play in. It's also right down the street from the famous www.bourgeoissmokehouse.com There you can get THE BEST carefully smoked, BEEF JERKY you have ever eaten, I guarantee.
Because I was sitting in my car listening to music or eating in between matches I didn't have much time to spend socializing with the other players but many came outside to take a break from the action.
I had some tough competition who normally play much better than they did against me in this event. That's the way it goes sometimes. The better players don't always win. I had a favorable draw, in that I did not hve to play the very best players until the last day. (Rob Saez and Kenny Loftis).
The short races to 7 make for a quick game on the bar box and alternating breaks keeps the better players from stringing racks together.
I was fortunate to have many incredible rolls if any of you watched on www.poolactiontv.com. Some of it was pure luck and other times, I was doing what I call, "working the luck". I'll explain more about that at a later time, maybe on a future livestream.
I had a number of matches where I was breaking incredibly well and other times, my break failed me. I need to get a break lesson.
Unfortunately, I can't say a whole lot about the event except what I experienced because I wasn't inside the pool room except for my matches and when I did commentary.
I can tell you that the only way to beat guys like Rob Saez and Kenny Loftis is the play YOUR GAME and not to be affected by what they do. You don't have any control over what they do anyway.
Rob Saez and I played twice. The first set I was VERY lucky getting frequent good rolls and Rob not getting as many. I managed to squeak out a win 7-6. If you had seen the last game of the first match you would have laughed and cried at the same time. The second match, Rob took control from the very beginning and never relinquished control very much. The opportunities that I had were squandered and I paid the price iwth a loss of 7-3.
The Kenny Lofts match was not a good one for me either. Kenny gave me a few opportunitities and I failed to take advantage of them. He spanked me pretty severely as well. I forget the score but that reminds me, I have my last three matches on a 8GB thumb drive. PoolactionTv.com will put your match on your thumb drive for ten bucks. When I have time, I want to go back to my matches with Rob and Kenny to see what I did well and what I failed to do well.
There were some $500 sets of nine ball from some of the other players, a ring game or two. Friday night Cliff won a ring game with some other good players.
Nick Arcement and Jason Lafleur, the owners of CueSports, put on a good show and the place was packed every day.
I'm lining up stake horses and accepting applications for my next event at White Diamonds in Lafayette, LA.
Just PM me the details and I will respond back but will pick the best offer. :thumbup:Oh yeah: 1st: Kenny Loftis (unbeaten) 2nd: Rob Saez (5 tournament victories in a row and only a second place finish in this one)-poor guy, 3rd place, Joey "Lottery Joe" A.
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